Gold: Picking the All-Pac-12 All-Super Bowl team
The Pac-12 may not have had much College Football Playoff or national title success over the past 6 decades.
But the league has certainly provided plenty of Super Bowl talent.
Here’s a look at the greatest Super Bowl champions to come from out west …
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Troy Aikman, UCLA
With all due respect to Stanford legends John Elway and Jim Plunkett, Aikman went 3-0 in Super Bowls for the Cowboys, 1 of the best records for a starting quarterback in the history of the Big Game. Aikman finished his Super Bowl career with 689 passing yards and 5 touchdowns with 1 interception.
Honorable mention: Elway, Stanford; Plunkett, Stanford
Running back — Marcus Allen, USC
Other running backs won more titles than Allen, but he had 1 of the Super Bowl’s iconic games and that’s reason enough for his entry on this list. Allen rushed for a then-Super Bowl-record 191 yards and 2 touchdowns, including an iconic 74-yard scoring run, in Super Bowl XVIII.
Honorable mention: Marshawn Lynch, California
Wide receiver — Lynn Swann, USC
A member of perhaps the best draft class in NFL history — he joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as a 1st-round pick in 1974 along with Hall of Famers Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, Mike Webster and Donnie Shell — Swann helped lead the team to 4 championships from 1974-79. When he retired, Swann had the Super Bowl record with 364 receiving yards and 398 all-purpose yards.
Wide receiver — Mike Wilson, Washington State
Originally a 9th-round pick by Dallas and a member of the practice squad as a rookie, Wilson joined San Francisco in 1981 and remained with the team during its dynasty years. The former Cougar won 4 Super Bowls with the 49ers as a starting and rotational wide receiver and tight end.
Wide receiver — Cliff Branch, Colorado
Branch helped lead the Oakland and then Los Angeles Raiders to wins in Super Bowls XI, XV and XVIII. One of Al Davis’ favorite Raiders, Branch had 14 grabs, 181 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Honorable mention: Keyshawn Johnson, USC
Tight end — Rob Gronkowski, Arizona
Gronk’s legend was solidified in 5 Super Bowl appearances in a decade of dominance. Gronk went 3-2 and caught 29 passes for 364 yards and 5 touchdowns, 2nd behind Jerry Rice in all 3 categories.
Honorable mention: Marv Fleming, Utah
Offensive tackle — Bruce Davis, UCLA
Davis was a star offensive lineman for UCLA after beginning his Bruin career as a defensive tackle. He blossomed with the Raiders, winning 2 Super Bowls with the franchise, including Super Bowl XVIII, when he helped pave the way for Marcus Allen’s big day.
Offensived guard — Randy Cross, UCLA
An All-American for the Bruins who became a 2nd-round pick of the 49ers in 1976, Cross won 3 Super Bowls with the team, retiring after winning Super Bowl XXIII. A 3-time Pro Bowler, Cross would go on to a prolific career as a broadcaster.
Center — Dave Dalby, UCLA
The 3rd straight Bruin on this list is a reminder of UCLA’s halcyon days up front. Dalby replaced the legendary Jim Otto as starting center for the Raiders in 1974, and he’d help the team to 3 titles in the next decade, when he remained starting center.
Offensive guard — Gerry Mullins, USC
A 4-time Super Bowl champion, Mullins was a fixture for the Steelers during their 1970s heyday. While never a Pro Bowler, he was named to the Steelers’ 50th anniversary team.
Honorable mention: Kevin Gogan, Washington
Offensive tackle — Gary Zimmerman, Oregon
Talk about going out on top. Zimmerman capped off an epic career — he is 1 of a select group of players to appear on both the NFL 1980s and 1990s All-Decade Team — with a Super Bowl XXXII win.
DEFENSE
Defensive end — Jim Jeffcoat, Arizona State
One of Dallas’ links between the lean years of the late 1980s and the success of the early and mid-1990s, Jeffcoat won back-to-back titles with the Cowboys in 1992 and ’93. He finished his career with more than 100 sacks despite never making a Pro Bowl.
Defensive tackle — Curley Culp, Arizona State
An All-American in 2 sports — he was the 1967 NCAA heavyweight champion — Culp went on to a terrific career, including a Super Bowl IV win with Kansas City. In a 13-year NFL career, he was a 6-time Pro Bowler and was named 1st-team All-Pro once and was a 2nd-team pick 4 times.
Defensive tackle — Haloti Ngata, Oregon
Ngata was 1 of the most highly regarded recruits in his high school class, and he did not disappoint for the Ducks. After being drafted 12th overall by Baltimore in 2006, he helped lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl XLVII win in a career that included 5 Pro Bowls.
Defensive end — Alfred Williams, Colorado
The 1990 Butkus Award winner and 2-time consensus All-American with Colorado, Williams’ pro career got off to a rather slow start. But he sure picked it up late in his career. After returning to the Mile High State with Denver in 1996, he helped the Broncos win back-to-back titles in 1997 and ’98.
Linebacker — Ken Norton Jr., UCLA
There’s hardware, and then there’s hardware. Norton is a 3-time champion (Super Bowls XXVII, XXVII, XXIX), a 3-time Pro Bowler, a 2-time All-Pro and a Super Bowl winner as a coach for the Seahawks in 2013.
Linebacker — Loren Toews, California
An 8th-round pick by the Steelers, Toews played and won 4 Super Bowls alongside Jack Lambert and Co. Towes retired in 1983 with 1 career playoff sack and 1 career playoff interception. But you can’t argue with 4 titles.
Linebacker — Willie McGinest, USC
Three Super Bowl wins and 2 Pro Bowl selections was enough to put McGinest on the Patriots Team of the Decade for the 1990s and 2000s. He’s also a member of their Hall of Fame with 86 career sacks.
Cornerback — Ronnie Lott, USC
Lott is 1 of the great defenders of all-time and the anchor of the San Francisco defense for its 4 Super Bowls from 1981-89. An 8-time 1st-team All-Pro, Lott simply redefined the role of hybrid defensive back, having starred as both a cornerback and a safety.
Safety — Patrick Chung, Oregon
Chung was a 3-time Super Bowl winner with the Patriots during a career that lasted a dozen years. Chung advanced to 5 Super Bowls but exited 2 with injuries.
Safety — Darren Woodson, Arizona State
Are we sensing a pattern here? So many of these players won multiple titles with the same teams, including Woodson’s 3 titles with Dallas. He has gone down as 1 of the great defenders of the past 3 decades, with 23 career interceptions and more than 850 career tackles.
Honorable mention: Troy Polamalu, USC
Cornerback — Richard Sherman, Stanford
A 2-time Super Bowl competitor, Sherman was arguably the spiritual leader of the Legion of Boom defense. He arguably should’ve won 2 titles if not for Pete Carroll’s decision not to hand it off to Marshawn Lynch.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker — Ray Wersching, California
Wersching was just the 12th NFL player to eclipse 1,000 career points, but he saved his best for the biggest platform. He tied a Super Bowl record with 4 field goals in Super Bowl XVI and finished his 49ers career as the team record-holder for points, field goals and extra points.
Punter — Tom Rouen, Colorado
Rouen joined the Broncos in 1993 and served as their punter for a decade, including Super Bowl wins in 1997 and ’98. He was named to 1 All-Pro team in 1994.
Special-teamer — Matthew Slater, UCLA
A 10-time Pro Bowler and 3-time champion as a gunner for the Patriots, the UCLA product might just be headed to the Hall of Fame. He’ll end his career as 1 of the great special-teamers of all-time.