The University of Southern California Trojans football team has produced the second-highest number of NFL players among universities, as well as the second-most Hall of Famers and the most active players on NFL rosters.
Needless to say, USC is a football factory. But what if one were to compile the greatest players to come out of USC and put them on a field? This is what the team would look like:
All-Time USC NFL Team: Offense
Quarterback – Carson Palmer
With all the success USC quarterbacks have in college, they just can’t seem to figure it out in the pros. Matt Leinart and Mark Sanchez come to mind, as does Matt Barkley. Palmer, though, has at least achieved some level of success at the NFL level to compliment his 2002 Heisman, and his career might have been much different had he not blown out his knee in the 2006 playoffs.
Running Back – O.J. Simpson
O.J. had plenty of Juice as a Trojan, winning the 1968 Heisman Trophy, and later in Buffalo, where he recorded the first 2,000 yard rushing season in NFL history. He also made the NFL’s 75th anniversary all-time team and was named first team all-pro five consecutive years.
Running Back – Marcus Allen
Allen serves as a perfect compliment to O.J. While the Juice was primarily a one-dimensional back, Allen could do everything out of the backfield. He was also a touchdown machine, scoring 57 times in his first four years in the NFL. And like Simpson, Allen was also the first running back to eclipse 2,000 yards rushing – in the collegiate ranks.
Wide Receiver – Frank Gifford
The Giffer was technicaly a running back, but he gained almost 2,000 more yards through the air than on the ground over his career, so I count him as a wideout. He made eight Pro Bowls and was named first team all-pro four times.
Wide Receiver – Lynn Swann
How’s a guy who never topped 900 receiving yards in a season and was out of the league by age 30 on an all-time team? Hardware, that’s why. Rings might not be quite the defining factor for wide receivers as it is for quarterbacks, but Swann was a defining factor in Super Bowl X, making two unbelievable catches to help Pittsburgh win their second of four championships.
Tight End – Charle Young
No, that’s not a typo for Charles or Charley. Charle Young was the sixth overall pick of the 1973 NFL draft, fresh off leading USC to a national championship. He made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons in the league, and though he didn’t do much beyond that, he remains the Trojans’ best tight end in history.
Offensive Tackle – Anthony Muñoz
Often regarded as the greatest tackle in NFL history, Muñoz owned the 1980s. In one ten-year stretch, he was named first team all-pro nine times and served as a cornerstone for two Super Bowl teams.
Offensive Tackle – Ron Yary
The first overall pick in the 1968 NFL Draft, Yary was a stalwart right tackle for the great Minnesota Vikings teams of the 1970s. He made six straight all-pro teams and played in four Super Bowls.
Offensive Guard – Bruce Matthews
One of the true iron men in the NFL’s history, Bruce is the greatest of the Matthews football family. He never missed a game and even made the all-pro team at age 39. Arguably the greatest interior lineman the NFL has seen.
Offensive Guard – Ron Mix
He was primarily a right tackle, but Mix also played guard at the professional level. In nine of the ten years of the American Football League’s existence, Mix was named first team all-pro.
Center – Ryan Kalil
Five years ago, I’d have put Don Mosebar as the starting center for this team. But Kalil is now the highest-paid center in NFL history, and deservedly so. He is the final piece of an unbelievably talented offensive line.
Main Photo:
