The Norman Conquest : With One Named Hank Leading Way, USC Receivers Make Secondaries Wary

Now that USC has become a passing team, the focus is on quarterback Sean Salisbury and his primary receiver, split end Hank Norman.

Passing team? USC?

Such a notion is enough to rattle all the busts of Heisman Trophy-winning tailbacks in Heritage Hall.

Nevertheless, based on the Baylor game, the Trojan air force was much more productive than the cavalry.

Salisbury completed 20 of 29 passes for 235 yards and 2 touchdowns. Norman caught 10 of those passes for 135 yards and a touchdown. Take Salisbury’s scrambling runs away from the rushing statistics, and USC gained only 132 yards on the ground in the 20-13 loss to Baylor Saturday night.

Norman doesn’t believe for a moment that the Trojans are changing their image. But the senior wide receiver is encouraged that opponents now must respect USC’s passing attack.

That hasn’t been the case in recent years.

Tailback Marcus Allen was the team’s leading receiver in 1980 and ’81. Wide receiver Jeff Simmons set a school record for catches, 56, and yards, 973, in 1982, when he was apparently the only target for the quarterbacks.

Norman has been USC’s leading receiver the last two seasons. He caught 31 passes on a 4-6-1 team in 1983 and caught 39 last year, when the passing game was de-emphasized.

Norman figures to catch a lot more passes this year, and the entire receiving corps is probably the most talented group since 1979, when Danny Garcia, Kevin Williams, Raymond Butler and Hoby Brenner had almost equal shares of 98 receptions.

“I don’t think there is a better trio than Salisbury, (flanker) Randy Tanner and myself,” Norman said. “Gene Arrington is a young receiver with speed who’ll only get better. Tight end Paul Green is one of the best athletes on the team, and Joe Cormier, Erik McKee, Erik Affholter and Al Washington can all catch the ball.”

But Norman is the receiver who has a knack for getting open. Reliable is the word for the 6-4, 200-pound athlete who seldom drops passes and who often intimidates the intimidators, the defensive backs.

Norman has caught 87 passes in his college career and, with nine games remaining, he figures to break Simmons’ school record of 106 catches.

“Sean has told me that as soon as I break the record, Tanner (a sophomore) is going to take it away from me,” Norman said. “Randy is a very good receiver. He makes clutch catches and is building up his confidence.”

Norman is pleased that he caught 10 passes--one short of the tying the school record--against Baylor. But he is also disappointed.

“I’d give all those 10 catches back for eight more points,” he said. “We live and die by the run and just couldn’t get it going last Saturday night. I think we were rusty because of the bye we had the week before. It was almost like starting all over again.”

It seems that every college media guide lists receivers who are capable of running 4.4 seconds in the football 40-yard dash. Norman, though, is not a sprinter. A 4.6 is his best time, he said.

“But I can get open,” he said. “I can go one-on-one with anyone. A lot of it is what you do at the top of your pattern. You’ve got to get the defensive back thinking that you’re going to do something other than what you’re going to do.

“For example, if I’m running a post, I’ll give the DB a head-and-shoulder fake to the outside at the top of the pattern. I want him to hesitate and give me a couple of extra steps.

“We have more leeway on our patterns now. When I first came here, the patterns were very precise. If you weren’t open, the quarterback wasn’t coming to you. Now Coach (Ted) Tollner is giving us a little more freedom to find the open area.”

Norman said he was frustrated last year when Tollner condensed the offense and restricted the passing game to accommodate Tim Green, who replaced the injured Salisbury at quarterback.

“Coach Tollner was trying to bring Tim along slowly,” Norman said. “We were taking Tim Green along with us, he wasn’t taking us. It was frustrating to the receivers, but we dealt with it. We came through when we were called upon, but we weren’t called upon that often.”

Norman said the passing game isn’t restricted this year, that Salisbury, a fifth-year senior, can use the entire repertoire--bombs, post patterns, sideline throws, whatever.

“This is the best I’ve ever seen Sean play,” Norman said. “He’s really whipping the ball in there. He’s playing with a lot more confidence. He’s our leader. He’s looking for me, and I’m looking for him. We joke about it all week before a game.”

Norman said he has always idolized Otis Taylor, the former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver, who was known for his spectacular, one-handed catches.

“I make one-handed catches in practices, and Coach Nate Shaw (wide receiver coach) gets on me all the time,” Norman said. “But I work on them just in case I have to get the ball that way. Sometimes, a guy might be on your back and you can’t make a two-handed catch.”

Norman says it never crosses his mind that he might drop a ball. “I’m only thinking how I’ll catch it,” he said. “Sometimes I have to scoop it out with my body, or whatever. And Coach Tollner doesn’t like anyone to drop a pass.”

Said Tollner:. “Hank is Hank. He is just about everything you could ask for in a receiver. He has excellent hands, can catch the ball in traffic and is a fine blocker and a proven player.”

Norman came to USC from Long Beach Poly, a high school that has produced such skilled receivers as USC’s Earl McCullouch and Stanford’s Gene Washington and Tony Hill. All of them went on to productive pro careers.

But why USC? Wouldn’t Norman have gained more recognition at a passing school such as Stanford, BYU or San Diego State?

“I’ve been a USC fan for a long time. So are my parents,” Norman said. “I figured I could come here and play soon, not that I couldn’t at another school.

“I just like USC football. It’s my type of game. I’m a big guy who can come at you. I don’t regret my decision, and Coach Tollner has opened it up. He is going to have good receivers here from now on.”

Norman has a pregame ritual. He takes a long, soothing bath and visualizes himself catching a few bombs. It never varies, and he admits that he is superstitious.

“I’ve always worn two pair of socks in a game since high school,” he said. “I always have a towel and wear the same wrist bands the entire year. I know superstitious things don’t have anything to do with anything, but it’s my way of getting ready for a game.”

Norman is a public administration major who plans to graduate almost on time, which is unusual in the era of the five-year player.

“I would love to play pro football,” he said. “That’s why I’m playing now. Some guys will tell you that they’re playing college football just for the heck of it. I don’t believe that. You have to have goals. Everyone wants to play pro football, but not everybody can.”

And Norman is aware that if USC’s passing game continues to flourish, his pro prospects will improve proportionately.

Trojan Notes Quarterback Sean Salisbury lurched into a press conference Tuesday on crutches. It was a gag. Salisbury has had season-ending knee surgery the last two times USC has played Arizona State at Tempe, Ariz. He went down in the seventh game in 1982 and was injured again in the second game last year. “The third time is the charm,” said Salisbury, referring to Saturday night’s game against ASU at Tempe. “The fact that I was injured twice on the same field is just coincidental.” . . . Arizona State lost to Michigan State in its opening game, 12-3, then beat Pacific last Saturday night, 27-0. The Sun Devils have 10 of their 11 defensive starters back and are ranked second nationally in total defense, having allowed only 437 yards in two games. . . . ASU quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst was injured when USC beat ASU, 6-3, in 1984. But he’s healthy now and has completed 54.8% of his passes for 495 yards and two touchdowns. He sat out most of the second half against Pacific.