Jerry West will forever be frozen in time, silhouetted in a dribbling posture against a classic blue-and-red backdrop as the face of the NBA and its iconic logo.
When it comes to league emblems, the NBA owns one of the most identifiable logos throughout the world of sports, thanks to the image of the former Los Angeles Lakers guard, executive and ambassador to the game.
Attempting to seize on the popularity of the symbol, CBS Sports recently hypothesized over what a college football logo designed in the same vein would look like. The website nails it with Michigan’s Desmond Howard and possibly Doug Flutie of Boston College, while making intriguing arguments for Vince Young of Texas and California’s Kevin Moen (think “The Play”).
Which gets us to thinking. What if the SEC were to emulate the NBA and craft a Jerry West-looking logo? Let’s be honest, the conference’s circular logo design could stand to benefit from an upgrade.
The bigger question is: Which one player in SEC history best encapsulates the conference? The respective athlete needs to epitomize the SEC as the face of the conference.
Here are several players that could qualify to be adorned on an NBA-style SEC logo.
5. PEYTON MANNING
Before there was Peyton Manning the two-time Super Bowl champion, there was Peyton Manning the Tennessee legend. The entire Manning family could, in theory, be represented here, but that would make for an awkward three-person logo. Peyton exited Tennessee with 42 NCAA, SEC and Tennessee records — including every Volunteer passing mark in program history. He returned to Rocky Top for his senior year, only to see any title hopes vanish with a blowout loss to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. The No. 1 overall pick in that year’s draft, Manning went on become one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.
https://twitter.com/PeytonManningFC/status/736221959852171264
4. BO JACKSON
Bo Jackson could also be the posterchild for the SEC’s baseball version of a Jerry West-style logo. Or track and field, for that matter. But football comes first for Bo, evidenced by his decision out of high school to eschew a contract with the New York Yankees for a chance to strap on a helmet and pads as a member of Pat Dye’s Auburn Tigers. Jackson twice led the conference in rushing, adding two consensus All-American honors to the 1985 Heisman Trophy on his collegiate résumé. All told, Bo vaulted to two-sport stardom in the pros after rushing for 4,303 career yards and 43 touchdowns in four seasons out of the Tigers’ backfield. Auburn honored his exploits with a statue outside of Jordan-Hare Stadium.
https://twitter.com/pablopictura/status/595679115400880128
3. HERSCHEL WALKER
If you need a face that personifies the SEC fighting spirit, then perhaps Herschel Walker is the man for the new logo. After all, the former Georgia superstar, who last donned Bulldog red some 34 years ago, is still fighting today at the age of 54, albeit in an MMA cage. When his time in Athens came to an end, Walker had amassed 5,259 career rushing yards and 49 touchdowns on the ground. The Heisman committee bestowed its highest honor upon him in 1982, a year after he set the SEC’s single-season rushing mark with 1,891. That record lasted until 2015 when Alabama’s Derrick Henry eclipsed it with the help of more games en route to his own Heisman-winning campaign. But Walker is still regarded as the SEC’s greatest running back, if not best overall athlete, to ever lace them up in the conference.
https://twitter.com/WhatYouKnowRock/status/737377386086334464
2. DERRICK THOMAS
There may not have been a more ferocious player in SEC history than Derrick Thomas. The Alabama linebacker’s 52 career sacks are 27 more than the next-closest Crimson Tide defender on the program’s all-time list. The 52 takedowns tie him with Arizona’s Tedy Bruschi for the most in NCAA history. Thomas’ 27 sacks during the 1988 season also remains the gold standard in college football for one campaign. Capable of single-handedly controlling a game, Thomas left an indelible mark in Tuscaloosa that hasn’t been matched since, and might not ever be. He tragically passed away in 2000, the victim of a car accident. Up to that point, Thomas was still terrorizing offenses as a nine-time Pro-Bowler of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Pro Football Hall of Fame posthumously enshrined Thomas in 2009. The College Football Hall of Fame followed suit in 2014.
1988 Butkus Award winner, Alabama's Derrick Thomas. @UA_Athletics @SEC pic.twitter.com/Il5IxNw6vx
— Vintage LSU Football (@vintagelsuftb) January 28, 2016
1. STEVE SPURRIER
Steve Spurrier is a legend at two SEC schools with both Florida and South Carolina pledging their allegiance to the Head Ball Coach.
Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue with ease, but it’s a testament to the Head Ball Coach’s legacy in The Swamp. Florida recently named its field in honor of the man who won the 1966 Heisman while wearing orange and blue. A two-time All-American and winner of the Walter Camp Memorial Trophy, the ex-quarterback also brought the program to prominence as a head coach. In a dozen seasons on the Florida sideline, Spurrier guided the Gators to a 122-27-1 record, including the 1996 national championship.
He resurfaced in the SEC for the 2005 season as head coach at South Carolina. Spurrier turned the Gamecocks’ program around, going 86-49 in 11 years. That tenure also featured the first 11-win season in South Carolina, a feat he accomplished three years in a row between 2011 and 2013.
Spurrier’s soundbites are just as legendary as his football acumen. Plus, the logo could feature a silhouette of the Head Ball Coach wearing his iconic visor. Or we could go with this version of the man widely credited with introducing extravagant passing schemes to the SEC.
Florida's Steve Spurrier won the Heisman Trophy in 1966 & was a 2-time 1st team All-American. @GatorsFB pic.twitter.com/2HiA6qWsyi
— Vintage LSU Football (@vintagelsuftb) March 9, 2016
Who would you put on an NBA-style version of an SEC logo? Bear Bryant? Archie Manning? Cam Newton? Billy Cannon? Nick Saban? Emmitt Smith? Johnny Manziel? Tim Tebow?
Christopher C. Wuensch is a contributor to Saturday Down South. Contact him at Christopher.Wuensch@gmail.com
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
