Pac-12 All-Century Team

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of  what is now known as the Pac-12 Conference the Pac-12 Networks announced an all-time team. The best players from a conference that started out as the Pacific Coast Conference with California, Washington, Washington State, Oregon, and Oregon State to a conference that now numbers a dozen schools and two divisions. It's a conference with a rich football history.

125 players and 10 head coaches were selected by a panel of former players, coaches, and media members. Voting to select the very best of those players and coaches took place during this past football season. Each week of the season a new position group was released and voting was opened. The Pac-12 All-Century Team was announced on the Pac-12 Networks on December 1. The episode presenting this team will be repeated over the coming weeks. If you have Directv you have no shot at seeing the program since Directv still doesn't carry those channels due to the fact that AT&T (Directv's new owners) is run by a pack of idiots.

Stanford quarterback John Elway was named the Offensive Player of the Century.

USC defensive back Ronnie Lott was named the Defensive Player of the Century.

Here are the starters of the Pac-12 All-Century Team

Quarterback
John Elway, Stanford

Running backs
Marcus Allen, USC
O.J. Simpson, USC

Wide receivers
Keyshwan Johnson, USC
Lynn Swann, USC

Tight end
Tony Gonzalez, Cal

Offensive line
Jonathan Ogden, UCLA
Ron Yary, USC
Tony Boselli, USC
Anthony Munoz, USC
Lincoln Kennedy, Washington

Defensive ends
Tedy Bruschi, Arizona
Terrell Suggs, Arizona State

Defensive tackles
Steve Emtman, Washington
Haloti Ngata, Oregon

Linebackers
Junior Seau, USC
Jerry Robinson, UCLA
Ricky Hunley, Arizona

Cornerbacks
Joey Browner, USC
Mel Renfro, Oregon

Safeties
Ronnie Lott, USC
Kenny Easley, UCLA

Kicker
Jason Hanson, Washington State

Punter
Tom Hackett, Utah

Returner
Reggie Bush, USC

Head Coach
John McKay, USC

It's really no surprise that USC dominates this team. The school has dominated the play on the football field for the latter half of the conference's 100 years. 12 of the 26 spots go to Trojans.

Having only one Cal player is a disappointment. Their best years were the Andy Smith years just after the formation of the Pacific Coast Conference. An argument could be made for running back Chuck Muncie and offensive lineman/linebacker Les Richter joining Tony Gonzalez as Golden Bears on this team.

The only problem that I have with this team is the offensive linemen. All five players are tackles. There's no doubt that they are all fantastic offensive tackles. Ogden and Munoz are among the best to have ever played the position no matter the conference. The offensive line is made up of three very different positions should have broken up into those respective positions. They broke up the defensive line and backs. Going with an all tackle offensive line leaves out deserving linemen like Mel Hein, Randall McDaniel, Alex Mack, Les Richter. In my opinion the Pac-12 All-Century offensive line should look like this:

Offensive tackles
Jonathan Ogden, UCLA
Anthony Munoz, USC

Offensive guards
Randall McDaniel, Arizona State
Les Richter, Cal

Center
Mel Hein

The defensive back talent in Los Angeles in the late 1970s and early 1980s was ridiculous. Ronnie Lott, Kenny Easley, and Joey Browner made this team. Dennis Thurman, Dennis Smith, and Tim McDonald might have if those other guys weren't involved. Lott, Browner, and Smith played together for two years. There wasn't much room to throw on those Trojans teams.

It's not really a surprise that no player that played before the 1960s made this team. There just aren't enough people that saw those pre-1960s players play. Coach John McKay joined USC in 1960. Mel Renfro played cornerback at Oregon from 1961-63. Those are the oldest selections. It's sad that all-time football greats like Ernie Nevers and Mel Hein are fading from our view. Those two deserve a spot on this team. Pop Warner called Nevers "the player without a fault." Warner had also coached Jim Thorpe. Hein was such a great football player that he once won the NFL's MVP award as a center.

Happy 100th Pac-12 Conference. And congratulations to the All-Century Football Team.