PHOENIX — Just feet away from the circus-like madness that is Super Bowl Media Day on Tuesday, Sealver Siliga tucked himself away in a corner and pulled up a chair.
His continued growth on an NFL field might make it more difficult for the Utah native to sneak away from the limelight so easily in the future.
Siliga is set to become the first Copper Hills High graduate to play in a Super Bowl when his New England Patriots take on the defending champion Seattle Seahawks on Sunday (4:30 p.m. MST, NBC) in Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. He's the school's lone player to ever make it to the NFL.
"It’s a great opportunity. I’m excited to represent my hometown and it’s a big game," the defensive tackle told the Deseret News. "The people there affected my life — childhood friends, childhood coaches from little league, everybody just helping me out growing up."
Siliga's football world has taken him several places, including the West Jordan-based high school, then the University of Utah. After declaring for the NFL draft following his junior year with the Utes, he bounced around with a few NFL teams before finding a solid spot with the Patriots.
Now, he's a starter on a Super Bowl team. Over the past two years, Siliga has played in 12 regular-season games for the Patriots, starting nine of them. Injuries have hurt him — he missed nine weeks this year with a foot injury — but they haven't deterred Siliga. He started New England's first two postseason games this season and has eight tackles thus far in the playoffs.
That pro-level success hasn't stopped the 6-foot-2, 325-pounder from remembering his roots and honoring them.
"(Siliga) still identifies himself and is very proud and vocal about the fact he went to Copper Hills," said his former high school coach, Art Erickson. "It speaks a lot to him, and he's proud where he's from."
Siliga's attitude toward life has also been a determining factor in his achievements. Erickson, the head coach at Copper Hills from 2005-08, recalls Siliga as being outgoing and loyal, attributes that endeared him to others and helped his football career.
"I didn't coach Sealver to be big or strong, he came pre-packed that way," Erickson said. "The first time I met him — he was a big, strong, athletic kid — and I knew he would be important to our program if we wanted to have above-average success."
He found success at the high school level — last year Siliga was inducted into the Copper Hills Hall of Fame — and he landed a scholarship at the University of Utah.
"Sealver was always a very driven young man. He had a tremendous work ethic and a great care for his teammates," new Oregon State coach Gary Andersen told the Deseret News in an email. Andersen — who was on the Utes' staff from 2004-08, including the last four as defensive coordinator — was his recruiter at Utah.
During his career with the Utes, Siliga started 21 of a possible 37 games and played as a true freshman. He also earned all-Mountain West Conference honorable-mention honors twice and ended his Utah career with 11 1/2 tackles for loss.
Charisse Hilton, an assistant principal at Copper Hills at the time Siliga was there, helped him through the process of qualifying academically for college. She pointed toward his commitment to family as another factor behind Siliga's on-field success.
“Sealver’s driven in his loyalty and care for his parents,” Hilton said. “Sealver’s really committed to his family and I love that.”
On the field, Siliga credited his college position coach with helping him be prepared for life in the NFL. John Pease, who coached in the NFL for 20 years, was the Utes' defensive line coach from 2009-10.
"He made it simple for me in college. He was just like, ‘It’s your playing time,’" Siliga said of Pease. "He doesn’t care how you do it, just make sure you do your job. Coming into the NFL, I understood."
The transition from college to the NFL didn't come easy. After leaving Utah following his junior year, Siliga wasn't drafted. He joined the 49ers, Broncos and Sunday's opponent, the Seahawks, before landing in New England.
Now he finds himself in a strong place with the Patriots, surrounded by men who know what it takes to win. Quarterback Tom Brady, who has three Super Bowl rings, is headed to his sixth Super Bowl, along with head coach Bill Belichick. Fellow defensive lineman Vince Wilfork has been with the Patriots since 2004 and owns his own Super Bowl ring.
"For me as a player, looking up to guys like that — Vince Wilfork, Tom Brady, Coach Belichick — you know they know what they’re talking about," Siliga said. "You trust in what they are talking about and go out there and work."
Speaking about Wilfork specifically, he said, "I’ve learned how to become a true professional — on the field and off the field, in the classroom, in the weight room. He’s just taught me a lot."
Hilton attributed Siliga's work ethic and his model of perseverance as keys that have helped him earn the chance to play for a Super Bowl title.
"What I see in Sealver is a determined young man who is not afraid of hard work," she said. "I see him as a model of perseverance and that is going to help him his whole life."
Those community roots, though, have never gone away. Last year, Siliga agreed to talk to Hilton's powerlifting class at Brighton High, where she is now the principal. That allowed him the opportunity to speak one-on-one to a young football star with plenty of potential, Osa Masina. Masina, a linebacker and the top prospect from the state of Utah this season, recently committed to play at USC. Back then, he was deep in the recruiting process.
Siliga told Masina his college decision would make his family happy, no matter the destination.
"Just focus on school and football because you’ve got a big future ahead of you," he told the up-and-coming teenage star.
It's that willingness to reach out and affect others' lives that has endeared Siliga to those who know him.
"I use his example with kids sometimes just to say, 'Look, this guy went through four NFL teams before getting a starting position,'" Hilton said. "I think it shows what community can do because that community is so proud of him.
“It’s just a true and genuine joy to see him succeed.”
Email: bjudd@deseretnews.com; Twitter: @brandonljudd