USC's best: OJ Simpson could have won back-to-back Heisman Trophies

SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic recently wondered who is the best USC football player of all time. It's a great conversation with a lot of deserving candidates. We're not going to tell you whom you should elevate or downgrade in this debate. We will merely give you the argument for why this Trojan's candidacy should be considered. Today's candidate: Orenthal James Simpson. You know him as OJ Simpson.

There are two main reasons OJ Simpson could be considered USC's best football player ever. First, he easily could have won back-to-back Heisman Trophies. Gary Beban of rival UCLA won the 1967 Heisman, but it was OJ who won the USC-UCLA game that year with a stunning and unforgettable cutback touchdown run Reggie Bush traced in 2005 against Fresno State. OJ Simpson easily could have won the 1967 Heisman. It would not have been a profound injustice if that had happened.

OJ then won the Heisman in 1968, leading USC to a No. 2 ranking heading into a national championship Rose Bowl game against No. 1 Ohio State. OJ Simpson could have preceded Ohio State's Archie Griffin (1974 and 1975) as the first double Heisman winner. Griffin remains the only double winner in the award's history.

The second reason OJ Simpson has a legitimate claim to No. 1 at USC is that he was the first NFL running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a regular season. Not only that, his 1973 feat was achieved when the NFL regular season was just 14 games, not 16. The NFL didn't move to a 16-game season until 1978. Several other NFL running backs eventually hit the 2,000-yard mark, but none in a 14-game season, only 16. OJ was years ahead of his time as a fully realized running back.

He was a towering, elite player at both USC and in the NFL. Few running backs were ever as dominant in their primes. OJ Simpson was one of one on the football field.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: