Editor's Note: Troy Polamalu will be officially inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame during the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 10 in New York City.

Troy Polamalu
University of Southern California
Defensive Back, 1999-2002

• Named a two-time First Team All-American, earning consensus honors in 2002.
• Named a finalist for the Thorpe Award as a senior.
• Led Trojans to two bowl berths and a share of the 2002 Pac-10 title.
• Played for coaches Paul Hackett and Pete Carroll.
• Becomes the 32nd Trojan player inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Rocky Seto likes to say he never coached anyone better than he did when he was a graduate assistant. That is because Seto, who finished his USC playing career in 1998 and stayed on as a volunteer coach, worked the Trojan sidelines during Troy Polamalu's four years in Los Angeles.

"We worked pretty heavily on him, and he was headed toward probably Oregon State or Colorado," Seto said. "His uncle, Kennedy Polamalu [a longtime college and pro coach], made a call to one of our assistants: 'You've got to take a look at my nephew. He's in Oregon.' I think he was one of the last offers, and he turned out to be probably the best player in the class."

And one of the best in USC history. Polamalu is the 32nd former Trojans player to make the College Football Hall of Fame, as the two-time First Team All-American (including consensus honors in 2002) left his mark across Southern California, the Pac-10 and the nation with a hard-hitting, turbocharged style that became an inspiration for a generation of safeties.

Polamalu was part of the infancy of the Pete Carroll era, helping lead USC in 2002 to its first 11-win season since 1979 and a No. 4 national ranking, laying the groundwork for the Trojans dynasty to come. He was a two-time captain, a team MVP and twice led the Trojans in interceptions. Polamalu made the Pac-12 All-Century Team as well.

"The biggest thing about him is what you see," said current USC defensive backs coach Greg Burns, who coached Trojans defensive backs from 2002-05 as well. "He's quiet, he's beyond humble and he was an outstanding player. But how he carried himself off the field — he was passionate about his religion and faith, just a quiet kid. So, it was two different people, so to speak. On the field everyone sees him as that aggressive, physical player, which he is. But off the field he'll whisper, like: 'Hi, how are you doing?' So a good role model, a good person. Very simple."

Burns added: "What I've taken from Troy is not telling a player he can't do it, but saying: 'OK, I know this cookie-cutter technique is what we're teaching you, but if you create your style and still do it, I'm all for it.' That, I think if anything, is what he opened my eyes to, so that I don't hold back someone who has special talents."

Seto, who is now a pastor, recalls watching Polamalu make a strip-sack-and-score during his first fall camp and thinking that there was something just different about the aggression with which the true freshman played.

"This guy was phenomenal," Seto said. "What I thought about him is that he played really fast. He trusted his instincts. That's what I remember about the player. As a person, he was very well respected by teammates, because he was kind and gentle to his teammates. He never liked to draw attention to himself; however, his play drew a lot of attention to himself."

The 16th pick by the Steelers in 2003, Polamalu spent his 12-year career in Pittsburgh, winning two Super Bowls, notching one defensive player of the year honor and making eight Pro Bowls. He and his wife set up the Troy & Theodora Polamalu Foundation, raising millions for charity, and he supports the Fa'a Samoa Initiative.

"I was fortunate to be able to work with him for one year," Burns said. "At that time, he understood the system, and we gave him the opportunity to freelance a little bit because he understood the system really well. A lot of things you saw in the NFL, he has a knack [for] and he has unbelievable instincts, so just let him use it."