Jim Covert

James Paul "Jimbo" Covert (born March 22, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers, earning consensus All-American honors. He was selected in the first round of the 1983 NFL draft.

Covert was born in Conway, Pennsylvania. He excelled in both football and wrestling at Freedom Area High School in Beaver County, west of Pittsburgh. In football, Covert led the 1977 Freedom Bulldogs, with an undefeated 11–0 record, to the Midwestern Athletic Conference (MAC) Championship as a senior. Although the Bulldogs eventually lost to Laurel High School in the second round of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) playoffs, Covert earned UPI First-team All-State honors and became a highly recruited player.

Covert arrived as a freshman at Pitt in 1978. He began his collegiate career on the defensive line and played in every game as a freshman, especially in goal-line or short-yardage situations. A shoulder injury sidelined him for the 1979 season and he was redshirted. At the urging of offensive line coach Joe Moore, he switched to offensive tackle in the spring of 1980. It was a decision that would lead Covert to both the College Football and Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Covert was a starter on Pitt's offensive front his final three seasons, surrendering just three sacks during that span. As a consensus All-American his senior year, he did not give up a single sack. "Jimbo is so good, it's like watching a clinic film," Moore said. "After a play, I'm never surprised to turn and see Jimbo and his man 10 or 15 yards downfield."

Pitt went 31–5 during Covert's three years as a starter, finishing in the nation's Top 10 each season. The 1980 and 1981 teams each went 11–1 and finished as high as No. 2 in the national polls. In 1980, Covert played for an elite Pitt team that included future NFL stars Russ Grimm and Mark May as teammates on the offensive line, along with future Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino. "There were games when my uniform never got dirty," recalled Marino. "There were games when I never hit the ground. That's incredible."

His junior year, Covert was named a first-team All-American by Football News and the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA).^{[citation needed]} As a senior, he earned consensus status by being named an All-American by no fewer than six different national selectors.^{[citation needed]} Following his final Pitt season, he played in the Hula Bowl and Senior Bowl all-star games.

Covert would ultimately be named to the University of Pittsburgh's All-Time Football Team and he was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003. His #75 jersey was retired by Pitt in 2015.

Covert was chosen in the first round of the 1983 NFL draft with the sixth overall pick by the Chicago Bears and head coach Mike Ditka, himself a former Pitt All-American from Western Pennsylvania. "Jimbo's the guy we wanted. From Day 1, we put him at left tackle and moved on," Ditka said. "You don't get too many people who come along who can make that impact. He had the respect of all his teammates and all his coaches." He became the starter at the left tackle position and was named to the UPI's 1983 NFL All-Rookie team.