Danny Amendola, briefly a Cowboy, part of college bowl, Super Bowl comeback records

New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola is now part of football comeback history in both the Super Bowl and the NCAA postseason, TexasTech.com points out.

Amendola, who started his NFL career on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, caught the game-tying 2-point conversion on a pass from Tom Brady as the Patriots beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 on Sunday night in Super Bowl 51.

The Patriots overcame a 25-point deficit to win, shattering the previous Super Bowl record of 10 points.

Amendola, who played high school football at Conroe The Woodlands, was part of the 2006 Texas Tech Red Raiders, who beat Minnesota 44-41 in overtime in the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.

The Red Raiders of coach Mike Leach trailed by a whopping 31 points in the third quarter to Minnesota. The previous record for a bowl comeback had been 30 points, by Marshall against East Carolina in the 2001 GMAC Bowl.

TCU tied Tech’s record in the 2015 season, clawing back from a 31-0 halftime deficit with 31 straight points and beating Oregon 47-41 in triple overtime at the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.

In 2006, Tech fell behind 38-7 with 7:47 left in the third quarter, according to the Associated Press story on the game.

Like the Patriots on Sunday night and TCU two seasons ago, the Red Raiders scored 31 consecutive points, with Alex Trlica’s 52-yard field goal as regulation expired forcing overtime.

Tech’s quarterback in that win was Graham Harrell, now the offensive coordinator for North Texas. Joel Filani, also on the Mean Green coaching staff, caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from Harrell to begin the comeback with 4:58 to play.

Amendola, who played at Tech from 2004-08, signed an undrafted free agent with the Cowboys in 2008. He was cut by the Cowboys but was re-signed to the practice squad after clearing waivers. He chose to leave the Cowboys after the season and was signed to the Philadephia Eagles practice squad.

Eventually, he found his place with the St. Louis Rams, and then the Patriots in March 2013, after another former Texas Tech star, Wes Welker, signed with Denver.

Amendola nuggets of interest

▪ Amendola has been dating Olivia Culpo, Miss Universe 2012, since May 2016.

▪ Amendola’s father, Willie, sued Cowboys Stadium after he was hit by a runaway golf cart. Willie Amendola was the coach at Spring Dekaney and was being interviewed on the field after his team won the 2011 Texas State Class 5A Division II championship game.

The driverless cart, with an end zone pylon wedged against its accelerator, hit him from behind. He fell into the cart before rolling out onto the field about after about 30 yards to escape. People were injured in the incident.

▪ Willie Amendola was hired as the Spring Independent School District athletic director in 2014.

▪ Danny Amendola, according to a story from texanlive.com, was recruited to Texas Tech by then-Raiders assistants Dana Holgorsen, Sonny Dykes and Ruffin McNeill.

Holgorsen is head coach at West Virginia, Dykes is an offensive analyst for TCU after head coaching jobs at California and Louisiana Tech, and McNeill is assistant head coach at Virginia and former head coach at East Carolina.

This story was originally published February 7, 2017 at 12:36 AM with the headline "Danny Amendola, briefly a Cowboy, part of college bowl, Super Bowl comeback records."