 Prior to joining the USC Trojans, Vellone was a Junior College All-American guard at Cerritos College.For two seasons while in Minnesota (1968–1969), Vellone was a teammate of offensive tackle Ron Yary, who likewise was a star lineman at Cerritos College and at USC.Jim Vellone abruptly retired from the NFL in 1971 when he discovered he had Hodgkin's lymphoma.