Jerry Norton began his professional football career in 1954 with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he started as a Safety, then performed as a Half Back, then back to Safety again.  Norton was also an excellent Punter, and in 1957 he would lead the league in Punts and Punting Yards.  He would be traded to the Chicago Cardinals (which would become the St. Louis Cardinals) before 1959 and was affixed at Safety and Punter, and he would continue on a five-year streak of Pro Bowls that he began in Philadelphia.  Norton would again lead the NFL in Punts and Punting Yards in 1960, which was the same season he led the league in Interceptions (10).  He would accumulate 35 picks in total.

Used as both a Linebacker and a Guard, Bill Forester arguably was at his best on the defensive side of the gridiron.  A 3^rd Round Pick from SMU in 1953, Forester played his entire career with the Green Bay Packers, where he went from the outhouse to the penthouse.  Green Bay was in a down period in the '50s but slowly worked its way toward respectability, and Forester was a big part of that.  He really came into his own in 1959, when he earned his first of four straight Pro Bowls, with the last three earning him First Team All-Pro honors.  By this time, Forester was mostly used at Linebacker gobbling up rushers and acting as a veteran presence.  He would help the Pack win the NFL Championship in 1961 and 1962.

Out of SMU, Kyle Rote was the first overall Draft Pick in 1951, and the New York Giants had high hopes for their new Back.  Rote got off to a good start, but knee issues forced him to switch to End, where he became the Giants' top receiver in the 1950s.  This is a statement that means a lot, as in the last half of the decade, New York was a perennial contender for the NFL Championship, winning it all in 1956.  Rote became a four-time Pro Bowler and would catch 300 passes for 4,797 Yards and 48 Touchdowns and added another 871 Yards on the ground.

From SMU's football factory, Jerry Mays chose to stay in his home state with the Dallas Texans, who drafted him in the 5^th Round of the 1961 Draft.  The Minnesota Vikings of the NFL chose him in the 11^th Round.

The defensive tackle helped Dallas win the AFL Championship in 1962, and after the team relocated to Kansas City, he again helped his squad win two more AFL titles and their first-ever Super Bowl.  Mays was named to the All-AFL Team and was a six-time AFL All-Star, as well as a Pro Bowl Selection in 1970.  Mays was also a two-time First Team All-Pro and one of the most agile defensive linemen in the AFL.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will likely elude him, but he earned a place years ago in the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame.