With such an outstanding football heritage, it’s no surprise that USC usually has more players in the pros than any other school.

At the start of training camp this summer, there were 41 ex-Trojans on National Football League rosters, including 7 rookies. In fact, USC players were on the rosters of 21 of the NFL’s 32 teams.

Overall, USC has produced 436 NFL draft picks (plus 28 by the AFL before it merged with the NFL) and 408 players who since 1920 played in the NFL (or its sister leagues, the AFL or All-America Football Conference).

USC has had three of the most highly drafted classes in college football history. The 1953 class (following the 1952 season) had 15 players drafted while both the 1975 and 1977 classes had 14 players selected. USC has had more first round NFL draft picks (67) than any school (Ohio State is next with 63).  USC had more players selected in the 2006 draft (11) than any school.  USC had the most picks of any school in the 1990 NFL draft, with 10. USC's 12 first round picks in the 1990s tied for third most in the nation with Tennessee (behind Ohio State's 15 and Florida State's 13);  8 of those Trojan first rounders were selected in the Top 10.  In the decade of the 1980s, Troy had more first round picks than any school (16).  USC's 5 first round picks in the 1968 draft was an NFL record that lasted 36 years.  USC is tied with Notre Dame  for most players (5) selected as the top pick of the NFL draft (Ron Yary in 1968, O.J. Simpson in 1969, Ricky Bell in 1977, Keyshawn Johnson in 1996 and Carson Palmer in 2003).  USC is the only school to have the No. 1 pick for 2 consecutive years (Yary and Simpson).

The Pete Carroll era has proven to be no exception. Thusfar throughout Coach Carroll's career at USC, there have been a total of 32 Trojans drafted into the NFL.