Ronnie Lott Receives Another Honor; History at the Coliseum

Ronnie Lott has been chosen as one of the safeties on CBS Sports All-Time All-American team, celebrating 150 years of college football. It should come as no surprise that Lott, whose name is on the annual Lott IMPACT Trophy, would receive yet another accolade in a long line of them. At USC, where he starred from 1977 to 1980, he was a consensus All-American and the acknowledged leader of a defense that helped propel the Trojans to a span of 28 games without a loss and the 1978 National Championship. One other Trojan made the first team – tackle Ron Yary while two USC offensive linemen – Anthony Munoz and Tony Boselli – were named to the second team. UCLA added another first-team offensive lineman – Jonathan Ogden. USC had two more honorable mention picks – wide receiver Lynn Swann and running back Reggie Bush (what, no Marcus Allen?).  While UCLA’s Kenny Easley was another honorable mention choice. Former Lott IMPACT Trophy winners David Pollack (Georgia), Manti Te’o (Notre Dame) and Luke Kuechly (Boston College) received honorable mention along with the great Merlin Olsen (Utah State), a keynote speaker at the Lott IMPACT Trophy one year. Hershel Walker of Georgia, one of the two running backs (along with Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State) was credited with being the only player to finish in the top three in Heisman voting three consecutive years.  Wrong.  Glenn Davis of Army was second, second and first in 1944-45-46.  Davis, along with Marcus Allen and Roger Staubach (Navy), who only got an honorable mention, were the clear omissions on the team, selected by CBS Sports writers and broadcasters. ****** Talk about a homecoming! At the Coliseum (the newly renovated Coliseum for $315 million), USC will open its season against Fresno State on Aug. 31. On the sideline for USC will be Equipment Manager Todd Hewitt, one of the most popular figures in the school’s athletic department. One the sideline for Fresno State will be Equipment Manager Josh Hewitt, Todd’s (and Kathy’s) son. But the matchup is more than two Hewitt’s dealing with helmets, pads and footballs, it’s also the home where Don Hewitt, Todd’s father and Josh’s grandfather, was the equipment manager for both USC and later the Rams – where Todd was his assistant before becoming the head man himself. And another Hewitt, Travis, is an assistant equipment manager for his Dad at USC. The Hewitt’s have always been so highly regarded that former Rams Coach John Robinson once said: “If everyone did their job as well as the Hewitt’s, we’d be undefeated.” Why isn’t someone like the LA Times doing a human-interest story on this??? – Pete Donovan