Reggie Smith to Walk On at USC as a Running Back

Reggie Smith Jr., who excelled in both football and baseball at Montclair Prep in Van Nuys, will attend USC this fall without a scholarship but plans to continue playing both sports for the Trojans.

Smith, the son of former Dodger Reggie Smith, said Tuesday he will try to gain a spot on the USC football team at running back at the suggestion of Coach Ted Tollner. According to Smith, Tollner told him his best chance at earning a scholarship would be as a running back even though Smith has not played that position since his junior year in high school.

Tollner was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

Smith will follow Tollner’s suggestion even though USC seems well fortified at running back. Tailback Ryan Knight has two seasons of eligibility remaining and Aaron Emmanuel has three seasons left. But reserve running back Steve Webster is injured, and Smith would give the team depth at that position.

“I was a little leery of it at first, because of the guys ahead of me, and the fact that I haven’t been a running back for a while,” Smith said. “But they said I can do it. Defensive back is my favorite position, and Ted Tollner knows that. But they have a need and I have a need. They said I might get to play defensive back, maybe. You never know. I could have said I only wanted to play at defensive back, but they told me the chances of getting a scholarship wouldn’t be as great.”

In addition to playing defensive back at Montclair Prep, Smith (5-8, 180) played quarterback last season. He will report to USC practice Aug. 14.

In baseball, the right-handed batter hit .342 with five home runs in 1986 and as a left-handed pitcher he was 4-0 with a 0.64 earned-run average.

Smith said that his father, who played for the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals before joining the Dodgers, put no pressure on him to choose between football and baseball.

“He’s with me all the way, no matter what I decided to do,” Smith said. “My dad went into baseball right out of high school, but he turned down some football scholarships. He was a better football player in high school than a baseball player.

“Right now there’s no guarantees of me playing any sport professionally. I’m going to college to get an education. USC isn’t a bad place to do that.