Norman Is Dropped by USC

USC Coach Ted Tollner said Wednesday that senior split end Hank Norman will not accompany the team to Honolulu for the Aloha Bowl game against Alabama on Dec. 28.

Tollner said that Norman will be left home for personal reasons, presumably those of the athlete. Practice for the Aloha Bowl started Monday, and Norman has not been at the drills.

Asked to elaborate on Norman’s personal problems, Tollner said: “If we are going to have any kind of program of privacy, it has to be confidential. If we talk about drug policy, that is the way the program is written up . . . that all information and results are confidential.

“Any time we have any kind of disciplinary problem, whether it is a guy being booted off the team for missing things, then it falls into personal. There will be all kinds of speculation as to what it is. My opinion is that it is up to the individuals involved to discuss it. I’m just trying to protect the individual.”

USC has a random drug-testing program, but Tollner would not say that Norman’s dismissal was drug-related.

Norman is USC’s all-time leading receiver with 113 catches. He has caught 39 passes this season for 635 yards, a 16.3 average, and 3 touchdowns.

Either sophomore Ken Henry or freshman Erik Affholter will be the starting split end for the Aloha Bowl game.