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2002 USC Trojans Football Team
The 2002 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. USC ended the regular season ranked #5 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. Trojans quarterback Carson Palmer won the 2002 Heisman Trophy as the best college football player in America. During the bowl games, USC had a convincing 38–17 win over #3 Iowa in the Orange Bowl. USC became #4 in the final AP Poll and Coaches' Poll. Other notable players for the USC Trojans in 2002 include WR#2 Kareem Kelly, RB#21 Malaefou Mackenzie, QB#10 Matt Cassel, RB#4 Sultan McCullough, RB#34 Hershel Dennis (FR) RB#25 Justin Fargas, RB#39 Sunny Byrd, RB#34 Chad Pierson, S#43 Troy Polamalu, WR#44 Gregg Guenther, TE#86 Dominique Byrd, WR#83 Keary Colbert, WR#1 Mike Williams, WR#7 Sandy Fletcher, WR#82 Donald Hale, TE#88 Doyal Butler, and WR#87 Grant Mattos. The team was named national champion by the Dunkel System, Matthews Grid Ratings, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pete Carroll
Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach for the NCAA's USC Trojans football, USC Trojans (2001–2009) and the NFL's New York Jets (1994), New England Patriots (1997–1999), and Seattle Seahawks (2010–2023). Carroll is the third head coach to win both a college football national championship and a Super Bowl along with Jimmy Johnson (American football coach), Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Beginning his coaching career on the NFL level, Carroll saw minimal success as head coach of the Jets and Patriots in the 1990s. Shifting to college football with USC, he revitalized the struggling program into a top-ranked contender, winning seven consecutive conference championships and an AP Trophy, AP national championship. He also won a BCS national championship at the 2005 Orange Bowl, although t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malaefou MacKenzie
Matthew Mark Maleafou Anesi MacKenzie (born July 24, 1979) is a Samoan Islands, Samoan former professional American football fullback (American football), fullback who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) in 2003. He played college football at USC Trojans football, USC and was selected by the Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL draft. Early life MacKenzie played high school football at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo, California. College career MacKenzie continued his career at the University of Southern California. Due to injury and personal hardships (death of a parent), the NCAA granted him a second Redshirt (college sports), redshirt year, allowing him to remain on the squad for a total of six years. Professional career Jacksonville Jaguars MacKenzie was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round, with the 218th overall pick, of the 2003 NFL draft. He played in one game for the Jaguars during the 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winston Justice
Winston Frederick Justice (born September 14, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft. Early life Justice attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California. College career Justice played college football at the University of Southern California. He was regarded as one of the best tackles to come out of USC. Justice blocked for three Heisman Trophy winners (quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, and running back Reggie Bush). Professional career Philadelphia Eagles Justice was selected in the second round with the 39th overall pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2006 NFL draft. However, the Eagles did consider using their first round draft pick on him. Many considered him a first round pick because of his athleticism and other abilit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manuel Wright
Manuel Wright (born April 13, 1984) is an American former professional football defensive tackle. He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2005 supplemental draft. Wright was also briefly signed to the Buffalo Bills and played for the New York Giants where he earned a Super Bowl ring in Super Bowl XLII. Early life Wright earned various team, local and national honors as a member of the football team at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California. As a junior in 2000, Wright recorded 95 tackles (57 solo) and with 25 sacks. As a senior, Wright was the team's defensive MVP after recording 142 tackles (60 solo), 16 sacks, four fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, 20 deflections and an interception. College career Wright originally signed with USC in 2002 but did not qualify for admission, so he attended Long Beach City College that season as a part-time student. He did not play football there. In 2003, Wright served as a backup for Def ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darnell Bing
Darnell Bing (born September 10, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL draft. He played college football for the USC Trojans. Bing was also a member of the San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, Detroit Lions, and Houston Texans. Early life Bing attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School. He was a part of a Poly team that had five players ranked in the top 100 in the nation according to Rivals.com: tight end Marcedes Lewis, offensive tackle Winston Justice, defensive tackle Manuel Wright, running back Hershel Dennis and himself. Bing was a member of the USC football team in college along with all of these high school teammates, except for Lewis who played for USC's crosstown archrival, UCLA. College career Bing played safety for the USC Trojans, and received permission from USC athletic director Mike Garrett (USC's 1965 Hei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sagarin Ratings
Jeff Sagarin (born 1948) is an American sports statistician known for his development of a Sports rating system, method for ranking and rating sports teams in a variety of sports. His Sagarin Ratings have been a regular feature in the ''USA Today'' sports section from 1985 to 2023, have been used by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Tournament Selection Committee to help determine the participants in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tournament since 1984, and were part of the college football Bowl Championship Series throughout its history from 1998 to 2014. Background Sagarin attended New Rochelle High School, earned a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970 and an M.B.A. from Indiana University School of Business in 1983. He grew up outside New York City in Westchester County in New Rochelle, New York. In 1977 he moved to Bloomington, Indiana. In 1986 he created the computer game ''Hoops (1986 vid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grant Mattos
