SAN FRANCISCO – Ten months ago, Amari Kight was just a football player looking to make his way into the NFL after he didn't hear his name called from the Lambeau Field stage at the NFL Draft.

However, nothing could prepare him for the road ahead.

After making the Seattle Seahawks practice squad, Kight kept working in hopes of getting his shot, and he got his chance to shine on the field. Now, he'll be standing on the sideline at Levi's Stadium with the NFC champions on the biggest stage in American sports.

It's been a winding journey for the Alabaster native and Thompson and UCF alum, but now that he and his teammates have made the Super Bowl, it's a dream he is still reconciling with reality.

"It's really surreal," Kight said. "It's really just something that I've kind of always just dreamed of and just to be able to live in those childhood dreams, it's really been something that's been special to me. So, I've been enjoying it."

Kight played in five total games for the Seahawks as an offensive lineman, the first three as a practice squad elevation against the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 25, an instant Thursday night classic with the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 18 and a road win at the Carolina Panthers on Dec. 29.

Kight got his shot due to injuries to starting linemen ahead of him, and after his three elevations were used up, Seattle signed him to its active roster for the rest of the way. He'd see the field mainly on special teams in the final regular season game at the San Francisco 49ers, but another injury saw him get his biggest chance yet in the Divisional round.

He had the biggest workload of his career in the playoff game with 24 snaps, including 17 on offense, in the Seahawks' dominant win against the 49ers.

However, he too succumbed to the injury bug in that game, and a knee injury has kept him out of practice since, including the NFC Championship against the Rams. On Tuesday, Feb. 3, Kight got the news that he would be placed on injured reserve and not play in Super Bowl LX.

It was tough for Kight to hear, but he is taking a positive outlook on it and focusing on being in the moment with his team.

"It's a little disheartening, but I'm still going to be there to turn on my guys and be in whatever role the team calls me on to be in," Kight said. "Just looking forward to still just experiencing this moment with them and enjoying it."

Even though he won't play, just making the game as part of the team is a testament to the work that Kight has put in over the past year.

He quickly learned the ropes of being an NFL player while also learning a new offense alongside his teammates from new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Kight said the learning curve was very different compared to college, even while starting his career with Nick Saban and Alabama.

"It's a lot to learn, I guess, just right away, you're getting a lot thrown at you at once and you just kind of have to adjust and keep going," Kight said. "So, I guess that probably would I say would be the biggest difference, outside of the competition, of course."

However, his teammates have been right there in the trenches with him, learning from a new coaching staff and coming together for a common goal.

Many veterans have said there was a noticeable culture shift when Mike Macdonald took over as head coach in 2024. Kight obviously can't echo those sentiments as he was still in school during the Pete Carroll era, but he did say that the Seahawks have a tight-knit bond and credited it for their conference championship.

"We've all put in so much time and so much work this offseason, and even during the season, and what I can also say is this is one of the closest teams I've probably been a part of," Kight said. "You feel like there's truly like a lot of chemistry between everybody, everybody jokes, everybody's laughing and having fun with each other, and if someone messes something up, like we're picking each other up, like we just keep going, and I think that that's been something that's taken us as far as we've gotten and just something that's just felt different with this team."

Now, after a long 19-game season in the NFL, Kight and his teammates get the reward of being one of two teams left playing in front of hundreds of millions of people watching the Super Bowl from around the world.

From the Pro Bowl Games to Radio Row to the Bad Bunny-led halftime show, there's plenty of sights to take in around the Super Bowl, especially without the pressure of focusing on playing. In the midst of that though, Kight is simply hoping to be in the moment and present with his teammates through whatever the week brings.

"I guess just experiencing it with the guys," Kight said on what he's most looking forward to. "It's been a long season and it's not every day that you get to experience something like this, so just being able to enjoy it with them."

As a former Under Armour All-American and member of Thompson's historic 2019 state championship team, Kight wears his hometown of Alabaster on his sleeve and his proud of his roots in Alabama, something he continued while starting his college career with the Crimson Tide before transferring to and graduating from UCF.

Now, he's just the second Thompson player to reach the NFL and also the second to make the Super Bowl. He joins Brandon King, who ironically played for Seattle's Super Bowl LX opponent, the New England Patriots, in Super Bowl LI in 2017.

It's a rare feat that isn't lost on him.

"Something that I wear with a lot of pride, just being able to represent from the place that I came from and be able to be someone that those guys can look up to," Kight said. "I don't take it lightly. It's something I'm proud to be doing."

For those people who may be watching from home in Alabaster wanting to get where he is, his message was simple–dream on and stay the course.

"I'd say just keep chasing your dreams, keep believing in yourself, have fun," Kight said. "Don't be so focused on what everybody else's got going on, like what offer, where this guy's going, or in the world of NIL, just how much money someone might be making. Just run your race, stay where your feet are, just keep focusing on your process, focusing on doing your things day in and day out, and just keep having fun and everything will work out for you."