USC’s Marc Tyler expects to be busy against Arizona

Marc Tyler doesn’t remember the yards, but he remembers the carries.

Last season against Arizona, Tyler ran the ball 31 times for 160 yards — both career highs — and the Trojans defeated the Wildcats at Tucson.

It was the most carries by a USC tailback since Sultan McCullough ran 39 times against California in 2001.

“I remember how sore and tired I was,” Tyler said Wednesday.

Tyler anticipates another heavy workload Saturday when the Trojans play Arizona at the Coliseum.

“You never know how many carries you’re going to get,” he said. “But I’ve been getting a lot, so I’m ready for a lot.”

Tyler had 149 yards in 22 carries last week at Arizona State. His touchdown run early in the third quarter briefly gave the Trojans the lead.

But the enduring image of Tyler, the son of former UCLA and NFL running back Wendell Tyler, was his momentum-sapping third-quarter fumble, one of four Trojans turnovers in a 43-22 defeat.

“I was just so in the groove, I started forgetting all my technique and fundamentals,” he said. “I just started running like my father with the ball out.”

USC coaches typically bench tailbacks after they fumble, but Tyler returned the next series.

He broke off a 23-yard run in the fourth quarter.

“Last year, if I would have fumbled, I would have been down and I wouldn’t have wanted to go back in,” he said. “I wouldn’t have trusted myself. I would have been thinking about it.”

After the fumble, Tyler got an earful from running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu. Then he moved on.

“I have more mental toughness now,” Tyler said.

He will be facing an Arizona defense that allowed Stanford’s Stepfan Taylor and Oregon’s LaMichael James to enjoy career-best rushing performances in consecutive weeks.

Arizona has given up 233.5 yards rushing per game, which ranks 114th among 120 major-college teams.

Tyler said the Trojans could learn from the Arizona State experience.

“We have to run the ball like we did in the second half,” he said.

Reprimand a shared experience

USC Coach Lane Kiffin, no stranger to reprimands from the Southeastern Conference when he coached at Tennessee, said he agreed with the Pacific 12 Conference’s reprimand of quarterback Matt Barkley for his comments last week about Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict.

“The thing you have to remember about Matt is: Matt can’t lie,” Kiffin said. “He can’t say anything different than the way he feels. It’s who he is.”

Asked whether he could recall an instance in the SEC or Pac-12 where a player was reprimanded for words rather than actions on the field, Kiffin deadpanned, “I can recall where a coach was.”

Barkley is made available to the media only after practice Tuesdays.

Position switch

Freshman George Farmer, regarded as one of the nation’s top receiver prospects coming out of Gardena Serra High, will be a redshirt and work out at running back, Kiffin said.

Farmer was regarded as perhaps the freshman most likely to make an immediate impact. But he was slowed during training camp because of a concussion, and former Serra teammate Marqise Lee has emerged as the top freshman receiver.

Kiffin said the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Farmer would give the Trojans a fast and physical backfield presence.

“Because as we look at that position,” Kiffin said, “we’re still lacking game-breaking speed back there, as we continue to see in games.”

Quick hits

Tight end Christian Thomas (hip), linebacker Marquis Simmons (neck) and walk-on receiver Cody Gifford (ankle), the son of former USC star Frank Gifford and TV personality Kathie Lee Gifford, will be sidelined the rest of the season, Kiffin said. ... Quarterback Jesse Scroggins (hand) said he expected to begin throwing within the next few weeks. … Freshman Aundrey Walker, who had been working at guard since early in training camp, is practicing at right tackle.

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