Best USC football players: Modern-era Mount Rushmore

Troy Polamalu is set to join the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020 after a tremendous career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a dominant and patrolling force in the Steel City for many years and became a star at the professional level. Before he donned the black and gold, however, Polamalu was the same type of dynamic force on the back end of the Trojans defense.

During his time suiting up for USC football, Polamalu was all over the field by design. Whether it was at safety, linebacker or a roaming hybrid, he was a versatile chess piece that had opposing offenses shaking in fear no matter where he lined up. He was simply dominant in every facet of the game.

Polamalu forced plenty of turnovers throughout his career, notching six interceptions while at USC, returning three of them for touchdowns. However, his overall impact wasn’t totally measured by that. When you look at the way offenses simply avoided him, you see just how simply devastating of a force he was.

While he will be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019 and rightfully so. Polamalu is a unique defensive standout who earned All-American honors in the 2002 season and undeniably left a lasting mark on USC and the college football world at large.