At a time when the glory days have seemed to pass Southern Cal’s football program by, Trojans fans can take some comfort in the fact that the great players who used to play for USC are still playing in the NFL.
Not much, but some.
Via the NFL, Southern Cal led all Week One rosters with 40 former players. Next was LSU with 39, then Miami with 38.
Georgia had 36, and Florida State and Texas were knotted at 31. Alabama, which has become the ultimate NFL Minor League team in recent years, had only 30 NFL players as of Week One. That’s the same number as Cal and Tennessee. Oregon and Ohio State had 27, and Florida had 26.
As if there was any doubt, college football continues to separate the wheat from the chaff for NFL teams, grooming players for at least three years out of high school, at no cost to the NFL.
Of course, there’s also no profit for the NFL. But imagine how much more profit the NFL could earn if it didn’t have to pay the players.