Now, the Latest Conflict in a Running Battle : UCLA Has Green and, as If He’s Not Enough, Four Other Threats

UCLA has a great tailback in Gaston Green. Some say he’s one of the flashiest, most explosive, most exciting sprinters ever to wear shoulder pads.

He had his biggest game to date last season when he gained 144 yards and scored two touchdowns in UCLA’s Fiesta Bowl victory over Miami. But he became more popular when he gained 134 yards against USC. No one had done that to USC since Curt Warner in the Fiesta Bowl in 1982.

And Green was just a freshman.

Now a sophomore, Green is the Bruins’ leading rusher. But not by much.

After missing four games because of stretched ligaments in his left knee, he has 521 yards. Tailback James Primus has 468, and tailback Eric Ball has 444. UCLA statisticians like to report it this way: The UCLA tailback is averaging 143.3 yards a game, regardless of how many players it takes.

Add the fullbacks--Marcus Greenwood, who has 295 yards, and starter Mel Farr, who has 272 yards--and that’s another 56.7 yards a game.

The total? The top five UCLA backs are averaging 200 yards a game rushing. They have rushed for 20 touchdowns in 10 games, after rushing for just 11 in 12 games last season.

“United, we’ve been outstanding,” said Norm Andersen, who coaches the running backs at UCLA. “It’s a real team effort. If these kids were at different schools, and they were the only guy in town, any one of them could be a star. But I think it works better this way. I don’t think the rest of these guys would be so good if all of a sudden Eric Ball weren’t here, or James Primus weren’t here.

“Together, they are very, very good. . . . What impresses me most is their closeness and their attitude.”

UCLA Coach Terry Donahue put it this way: “The key to the running backs is the harmonious attitude and the team concept they have exhibited. There has not been a selfish attitude among any of the running backs. I don’t see a bunch of pooched-out guys in the locker room because someone else gained 130 yards and they only gained 30. These guys are far and away the best team I’ve had in that respect. They are quite supportive of each other.”

Which is all very good for the team. But it doesn’t do much for an ambitious young back who would like to compete for some national attention--or the kind of attention a star tailback gets at a school like USC. But it’s a matter of policy. At USC, the tailback is featured and promoted. At UCLA, he’s a valued member of the team, one of several.”

Green has played in only five games in which he has carried the ball, he ran for more than 100 yards in two. He’s averaging 4.5 yards a carry. His specialty is long gains, and he has had several. His longest was for 72 yards.

Homer Smith, the UCLA offensive coordinator, said during preseason practices that from field level, Green is hard to follow with the naked eye. Jerking his head from one side to the other to show how you’d have to watch him pass--something like the way the coyote watches the roadrunner flash by in cartoons--Smith said, “He just goes by you--Shoooh!”

Green, who says the feeling of breaking one of those long runs defies description, said: “I can’t even begin to tell you how great it feels when you know that nobody is going to catch you,” Green said. “It’s like nobody is going to touch you, and you can just run and run.”

In the open field--and Green is pretty good at making a quick move to get into the secondary and find some open field--nobody is going to catch him from behind.

The other backs are fast, too, but not that fast. They have other qualities. Green, who isn’t real good at talking about himself, relaxed into a big smile when he was asked about what the others could do.

“Eric Ball is hard to bring down,” Green said. “He has some really strong legs. He has a strong upper body, too. He can run over people or break tackles. He has good speed, too. And he can jump. He can go over the top. He has a vertical jump of about 37 inches. He’s just a real strong runner.

“James Primus is a tough runner. He runs tough. He runs real hard, like a slasher.”

Both fullbacks are strong runners who are converted tailbacks.

“I think we all handle sharing the ball so well because we know that we’re all pretty good,” Green said. “And because we’re friends. I don’t feel like I have to have the ball in my hands 30 times to have a good game.

“When I was being recruited, some other schools pointed out to me that UCLA was not the kind of school that was going to really promote me, but I did think it was the kind of place where I could become a better player.

“Besides, my mother talked to me about that when I was making a decision, and she told me that if you’re really good, you’ll be noticed wherever you are. I think that’s true.”

THE RIVALRY UCLA vs.USC THE TAILBACK COMPARISON

UCLA

NAME ATT YDS AVG TD

Gaston Green 117 521 4.5 6 James Primus 105 468 4.5 3 Eric Ball 92 444 4.8 6

USC

NAME ATT YDS AVG TD

Fred Crutcher 138 598 4.3 6 Ryan Knight 128 483 3.7 3 Aaron Emanuel 72 372 5.2 1