Two things took place in 1980 that altered the course of Jimbo Covert's life.
The first happened when Pitt head coach Jackie Sherrill put Joe Moore in charge of the offensive line after spending three years as the Panthers' running backs coach.
Covert started spring practice that year on the defensive side, where he had been since arriving since 1978, but Moore saw something in the Beaver County product -- Covert was a standout two-sport (football, wrestling) athlete at Freedom High School -- and wanted him to make the switch.
"I played offensive line in high school, but that was something totally different at that point," Covert told me Monday. "I was reluctant at first, but it was an opportunity. After the first practice, Joe Moore said, 'You're going to be an All-American some day.' I owe all my success to him. He made me the player I was."
As usual, Moore, who died in 2003, was right. Covert did end up being an All-American offensive tackle at Pitt.
As a junior in 1981, Covert earned first-team All-America honors from Football News and Newspaper Enterprise Association. A year later, Covert was a consensus All-American, played in the Hula Bowl and Senior Bowl and was selected by the Chicago Bears -- coached by another Pitt all-time great in Mike Ditka -- with the No. 6 overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft.
In Chicago, Covert was a Super Bowl champion -- a key cog for the 1985 Bears, one of the great teams in the NFL history. He was the NFL Players Association Offensive Lineman of the Year that season, a four-time All-Pro selection and named to the league's All-Decade Team for the 1980s.
He's also a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Exclusive Look: HOF President David Baker calls Jim Covert to inform him that he has been elected to the Hall of Fame moments ago. #PFHOF20 | @ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/scCHZzaffz
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) January 15, 2020
