Mel Blount, a Hall of Fame defensive back who played on four Steelers’ Super Bowl championship teams, was the catalyst for an important NFL rule change in 1977. A third round pick out of Southern in 1970, the 6-foot-3 Blount, led the league with 11 interceptions in 1975 and won Defensive Player of the Year. To defend a wide receiver one-on-one, the tall and powerful Blount would often simply throw the wideout down immediately off the line of scrimmage– or overpower him all the way down the field. The NFL ultimately designed a rule, which some called the “Mel Blount Rule,” decreeing that no defensive back could bump an offensive player outside of five yards from the line of scrimmage. As a result of the rule change, manning up receivers one-on-one became more difficult, and the game was opened up considerably for passing. Offense in the NFL greatly improved; passing yards and touchdowns increased. Nonetheless, Blount remained a dominant force on that vaunted Pittsburgh defense as his 57 career interceptions remain a Steelers franchise record.