USC football’s most dominant defenders of all-time, ranked

USC football’s No. 22 dominant defender: Chip Banks

Few USC players boast the pure talent level that Chip Banks brought to the field for the Trojans from 1978 to 1981.

From the start Banks had an impact, contributing to USC’s 1978 national championship team as an outside linebacker.

From there his influence only grew with 76 tackles as a sophomore, 107 as a junior and 137 as a senior captain, earning All-American honors to go along with two All-Pac-10 selections.

Banks’ disruptive ability was felt all over the field, from front to back.

Upfront, he terrorized backfields with ease. Twice, he produced double-digit tackle for loss seasons, totaling 33 on his career.

Put him in pass coverage and he was just as successful. Banks had 22 career deflections, including 10 during his impressive junior campaign.

And he was adept at forcing turnovers, notching five career forced fumbles and eight interceptions. In 1981, he led the Trojans in picks with four.