Dennis Thurman 2025 NFF COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS

Dennis thurman

By Matt Fortuna

In some ways, Dennis Thurman's college journey makes total sense. He was a Southern California kid who had wanted to stay close to home, with USC and UCLA both vying for his services. In other ways, well, we'll just let him explain from here.

"Bob Toledo and Norv Turner were my position coaches, and I laugh because they were my position coaches, but neither one of them had ever coached a defensive back," Thurman said. "But those were my position coaches, because they were part of John Robinson's staff, and they were known for their offense. But hey, we made it work."

That they did. Thurman is the latest USC great to make the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, becoming the 35th former Trojans player to earn the distinction. His NFF Hall of Fame teammates include Ricky Bell, Brad Budde, Anthony Davis, Ronnie Lott, Marvin Powell, Charles White, and Richard Wood

A jack of all trades who was a freshman on USC's 1974 national championship team, Thurman became a two-time All-American and earned the Trojans' team MVP honors in 1977. He had eight interceptions in 1976, leading the then-Pac-8 Conference, and he recorded 13 picks for his college career, returning two for touchdowns. Thurman finished his college career with 169 total tackles, 11 pass deflections and four fumble recoveries.

The fact that his national title came at the Rose Bowl was all the more special for the Santa Monica native.

"I watched USC football and UCLA football when I was growing up, but it always seemed like USC was playing somebody in the Rose Bowl on January 1," Thurman said. "From watching those games, I wanted to be a part of that, because that scene, that scenario on New Year's Day, and especially when the sun began to set behind the (San Gabriel) Mountains, and having an opportunity to do that my freshman year, after having watched it.

"I was literally in the stands the year before my freshman year, when Ohio State beat USC, 42-21. And I hadn't made my decision yet, but I was leaning toward USC, and I had gone to that game with my pastor, Clarence Davis, and he told me about mi8dway through the third quarter, 'You'll be down there this time next year.' And I just looked at him, and that's what he told me.

And so, a year later, when I was there the next year, I thought about that during that game and that he had told me that, and how it had come true. And we ended up beating Ohio State, 18-17, and won a part of the national championship. So that was pretty big for me."

In addition to the aforementioned names, Thurman was fortunate enough to have played for a legendary high school coach in Tebb Kusserow, before getting coached at USC by notable names such as eventual NFL head coach Wayne Fontes and former USC captain Willie Brown, both of whom were on staffs led by Robinson, an NFF College Football Hall of Famer himself (2009).

Robinson's influence was so strong that he offered a gateway into Thurman's current profession: coaching.

"Obviously the late John Robinson took over when (John) McKay went to Tampa. He and I built a great relationship, and he gave me a coaching job in 1993 when he went back to USC for his second stint there," said Thurman, who is now Hawaii's defensive coordinator. "So the people that basically helped me throughout my career are at USC. And some of that weren't, my high school football coach, just those people are the ones that I thought about. You know how instrumental they were. They played a part in me choosing USC and were there to support me throughout."

The Cowboys drafted Thurman in the 11th round, leading to an eight-year pro career before the coaching bug bit.

"After my seventh year in the NFL, Coach (Tom) Landry called me into his office and asked me if I had thought about coaching," Thurman said. "And I told him, not really. It had been mentioned by John Robinson prior to my draft year in '78, but that was the only time I really thought about it. And he said, 'If you're thinking about it, I'd like to give you an opportunity to do it with our rookies with Gene Stallings (NFF HOF Class of 2011), because you prepare like a coach. You always know what to study. You know what we're doing, and you know what the other team is doing. And I just think that the way you prepare for games, that you'd be a really good coach."