Countdown to kickoff is again! USC will kick off its 2026 football season on August 29 when the Trojans host San Jose State on the Coliseum. In this collection, we might be counting down the times till the season opener by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore every quantity.
Today, we take a look at USC Hall of Fame operating again Sam Cunningham.
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Position: Running again
Years performed at USC: 1970-1972
Career highlights: Cunningham starred at fullback for John McKay’s USC groups of the early Nineteen Seventies. As a senior in 1972, he earned first-team All-American honors. In the 1973 Rose Bowl in opposition to Ohio State, Cunningham scored 4 touchdowns, clinching an undefeated season and a nationwide championship for the Trojans.
Perhaps Cunningham’s greatest, influence, although, got here within the 1970 recreation between USC and Alabama. At the time, the Crimson Tide nonetheless didn’t have any African American gamers on their workforce. Getting dominated 42-21 by Cunningham and the built-in Trojans, nonetheless, prompted legendary Alabama head coach Bear Bryant to change that the next 12 months, without end altering the course of school soccer.
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In 2010, Cunningham was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He can also be a member of the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame and the USC Athletics Hall of Fame.
After USC: The New England Patriots chosen Cunningham with the eleventh total choose within the 1973 NFL Draft. He would go on to play for the workforce from 1973-1982, incomes Pro Bowl honors in 1978. In 2010, he was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
Cunningham handed away in 2021 on the age of 71.
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This article initially appeared on Trojans Wire: USC countdown to kickoff: Recalling Trojans RB Sam Cunningham