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 would slowly work their way towards respectability, and Forester was a large part of that.  He would really come into his own in 1959, where he would earn his first of four straight Pro Bowls, the latter three seeing him snatch First Team All-Pros.  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 a lot of hope for their new Back.  Rote was off to a good start, but knee issues necessitated a change in position where he moved to End, and he would become the top Receiver for the Giants in the 1950s.  This 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 the football factory of SMU, Jerry Mays elected 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.