By Ed McGranahan.

By Ed McGranahan

Lou Cordileone was a street savvy kid from Jersey City when he arrived at Clemson University in 1956 to play for Coach Frank Howard, one of several from New Jersey recruited to Clemson about the same time.

A 240-pound tackle, he went on to become Clemson’s third first-round draft pick and spent nine seasons in the NFL with the Giants, 49ers, Rams, Steelers and Saints. After his rookie year in New York, he was traded to San Francisco for 36-year old quarterback Y.A. Tittle, who went on to lead the Giants to three division titles and earn election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Cordileone was quoted as saying, “”Me, even up for Y.A. Tittle? You’re kidding.”

While with the Los Angeles Rams he was cast in a TV western called “Branded,” which starred former pro basketball and baseball player Chuck Conners, better known as the “Rifleman,” but Cordileone wasn’t interested in chasing roles so that ended his acting career.

After he retired from football, Cordileone ran several businesses including a bar in New Orleans. Eventually he relocated to Southern California and resides in Agoura Hills, northwest of Los Angeles. A couple of years ago a friend passed along a phone number for a production team seeking candidates for a “reality” TV show with five people over age 70 in a home with five under 30.

Cordileone said his wife told him he was nuts, but he went ahead tested in front of a camera. After a string of interviews, a physical exam and a psychological test, he was invited to join the show. “Forever Young” with Cordileone can be seen Wednesday night on the TV Land network.

“I thought, ‘jeez, what am I getting into?’ That’s how it started,” he said. Filming took place in late 2011. Six shows were sold to TV Land. “You’re gonna see some stuff, boy.”

The spot on “Branded” was the result of a connection to an agent through a celebrity softball league. He said he told the guy to get him a part or he’d have him “whacked.”

“You know what I mean. You’re Italian. I’m Italian,” he said, laughing. “You better get me a part.

“The next morning there was a script on my doorstep.”

Cordileone played a sheriff. Well known actor Burgess Meredith was also in the show.

“People told me I should have been in the ‘Sorpranos’ and some other shows,” he said. “I just never pursued it. If you’re not out there, nobody knows you.”

But he knew guys like the characters in that show. “They used to come down to New Orleans every year for the Italian-American Parade.”

Cordileone played (1956-59) on Clemson teams that were nationally ranked by the Associated Press in three of his four years, including ACC Championships teams his junior and senior season. He was named All-American and Academic All-American, as a senior, and was the first Clemson player in the Hula Bowl and on the team for the College All-Star Game in Chicago. He also played right field at the College World Series in 1959.

For some unexplained reason he has never received enough support to be voted to the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame. It grates on him.

“If you can believe that,” he said. “I don’t understand it.

“It’s never happened.”

Cordileone speaks fondly of Howard and his teammates. Like many, he has stories about Howard that are hilarious.

“I loved him right away. I thought he was a character,” he said. “He had to make an example of me one day on the practice field. I had a class at three in the afternoon so I’d be at least a half hour late for practice. From the locker room to the practice field was about a quarter mile. He sees me coming, so he meets me and begins kicking me in the butt all the way to the field, yelling because I’m late.

“The next day he made me change my class.”

When Cordileone had the bar, Howard would visit the bar and drink brandy alexander.

At 75, Cordileone maintains his health by working out daily and playing handball a couple of times a week to keep his weight at 205 after playing at 270. “I’ve had a hip replacement, knee replacement. I’m going to have my other knee done eventually,” he said. “I just keep going.”

Shortly before the series began, the former Clemson star spent more than a week making the rounds including an interview with Anderson Cooper.

“I have four radio interviews tomorrow morning starting at six in the morning,” he said. “So, let’s hope it goes.”