Destiny has certainly been on the side of the San Francisco 49ers and former Eastern Washington University wide receiver Kendrick Bourne.
 
Now, the native of Portland, Ore., gets a chance to establish some more history when his 49ers play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV in Miami, Fla., on Feb. 2.
 
He will likely become the just the fourth Eagle to play in a Super Bowl, joining offensive tackle Ed Simmons (Washington Redskins, XXVI in 1992), safety Kurt Schulz (Buffalo Bills, XXVIII in 1994) and outside linebacker Samson Ebukam (Los Angeles Rams, LIII in 2019). Simmons is the only champion, starting the game as one of the notorious "Hogs" for the Redskins in their 37-24 triumph over the Buffalo Bills.
 
Last season, Ebukam had four tackles in a 13-3 loss to New England in Super Bowl LIII, while teammate Cooper Kupp was injured and unable to play. Former Eagle Aaron Neary was also with the Rams for the game in Atlanta, Ga., but was inactive after serving as a practice squad player in the 2018 season for Los Angeles. Schulz made a touchdown-saving tackle on the game's opening kickoff in the Super Bowl in 1994 after playing most of the 1993 season with a calf injury suffered in the preseason.
 
There have been 55 previous players from the Big Sky Conference on Super Bowl rosters, but none have scored a touchdown. Based on what he did in the 2019 season, Bourne could very well be the first, as well as the first Big Sky player to catch a pass in the game since 2014. Former Portland State tight end and basketball player Julius Thomas caught three passes for 27 yards in Super Bowl XLVIII in a 43-8 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
 
Bourne finished the 2019 regular season with 30 catches for 358 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. In the 2019 playoffs, he had three catches for 40 yards and the first touchdown of the day versus Minnesota. He added a catch for six yards in a 37-20 win versus Green Bay in the NFC Championship Game.
 
In his now 43-game career in the regular season, he has 88 catches for 1,102 yards and nine touchdowns, with a long reception of 54 yards.
 
Bourne was a non-drafted free agent, but made the 49ers roster in 2017 and played in 11 games. He then played in all 16 in 2018 and had 42 catches.
 
His progress has also shadowed the success of the team, which has won more games in 2019 (13 in the regular season, two in the playoffs) since the last three teams combined – a combined total of 12 victories from 2016-18.
 
In 2016, the 49ers were 2-14, with both wins coming against the Rams. As a result, the 49ers fired head coach Chip Kelly and general manager Trent Baalke.
 
In the first season of the head coach/general manager tandem of Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch – and Bourne's rookie year – the 49ers were 6-10. After a 0-9 start, they won six of their last seven, having largely turned around the season after they acquired quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo from the New England Patriots on October 30, 2017. Bourne was also a factor, catching no passes in the first three games he played in San Francisco's first eight games that season, but catching 16 receptions for 257 yards in the final eight.
 
San Francisco slipped to 4-12 in 2018 during an injury-plagued season. But in Week 15 the 49ers were able to upset the Seattle Seahawks 26-23 in overtime at home, snapping a 10-game losing streak to them that dated back to 2013 Playoffs.
 
In 2019, the 49ers began the season 8–0 for the first time since 1990, and their final 13–3 record was their best finish since 2011. In the playoffs, San Francisco defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional Round and beat the Green Bay Packers 37-20 in the NFC Championship Game.
 
The 49ers will attempt to win their sixth Super Bowl championship, in hopes of tying with the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl championships. San Francisco also won titles in Super Bowls XVI (1982), XIX (1985), XXIII (1989), XXIV (1990), and XXIX (1995).
 
 
 

More on Kendrick Bourne

EWU Wide Receiver – Lettered in 2013-14-15-16
Signed a free agent contract with the San Francisco 49ers in 2017

In his now 43-game career in the regular season (eight as a starter) in the National Football League, Bourne has 88 catches for 1,102 yards and nine touchdowns, with a long reception of 54 yards. Bourne finished the 2019 regular season with 30 catches for 358 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. He had two touchdown receptions on Dec. 8 in a 49-46 win at New Orleans, and had a season-best 69 yards on three catches at Washington on Oct. 10. His high for catches was four on two occasions, both coming during a three-game stretch when he scored a TD in each contest.
 
In the 2019 playoffs, he had three catches for 40 yards and the first touchdown of the day versus Minnesota. He added a catch for six yards in a 37-20 win versus Green Bay in the NFC Championship Game. In four preseason games, he caught six passes for 87 yards and pair of scores.
 
Bourne saw action in all 16 games (eight as a starter) for the San Francisco 49ers in the 2018 season, finishing with 42 catches for 487 yards and four touchdowns. Bourne scored his first NFL touchdown on Sept. 16, 2018, against the Detroit Lions in a 30–27 victory. In Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, he recorded his second touchdown in the 29–27 loss. He had a career-high seven catches for 71 yards versus Arizona on Oct. 28 in the first start of his career (regular season). He then had a season-high 73 yards on four catches against Chicago in the second-to-last game of the season on Dec. 23. In four preseason games, he had six catches for 58 yards.
 
An undrafted free agent, as a rookie Bourne caught six passes for 113 yards in four 2017 preseason games – include the fourth game as a starter – to earn a roster spot for the regular season. His first preseason game as a 49er yielded four catches for 88 yards and a 46-yard touchdown catch. Although he didn't catch any passes, he made the first 49ers start of his NFL career (all games) on Aug. 31, 2017 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
 
During the 2017 regular season, he played in just three of San Francisco's first eight games and had no catches. But in the last eight he had 16 receptions for 257 yards with a non-scoring long catch of 54 yards. That grab came against Tennessee on Dec. 17, 2017, when he finished with season highs of four catches and 85 yards. His first career catch was a 25-yard reception against Arizona on Nov. 5, 2017, which led to the only touchdown of the day for the 49ers in the 20-10 loss.
 
A three-time All-Big Sky selection, Bourne ended his EWU career with a streak of 39 straight games with at least one reception. He played in 53 career games, including 32 as a starter to rank second on the team among offensive players (Cooper Kupp started all 52 of the games he played in his career). Bourne combined with Kupp for FCS records for combined career catches (639) and combined career yards (9,594). Bourne had 211 career receptions for 3,130 yards and 27 touchdowns, and finished his career ranked in the top seven in all three categories in school history. Bourne's touchdowns and receptions are both seventh all-time in school history, and he finished fifth in yards.
 
He had 11 performances with at least 100 yards receiving with six of them coming in his senior season. In five career games in the FCS Playoffs, he had 24 catches for 348 yards and a TD. In his four seasons playing for Eastern, the Eagles won 41 games overall and were 28-4 in the Big Sky Conference. As a senior in 2016, Bourne was selected to the Hero Sports All-America third team and the Big Sky Conference coaches selected him as a second team All-Big Sky selection. He started 13 games at wide receiver, and finished with 79 catches for 1,201 yards and seven touchdowns. His catches were the 11th-most in school history and his yards rank 13th.