The former national championship-winning USC football coach would use The Coliseum as part of his recruiting pitch.

Pete Carroll, as former USC quarterback Mark Sanchez shared recently, would put together a scrimmage under the lights at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum when recruits were in town, showing off the stadium and gushing over its history. It was a history, Carroll would tell recruits, they could help further.

That stuck with Sanchez, who would go on to play for the Trojans from 2005-08.

“Walking down the tunnel I would always put my hand against the stone wall as I walked through,” Sanchez said during an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. “In a way, I was trying to channel all the greatness that has been in that stadium because Coach Carroll would preach that to us.

“He would take us there at night on our visit. We played football with all the recruits that were on their weekend visit. We’d literally play a football game in The Coliseum at night and he’d light up the torch and bring everybody in tight and be like, ‘Do you realize what’s gone on here? Olympics. The Pope has spoken here. There is greatness that’s on this field right here where you’re standing and you’re gonna be a chapter in that. You get to have a part of this rich history, this rich tradition that is the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.’

“It’s big time and you feel it. Coach Carroll’s big thing was, ‘We’re gonna let ’em in the tunnel. We’re gonna lock the damn door and they don’t get to leave until we beat their ass.’ He took it personal. Like, ‘This is our home. You don’t mess with our spot.’”

Carroll won back-to-back national championships at USC in 2003 and 2004. In nine seasons at the helm of the program, he went 97-19.

You can see Sanchez’s comments below: