SPORTS EXTRA / FOOTBALL ‘99: A LAND OF PLENTY : THE UNIVERSITIES : USC and UCLA Traditionally Provide a Prolific Training Ground for NFL Talent

Reminders are everywhere at USC and UCLA.

Outside the coaches’ offices in USC’s Heritage Hall: Framed pictures of the two dozen or so former Trojans playing in the NFL.

Inside the locker room at UCLA: Framed photos of 14 former Bruins playing in the NFL.

At both schools: Displays honoring major award winners--i.e., Heisman, Outland, Butkus and the like--most of whom have gone on to star in the NFL.

In the media guides: Lists, taking up several pages, of every former Trojan or Bruin ever drafted by an NFL team, from second-round pick Chuck Chesire of UCLA in 1936 to seventh-round pick Billy Miller of USC last April--more than 650 players in all.

The NFL may not be in L.A., but L.A. is in the NFL.

And much of the NFL’s Southland-bred talent has been pumped into the league through a pipeline that runs through USC and UCLA.

At the start of training camp this summer, 41 former Trojans and 40 former Bruins dotted NFL rosters--from established stars such as Troy Aikman of the Dallas Cowboys and Junior Seau of the San Diego Chargers to promising rookies such as Cade McNown of the Chicago Bears and Chris Claiborne of the Detroit Lions.

It’s really a simple formula: Take a large population base in a warm climate, add two major colleges with strong coaches, national appeal and long winning traditions and what is annually produced are about a dozen or more players ready to try the NFL.

“There’s no mystery to it,” says John Butler, executive vice president and general manager of the Buffalo Bills. “It’s just years and years of success, and success and tradition breed great players.

“Players want to play there. They want to follow in the footsteps of other greats. Both of those schools have been football powers for as long as I can remember, and they just produce tremendous athletes. And that’s not going to change, I don’t believe.”

Ron Wolf, executive vice president and general manager of the Green Bay Packers, says USC and UCLA have long been mandatory stops for every NFL scout.

“You have to be aware of who’s playing at those two institutions,” he says. “They’re big-game players. I mean, when USC plays UCLA, how many people are in the Coliseum or the Rose Bowl? The pressures of the games in the NFL are no greater than for that one particular game, so those players are very well prepared.”

The numbers bear that out:

* In 17 of the last 23 seasons, USC has had more players in the NFL than any other school.

* In the last 12 years, USC has produced 59 draft selections, including the No. 1 pick in 1996, Keyshawn Johnson; the No. 2 picks in 1995 and ‘97, Tony Boselli and Darrell Russell; the No. 4 pick in 1994, Willie McGinest, and the No. 5 pick in 1990, Seau.

* In the same period, UCLA has produced 54 draft selections, including the No. 1 pick in 1989, Aikman; the No. 2 pick in 1991, Eric Turner, and the No. 4 pick in 1996, Jonathan Ogden.

* Overall, USC has provided 59 first-round draft picks, more than any other school, and UCLA has produced 25.

* USC has been represented in all but two of the 33 Super Bowls, and two former Trojans--Lynn Swann in 1976 and Marcus Allen in 1984--have been Super Bowl MVPs.

* Former UCLA defensive lineman Mike Lodish has played in a record six Super Bowls, four on the losing side with the Bills and the last two as a winner with the Denver Broncos.

* Five former UCLA quarterbacks--Billy Kilmer, Tom Ramsey, Jay Schroeder, Steve Bono and Aikman, the MVP in 1993--have played in the Super Bowl, more than any other school.

Many of these facts, of course, are featured in recruiting pitches by the schools each year.

“We play it up a great deal,” USC Coach Paul Hackett says of the school’s NFL connection. “When you look at how the National Football League looks at USC and the history of all the great players who have come from USC--we can say, ‘This is where the exposure is, this is where the opportunity is.’

“We talk about it all the time.”

Of course, so does UCLA.

“It’s a big sell,” says Gary Bernardi, who oversees the Bruins’ nationwide recruiting efforts. “You can tell a recruit, ‘When you come to UCLA, you’re going to practice every day against quite a few guys who are going to wind up in the NFL, and that’s going to make you a better player.’ . . .

“If you’re here for five years, you might practice against 10 or 15 guys who will play in the NFL.”

At UCLA, Toledo has installed plaques inside the lockers showing the names of former Bruins, many now in the NFL, who wore the same numbers as the players currently using the lockers.

And both Toledo and Hackett often ask alumni with NFL ties to address their teams.

“It’s kind of a subtle reminder that, if you reach your potential, this is the opportunity,” Hackett says of the meetings between former and current players. “And it’s all about opportunity. It’s all about saying, ‘This is what can happen to you if you seize the moment and seize the opportunity to be the best you can. It certainly has happened over and over, so why can’t you be part of that?’ ”

Says Toledo, “It says to a player, ‘If you are good enough, you have a chance to make it too.’ ”

It was USC’s history of producing NFL players--and especially wide receivers such as Johnson, Johnnie Morton and Curtis Conway--that prompted split end Windrell Hayes to transfer from San Jose State.

“I wanted a better chance at making it to the NFL,” said the senior from Stockton, whose move forced him to sit out a season while attending a junior college before starting over at the bottom of the depth chart last season at USC. “USC allows you to be seen.”

Hayes caught 97 passes in two seasons at San Jose State, but it was probably his nine receptions against UCLA last season that caught the eye of NFL scouts.

He’d proven himself, after all, in a game that has featured enough NFL players to stock an entire league.