Grant Logan Mattos (born March 12, 1981) is an American former professional National Football League (NFL) wide receiver and special teams player who played for three teams over a four-year career, and as a contestant on '' Survivor: Redemption Island'', the 22nd season of U.S. Survivor, where he finished in eighth place. High school and college career Mattos went to Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, California. He then played college football at the University of Southern California after transferring from Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California and graduated in 2003. In 2003, he was part of the team's Orange Bowl triumph. During his time at USC, he received high praise from teammate Carson Palmer, a future NFL star QB who said of Mattos: "Having a guy like Grant Mattos come in has been great, he's really gonna set the tone for the receivers. He's out there working harder than anyone on this team and he'll catch any ball, his hands are unbelievable. He's big a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Williams (wide Receiver, Born 1984)
Michael Troy Williams (born January 4, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, receiving consensus All-American honors in 2003. The Detroit Lions selected him in first round of the 2005 NFL draft, and he also played in the NFL for the Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Titans, and Seattle Seahawks. Early life Williams was born in Tampa, Florida. He attended Henry B. Plant High School in Tampa, and played both high school football and basketball for the Plant Panthers. As a sophomore, Williams made 28 receptions for 631 yards (22.5 avg.) and 10 touchdowns. During his junior year, Williams made the all-state Class 4A second-team while making 35 receptions for 803 yards (22.9 avg.) and 14 touchdowns. As a senior, Williams had 38 receptions for 789 yards (20.8 average reception) with 14 touchdowns. Williams' honors included Tom Lemming All-American, Super Prep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keary Colbert
Patrick Keary Jerel Colbert (born May 21, 1982) is an American professional football coach and former player who is the wide receivers coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Colbert played in the NFL as a wide receiver. Colbert played college football for the USC Trojans. He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the 2004 NFL draft. He also played for the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, Florida Tuskers, Sacramento Mountain Lions, and Kansas City Chiefs. Early life Colbert attended Hueneme High School in Oxnard, California, and was a letterman in football and track. He also lettered in basketball as a sophomore. Colbert also attended Sunkist Elementary and E.O. Green Junior High School. He played football as a youth for the Port Hueneme Rhinos. College career He attended University of Southern California, where he was a star wide receiver. In his final year at USC (2003), Colbert made an unbelievable catch wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dominique Byrd
Dominique Montiel Byrd (born February 7, 1984) is an American former professional football tight end. He was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the third round of the 2006 NFL draft. He played college football at Southern California. He was also a member of the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Redskins, and Sacramento Mountain Lions. Early life Following his high school career at Breck School in Golden Valley, Minnesota, Byrd played in the 2002 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. College career Byrd went to Southern California where he made a 2004 All-Pac-10 honorable mention, and was best known for catching two one-handed touchdown passes, one of which was in the Orange Bowl victory against University of Oklahoma. Professional career St. Louis Rams Byrd was taken in the third round of the 2006 NFL draft with the 93rd overall pick. He played 5 games in the 2006 season, catching 2 balls for 39 yards and one touchdown. Arizona Cardinals After spending the 2008 seaso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregg Guenther
Gregg Guenther Jr. (born January 29, 1982, in Calabasas, CA) is an American former professional football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cincinnati Bengals. College career Guenther played basketball and football at the University of Southern California. He played in 24 football games, starting 8 of them, during which he totaled 24 receptions for 206 yards and three touchdowns. He opted to not play football his senior year in order to concentrate on basketball. He played power forward and center for four years with the Trojans' basketball team and averaged 5.5 points and 4.4 rebounds a game. Professional career As a member of the Tennessee Titans, Guenther played under head coach Jeff Fisher, who attended the same high school (Taft in Woodland Hills, California) and college (USC) as Guenther. He also played under Titans' offensive coordinator Norm Chow while at USC. During the 2005 season, Guenther appeared in five games with two receptions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Justin Fargas
Justin Alejandro Fargas (born January 25, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and USC Trojans and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2003 NFL draft. College career Fargas attended the University of Michigan, as a highly regarded football prospect, for three years (1998–2000). He was named one of the Top 10 Freshmen in the country by Sports Illustrated. During his freshman year, he ran for 277 yards with 1 TD on 77 carries (3.6 avg.) in 10 games. He started there as a running back before switching to safety in the middle of the 2000 season. Yet his college career at Michigan was cut short during his freshman season when he broke his leg. He was redshirted in 1999 while he rehabilitated his broken right leg. After considering both California and USC, Fargas chose to transfer to USC in 2001.Eric SondheimerFargas Make ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
