O'Callaghan, Britt have a lot in reserve

Backup tackle Ryan O'Callaghan is hoping to get a Super Bowl ring the old-fashioned way - by earning it on the field. (Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff)

GLENDALE, Ariz. - The idea they would be playing in their first Super Bowl didn't hit them until the cascade of confetti from the AFC Championship celebration landed on Ryan O'Callaghan and Wesley Britt like a ton of bricks.

The second-year reserve offensive linemen were struck by the magnitude of the Patriots' 21-12 victory over the San Diego Chargers.

"I was just taking it all in, even then," O'Callaghan said.

"I got my hopes up so high last year, and not to go was such a disappointment," Britt said, referring to the Patriots' setback to the Indianapolis Colts in last year's AFC Championship game. "I guess any loss would be a disappointment, but at that stage [of the season], it really was."

So, when the confetti rained down, they fully grasped all that would be at stake - the culmination of a perfect 19-0 season and the team's fourth Super Bowl title in seven years.

While they spent much of last week standing on the periphery of the spotlight, O'Callaghan and Britt played prominent roles in the Patriots' 38-35 victory over the Giants in the Dec. 29 regular-season finale at the Meadowlands.

"It kind of makes it even more special for me, because I started against the Giants last time we played them," O'Callaghan said.

For much of that game, O'Callaghan, a 6-foot-7-inch, 330-pound tackle from Redding, Calif., and Britt, a 6-8, 320-pounder from Cullman, Ala., combined forces on the right side of the offensive line and helped blunt the NFL's top-rated pass rush in a game in which the Patriots threw 42 times and allowed just one sack.

O'Callaghan made his first career start for injured right tackle Nick Kaczur and Britt was used primarily as an added blocker, and was deployed as an eligible tight end.

"I've really got a newfound respect for the receivers and tight ends who have to run in and out of the game," said Britt, who did so about a half-dozen times to check in with the referee as an eligible receiver. "That's a good 50-yard sprint. And you have to do it on a consistent basis - in and out - plus I had to go report before the play, so I had to get out there extra quick and go, 'No. 65, checking in eligible.' "

Did either player have any inkling he'd see the Giants again down the road?

"I did, especially after that game," said O'Callaghan. "I knew that momentum's huge and the way they played against us, they were going to make it pretty far in the playoffs. The way they've been playing, winning 10 in a row on the road, not making many mistakes, they were very deserving."

Said Britt, "They were a great team and it was a very physical game and they loved to hit; they brought the wood on every play. It was a fun game to play in."

He spent much of the night tangling with Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan.

"I helped with Umenyiora a couple of times but mainly it was Strahan," Britt said. "He is a great player. He's very elusive and he's a great combination of speed, power, and strength."

O'Callaghan went to three bowl games (Insight, Holiday, and Las Vegas) during his four years at California and Britt went to two (Independence and Music City) during his four years at Alabama, but nothing could have prepared them for their first trip to the Super Bowl.

Although the media focused much of its attention on their high-profile teammates, Britt and O'Callaghan were happy to soak up whatever attention came their way during Media Day last Tuesday at University of Phoenix Stadium.

"I didn't get the regular questions," Britt said. "I got stuff off the beaten path - from Country Music Television, Access Hollywood."

What about Miss TV Azteca, Ines Gomez Monteclaro, who showed up wearing a wedding dress and proposed to Tom Brady? "Yup, yup, did an interview with her," Britt said. "That was kind of odd. She asked me if she could get up on my shoulders so she could ask Tom to marry her. I said, 'No, thanks.' I don't think my fiancée would appreciate it."

O'Callaghan was interviewed by country singer Kellie Pickler, who was working for "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Extra."

"I think I had one reporter actually ask me a serious question," O'Callaghan said. "I was asked to rank the top five leaders on the team. I said Brady, [Tedy] Bruschi, [Kevin] Faulk, [Junior] Seau, and [Richard] Seymour." In that order? "No. I went Brady, Seau, Bruschi, Faulk, and Seymour," he said.

"I think a lot of guys realize that you're not only playing for yourself, you're playing for guys like Seau, who played 18 years in the NFL and haven't won the Super Bowl," O'Callaghan said. "Last year we got close, and this year we're here and we understand how fortunate we are.

"I'm the kind of guy who [wants to feel] like I actually earned the ring," O'Callaghan said. "That would be something special, even if it's only being on field goal teams and playing backup tackle. I'd like to be running out there because then it makes it special. I just don't want the ring because I was on the team, you know?

"I want to contribute."

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.