Now, the Latest Conflict in a Running Battle : USC Is Still Land of the Tailback, but It’s Sort of a No-Man’s Land

In the lazy days of summer, USC was contemplating a return to the Rose Bowl, or possibly, winning a national championship.

It made sense. The Trojans were apparently loaded at tailback, the position that has brought national prominence to the school through Heisman Trophy winners.

Fred Crutcher, a senior, was the solid No. 1 incumbent. Although not flashy or a game-breaker, he was steady and reliable and was already eighth on the all-time USC rushing list, with four Heisman winners ahead of him.

Ryan Knight, a sophomore who had been heavily recruited out of Riverside Rubidoux High, was expected to challenge Crutcher for playing time.

But most of the speculation centered on Aaron Emanuel, the 6-2, 215-pound tailback from Quartz Hill High near Palmdale. He was first on almost every school’s recruiting list, and it was regarded as a major coup that the Trojans got him.

There was some concern, though, that Emanuel wouldn’t get much playing time, considering his freshman status and the quality tailbacks ahead of him.

There were also two sleepers at the position: redshirt freshman Steve Webster, a small, slithering-type runner who was prominent in scrimmages with his breakaway runs, and senior Zeph Lee, the so-called forgotten man, who had a career 6.1-yard average in cameo roles along with a school record-tying 94-yard run in the 1984 opener against Utah State.

But the position didn’t stabilize and the running game hasn’t been like USC of old.

Crutcher and Knight alternated at the outset of the season before Webster and Emanuel got an opportunity to play. Knight was shunted to the fourth team at one time.

Emanuel showed some promise in mid-season games before he went down with an ankle injury against Washington State. His season is most likely over. Webster is just coming back from an ankle injury and he may return kickoffs against UCLA Saturday at the Coliseum.

Knight got back into the rotation with some strong runs in a game-clinching drive against WSU. He also alternated with Crutcher against California.

Knight had the position all to himself in last Saturday’s 20-17 loss to Washington, and he’ll be the starting tailback against UCLA, although Crutcher is expected to play. Knight is USC’s comeback player of the year, from the obscurity of fourth string to No. 1.

It would be inaccurate to say that USC’s 4-5 record is directly related to a running game that hasn’t performed to expectations. There have been breakdowns in other areas.

Coach Ted Tollner has said that the talent is better than the results, citing execution problems in the line and backfield by several players.

But the bottom line is that USC’s running game has not been as productive as it was in the past.

From 1972 through 1981, the Trojans averaged 257.5 yards a game on the ground. From 1982 to this year, that average has plunged to 173.7. This season the Trojans average 195 a game.

As a group, the Trojans don’t have any breakaway runners, only ones that grind out yardage.

Frank Falks, USC running back coach, believes that Emanuel, when healthy, is capable of the 20-to 40-yard runs the Trojans need.

“He’s as big and strong a runner as we thought he would be and is also quick,” Falks said. “Right now, he’s jogging but it’s difficult for him to cut.”

Other Falks evaluations:

Crutcher: “Freddie is a tough, steady ballplayer. He is a little bit quicker than he has been and has regained some of his speed, but he’s nowhere near to what he was when he first got here. He had a knee operation in his sophomore year that was one of the worst they’ve seen around here.”

Lee: “It’s unfortunate for him that early in the season he ended up behind the others. Once the season starts, it’s hard to get back into that top three. The practice time is cut and and you have to prepare the other guys for the ball game.”

Knight: “Early in the season Ryan showed great promise. Then, he hurt his foot, and even when he came back, he was missing some acceleration he would have had if his foot wasn’t hurting. Now he’s back running like Ryan Knight.”

It seems that Knight dances behind the line of scrimmage at times before blasting into a hole. “In the spring he didn’t do that, but when you’re out for a while you revert back to what you’re used to doing--dancing and running to the sideline,” Falks said. “In high school you can do that because you can out-run everybody. But on this level those guys on the other side of the ball are as as fast you are.”

It seemed that circumstances were against Knight, prompting his demotion early in the season.

He wasn’t able to score on three rushing attempts inside the Baylor seven-yard line in the closing minutes, and he hurt his foot in the process. Baylor held on to win, 20-13, signaling, as it turned out, USC’s downward, losing spiral.

“I was ready to play against Arizona State the next week, but Coach (Ted) Tollner said that he wanted to try out Aaron and Steve,” Knight said. “He said my explosiveness was not up to par. In my mind, I was explosive enough. But he’s the head coach and if he says I’m not explosive enough, there is nothing I can do about it. All I can do is try to improve.”

Knight didn’t sulk or complain about his fourth-team status.

“I talked to my father, and he said the same thing happened to him when he was playing college basketball,” Knight said. “He told me to keep working hard and to keep my mouth shut.”

Knight got his chance against Washington State and made the most of it. Now he’s the starting tailback for the biggest game of his young career.

THE RIVALRY

UCLA vs.USC

THE TAILBACK COMPARISON

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 Aaron Emanuel 72 372 5.2 1