USC's best: Marcus Allen is the Trojans' ultimate achiever

On Monday, we noted that SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic openly asked a USC football question on social media. Cubelic wondered who is the best football player USC has ever produced. We're going to walk through a lot of possible answers, not trying to settle the debate so much as unpack it and give you ways of thinking about that question. We start with Marcus Allen.

If you were to make the claim that Marcus Allen is USC's greatest football player ever, here's how the argument would go: Allen is USC's greatest achiever -- not solely in terms of championships (that's Ronnie Lott with the San Francisco 49ers), but in terms of blending championships and awards.

Marcus Allen won the 1978 national championship at USC. He was on Rose Bowl-winning teams. He won the Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Raiders. He was Super Bowl MVP. He was an NFL MVP. He was a Heisman Trophy winner at USC. He was a unanimous All-American at USC. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

That's the ultimate achiever. How many other players checked all those boxes in their football careers? Ronnie Lott, just to make the comparison, has checked a lot of those boxes, but not the Heisman and not Super Bowl or NFL MVP. Of course, defensive players aren't going to win league or Super Bowl MVP awards (not generally), so it's not an implied criticism of Lott. We're merely pointing out that Marcus Allen has all the awards to his name. No one can or should take that away from him.

Stay with us this spring as we continue our series on the best USC football player ever. It's not going to be a short series because there are so many possible and legitimate answers, all with their own unique twist or slant. Today, you got the inside read on why Marcus Allen is a valid answer to Cole Cubelic's simple but very big query.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football legend Marcus Allen checked every box in his epic career