John William Hermann is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player and coach. Hermann played running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

, tight end

Tight end

The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...

, and defensive back

Defensive back

In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

 for coach Red Sanders at UCLA

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

 from 1953-1955. He was a member of the Bruins team that won the 1954 Rose Bowl

1954 Rose Bowl

The 1954 Rose Bowl game, played on January 1, 1954 was the 40th Rose Bowl game. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the UCLA Bruins, 28–20. Michigan State halfback Billy Wells was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game. This was the first year that Michigan State University was counted in...

 and was named that year's FWAA & UPI National Champions

NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship

A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...

.

Hermann was drafted by the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the 10th round (117th overall) of the 1956 NFL Draft

1956 NFL Draft

The 1956 National Football League Draft was held on November 29, 1955.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:...

. He played two games for the Giants before being cut. He signed two weeks later by the Baltimore Colts and finished the year with them.

In 1959, Hermann joined the UCLA coaching staff as the head coach of the freshman football team. He also coached the Bruins quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

s, tight ends, and running backs.