A bloodied Y.A. Tittle kneeling in the end zone as the curtain slowly drops on his storied career. Chuck Bednarik standing over Frank Gifford after delivering a nerve-jangling hit, briefly striking a pose similar to Muhammad Ali hovering over Sonny Liston.

The surreal scene of Stanford band members joyously storming the field, thinking they had vanquished bitter rival Cal, only to become part of arguably the greatest single play in college football history.

These are images that rarely need any accompanying description or commentary. Simply say, “Tittle,” “Bednarik” or “Cal-Stanford” to someone, and they’ll likely provide it for you.

In the digital age, when 24/7 access, multimedia and video clips are available with just a few keystrokes on our computer, the photograph — a single, defining moment in time captured — remains as powerful and relevant as ever.

The aforementioned images resonated with me as I thought about how we would illustrate Gridiron’s season preview issue.

Photographer Scott Morgan and I talked about how we could capture the spirit of these iconic images while making shots of NIC-10 football players entirely ours.

Thanks to Scott’s immense talent — and sports editor Randy Ruef’s considerable planning skills — what we ended up with are fresh, energetic photos that hearken back to some of football’s great moments.

Which of these players — most, if not all of whom weren’t even born when the original photos were taken — might become a new icon? Time will tell. But we look forward to telling that story.

— Adam C. McHugh, art director