25 best Pac-12 football players of the last 25 years

22. David DeCastro, OL, Stanford

Stanford’s run of incredible success was built behind players like DeCastro, who helped the Cardinal physically overwhelm opponents at the line of scrimmage as one of the Pac-12’s best offensive lineman of the 21st century.

DeCastro played high school football for powerhouse Bellevue in the Seattle area, but was only rated as a three-star recruit and didn’t receive offers from many teams outside of the Rather than stay at home to play for Washington, DeCastro accepted an offer from Stanford, which was entering the second year of the Jim Harbaugh era.

The Cardinal moved DeCastro from center to right guard, where he immediately thrived as a freshman All-American. After another strong season in 2010, DeCastro was named a unanimous first-team All-American as a junior and helped Stanford build one of the most productive offenses in the nation.

Stanford won a school record 12 games in 2010, including a triumph in the Orange Bowl, followed by an 11-2 campaign in DeCastro’s final year. DeCastro was the key piece in protecting star quarterback Andrew Luck, while Stanford became known for controlling the line of scrimmage with a dominant power run game.

After forgoing his senior season, DeCastro was selected 24th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers and was named a first-team All-Pro in 2015.