Junior Seau's brief, ferocious career at USC is recalled

Junior Seau's brief, ferocious career at USC is recalled

Junior Seau's career at USC was like his life: remarkable but too short.

Seau delivered too many hits to call him a one-hit collegiate wonder, yet he somehow forged a lasting legacy in only a few short, brilliant bursts.

• Chris Dufresne
• E-mail | Recent columns
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In 1989, he ransacked opposing backfields with a ferocity and flair that transcended football generations.

"I tapped Juniors picture every single day before heading out to practice at USC," former Trojans linebacker Brian Cushing â€" born in 1987 â€" tweeted after learning of Seau's death Wednesday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.

In terms of impact in a time frame, Seau was like a basketball one-and-done. Think of freshman Carmelo Anthony driving Syracuse to a national championship or, more recently, Kentucky's Anthony Davis.

Seau's year to remember was his junior season.

"He was good as a sophomore," teammate John Jackson recalled Thursday, "and off the charts as a junior."

There had been little inkling to that point, despite Seau's being on campus for two years. He sat out his first year because he was academically ineligible under the NCAA entrance rule Proposition 48.

Seau considered himself an outcast, saying, "The weight room was my world. No one ever wanted to be associated with a Prop. 48 at USC."

The next season, 1988, Seau didn't start a game, though he played enough to finish with 35 tackles and four sacks.

If Seau's time was coming, few knew it. In August 1989, when The Times reported USC's depth chart, the only reference to him was: "The outside linebackers will be Junior Seau and Michael Williams."

Soon, though, it was if John Facenda had taken over the narration, "the autumn wind is a Trojan."

Former teammate Brad Leggett said changes in the defense allowed Seau "to be turned loose."

Seau started with seven tackles in an opening loss to Illinois. By late October, he was a scourge. He played four positions in a 19-0 victory over Stanford, registering three sacks.

Teammate Tim Ryan said after the game, "I don't think anyone in the country can block Junior Seau one up."

Seau's performance in a 24-3 win at Arizona in November remains the pinnacle pivot point.

Seau had only one sack, but he recorded five unassisted tackles for minus-23 yards while almost single-handedly shutting down Arizona's offense.

"He was an animal," recalled Jackson, a former USC receiver. "That game, they couldn't do anything. It was comedy because they couldn't run a play. He one-man-showed it."

Arizona Coach Dick Tomey said of Seau afterward: "He's the best player I've ever been on the field against as a coach."