Rodney Peete led Southern California to the 1987 Pac-10 football championship and a Rose Bowl appearance as a junior. The next season he capped a four-year Trojan career by winning the Johnny Unitas Award as the nation’s most outstanding senior quarterback and finishing second to Barry Sanders for the Heisman Trophy.
But it wasn’t until Doug Williams led the Washington Redskins to a 42-10 triumph over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII — becoming the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl — that Peete felt confident he’d have a chance to play quarterback in the NFL.