ESPN’s latest look at college football’s all-time greats put a familiar USC name at the top of the list for No. 42: Ronnie Lott.
The network’s college football writers recently picked the greatest player ever to wear each number, and for 42 they landed on the Hall of Fame safety who made life miserable for opposing offenses in cardinal and gold.
“It is safe to say offensive players did everything in their power to stay away from Lott, one of the fiercest defensive players in football history -- in both pro and college,” ESPN wrote. “A sure-handed tackler and one of the smartest players on the field, Lott helped the Trojans win the 1978 national title and two Rose Bowls.
In his senior year, he led the country in interceptions. He had 14 picks during his college career.
He went on to have a Hall of Fame pro career with the San Francisco 49ers.”
Lott’s USC résumé is packed with the kind of hardware that makes this choice easy to understand. He was part of the Trojans’ 1978 national championship team and earned Unanimous All-American honors in 1980.
His football legacy didn’t stop in college. Lott went on to a decorated NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers, collecting ten Pro Bowls and four Super Bowl championships. He’s enshrined in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame, and he remains one of the most respected safeties the sport has ever seen.
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