Polamalu, fellow USC alums to be honored
Retired NFL great will take the field with other Hall of Fame inductees at halftime.
It isn’t often that Troy Polamalu returns to USC, but this weekend he has good reason to do so.
Polamalu, a fixture on the Trojans football team who went on to a legendary career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, is among 18 new inductees to the USC Hall of Fame. That group will be honored Saturday at halftime of USC’s game against Arizona at the Coliseum.
“We have a family legacy at SC,” said Polamalu, whose uncle, Kennedy Polamalu, and brother-in-law, Alex Holmes, also played for the school. “We have a big love and affinity for the university, so it will be really nice to come back and reestablish some old ties that I had here.”
Polamalu, who lives in Pittsburgh with his wife and their two young sons, was among the best playmaking safeties in the game. At USC, he was twice an All-America first-teamer, recording 281 tackles with six interceptions in a career that spanned 1999 to 2002.
Famous for the flowing black hair that spilled out of the back of his helmet, he was named to the Pac-12 all-century team and was a firstround pick of Pittsburgh, where he played 12 seasons before retiring in 2015.
He was the NFL’s defensive player of the year in 2010, was named to eight Pro Bowls, and figures to be a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection when he is eligible in 2020.
Among the others who will be inducted to USC’s Hall of Fame class are Wayne Black (tennis), Chris Claiborne (football), Sam Clancy (basketball), Kim Clark Jennings (soccer/basketball), Mike Gillespie (baseball coach/player), Ous Mellouli (swimming), Mikaela Parmlid (golf ), April Ross (volleyball), Felix Sanchez (track and field), Rod Sherman (football), Kevin Stadler (golf), Tim Tessalone (media), Charlie Weaver (football), Lauren Wenger Trapani (water polo) and Barry Zito (baseball).
Also being honored with Spirit Awards are former USC football player and administrator J.K. McKay, and Traveler, the horse that appears at every home football game.