Ahead of the Class

Antwine Perez’s travel itinerary did not allow for down time.

In January, he packed his bags and left his New Jersey home to play in a high school football all-star game in Texas. The next day, he caught a flight to Los Angeles and got ready to start classes at USC.

The prom could wait. So could the graduation ceremony.

“I wanted to get started,” Perez said.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound safety is the latest USC player to finish high school early so he could participate in spring practice before his freshman season.

The Trojans have completed four of their 15 spring workouts and already Perez has made an impression, intercepting a pass during team drills last week while taking repetitions with the first-unit defense.

“He’s going to benefit, without a question, because he’s a smart guy,” said sophomore safety Kevin Ellison, who followed a similar path last year. “Coming out and learning the defense and knowing what’s going on gives you a big advantage going into training camp.”

The NCAA does not track how many high school football players graduate early so they can participate in spring practice, but the trend appears to be growing. USA Today, which does track it, reported last week that 52 players at schools affiliated with the bowl championship series fit the profile this spring, up from 34 a year ago. Notre Dame is allowing incoming freshmen to participate in spring practice for the first time.

Since 1999, nine incoming freshmen have enrolled early at USC and participated in spring practice. Quarterback John David Booty skipped all his senior year of high school but did not participate in spring practice before enrolling at USC before his first season in 2003.

A UCLA athletic department official said the last player to enroll early and participate in spring practice was former Venice High quarterback J.P. Losman in 1999. Losman left UCLA before training camp began and transferred to Tulane.

USC Coach Pete Carroll and his assistants say they do not encourage players to leave high school early.

“When someone shows an interest in that, then we tell them what the pluses and minuses are,” Carroll said. “It’s really a very individual decision.

“They all seem to come from guys that are real high achievers, that really want to do something and they’re really antsy to get going.”

According to USC officials, former offensive lineman Jacob Rogers was the first Trojan player to graduate early from high school and participate in spring practice. Rogers left Oxnard High and was on campus for spring drills in 1999.

“I wasn’t trying to do anything special -- I just wanted to get a head start on my classes and learning the system,” Rogers said in 2003, when he was a consensus All-American.

Punter Tom Malone and fullback Brandon Hancock arrived from Lake Elsinore Temescal Canyon and Fresno Clovis West highs, respectively, in the spring of 2002. Both contributed to the Trojans’ 11-2 season that ended with a victory over Iowa in the Orange Bowl. Both players also said their early arrival helped them get a head start in the classroom.

“It was the best choice I could have made,” Malone said. “I felt like I had been here forever by the time of the first game. I didn’t feel like a rookie.”

Neither did Hancock, now a fifth-year senior.

“I think there’s a misconception that you’re going to get singled out and get picked on, but that wasn’t the case,” Hancock said. “I felt that most of my teammates respected me for it.

“It’s the same now. ... So when the freshmen come in here it’s like, ‘Hey, this guy is already one of us.’ ”

Twin defensive backs Brandon and Ryan Ting graduated early from James Logan High in Union City, Calif., and enrolled in the spring of 2003. Tight end Fred Davis arrived early from Ohio in 2004, and last season running back Michael Coleman and Ellison left San Bernardino Arroyo Valley and Redondo Union, respectively, to get started on their college careers.

“It helped me so much being able to learn defense and know what was going on,” said Ellison, who suffered a season-ending knee injury while intercepting a pass against Arizona State. “In the fall, I was able to move a little faster and react a little quicker.”

Perez is expecting a similar progression after choosing USC over Michigan, Louisiana State, Ohio State, Miami and other schools. Carroll’s reputation for playing freshmen was attractive. It helped that safety Scott Ware was a senior and Darnell Bing was likely to leave early for the NFL draft.

“I could see it was wide open,” Perez said.

Perez said his parents spent a few days with him in Los Angeles to help get him settled, but he has managed fine on his own since -- with help from teammates such as linebacker Kaluka Maiava, his roommate.

“It’s been no problem, everything is going smooth,” Perez said. “It helps that it’s not really in season, so I get to go to school without having all the meetings and stuff all day. I got time to adjust before practice started.”

Perez also said he would be “way ahead” of other incoming freshmen when USC opens training camp in August for its season opener at Arkansas.

Perez still has the prom in his plans.

USC’s spring semester ends in May, so he will return to Woodrow Wilson High in Camden, N.J., for the dance and graduation ceremony.

“But I want to get back out here and get ready for the season,” he said.