Before he was a Steelers killer and general terror throughout the NFL for the New England Patriots, Rob Gronkowski made a lasting impression in his only year at Woodland Hills High School.

“Rob came in in August going into his senior year and his dad walked into the office and said they were transferring to Woodland Hills,’’ said George Novak, the longtime Wolverines coach now retired. “I was shocked; I thought he was a college player.”

The player who would become known simply as Gronk, now at 6-feet-6, 268 pounds, has helped the Patriots to their ninth Super Bowl appearance in 18 years. This will be his fourth – a fifth spent on injured reserve.

That’s a lot of gold-painted footballs the NFL has sent to Woodland Hills – the league sends one to the high school of each Super Bowl participant – and the school proudly displays them, along with others such as those representing Ryan Mundy of the Steelers, Steve Breaston of the Arizona Cardinals and Lousaka Polite of the Patriots.

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