SEC Network football analyst Cole Cubelic was curious earlier in May. He wondered who is the best football player USC has produced. Ron Yary might not be No. 1 on your list, but give him this much: He has done something unique in USC football history.
USC has six No. 1 NFL draft picks in its history. Four of them never made the Super Bowl: OJ Simpson, Ricky Bell, Carson Palmer, and (so far) Caleb Williams. Ron Yary and Keyshawn Johnson are the only two USC Trojans to be No. 1 NFL draft picks and reach the Super Bowl. Both men won the Rose Bowl, too. Yary won the 1968 game while Keyshawn won the 1996 Granddaddy. Keyshawn did win the Super Bowl, so that makes the elite receiver unique among all USC football players. Yary did not win the Super Bowl, but he did win the 1967 national championship as a Trojan. Keyshawn never did win a national title at USC.
There you have it: Ron Yary is the only USC football player to be a No. 1 NFL draft pick, win the national championship, win the Rose Bowl, and make the Super Bowl.
What adds to Ron Yary’s greatness: He helped the Minnesota Vikings reach the Super Bowl in his second season with the team (1969). Yary helped the Vikings make four Super Bowls when he played for them. Since Yary’s career with the Vikings ended in 1981, the franchise has never been back to the big game. Ron Yary has a case to make as being one of the five most important Minnesota Vikings players of all time, in addition to being a national champion, Rose Bowl champion, and No. 1 draft pick. As a point of comparison, Anthony Munoz is very probably the greatest Cincinnati Bengals player of all time … but “only” a No. 3 NFL draft pick.
When considering Ron Yary’s achievements at USC and in the NFL, his body of work is enormously impressive, so much so that it’s worthy of being compared with the other elite football players in USC history.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC’s best – Ron Yary is the only Trojan to check four specific boxes
Reporting by Matt Zemek, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
