USC Is Putting Its Youth on the Line on Defense : So Far, Owens, Ryan and Henderson Are Growing Into Their Roles Quite Well

Dan Owens is more amused than irritated that opponents might not have much respect for USC’s young defensive linemen.

“If people don’t know anything about us, they see two freshmen and a sophomore and figure they’ll run all over us,” Owens said. “It’s fun to go against those guys when they don’t think you’re that good. Then, it’s fun if you play good against them.”

Owens, a starting nose guard as a second-year freshman, plays on a unit distinguished by its inexperience. Flanking Owens are tackles Tim Ryan, another freshman, and Deryl Henderson, a sophomore whose experience is minimal.

With the graduation of Tony Colorito, Matt Koart and Brent Moore, the Trojans were left with major reconstruction of their defensive front, and Coach Ted Tollner could only hope that his youngsters would mature quickly to complement experienced linebackers and defensive backs.

Mike Ackerley, USC’s new defensive line coach, says the young linemen are coming along faster than the coaching staff had anticipated.

“They’ve accepted the challenge that just because they’re inexperienced, it doesn’t mean they have to stay that way, or play that way,” Ackerley said. “They’re doing the right things to overcome any lack of maturity they might have.”

Owens, 6 feet 3 inches and 245 pounds, was an All-Southern Section player at La Habra High School. He was a redshirt last season, then earned his job in spring practice.

“I feel like one of the guys now,” he said. “My first game (against Illinois) was sort of weird because I hadn’t played since my senior year in high school. I was only nervous about messing up. I think after you get a couple of games under your belt, it doesn’t matter anymore if you’re a freshman.”

Last Saturday, Owens and Henderson were in on 10 tackles, and Ryan contributed 9 in USC’s 17-14 win over Baylor.

“Dan did a tremendous job in that game while playing against one of the best centers in the country, Baylor’s John Adickes,” Ackerley said. “Dan’s asset is quickness, although he’s deceptively strong. And he’s a smart kid, studying films and then carrying what he has learned over to the practice field.”

Ryan, 6-5 and 250, a prep All-American, was recruited nationally at Oak Grove High in San Jose.

“He’s a little bit further ahead of schedule than we thought he would be,” Ackerley said. “We knew he had the potential to be a great football player. It was just a question of how fast he would come along. He’s making steady, consistent progress, improving every day in practice.”

Henderson, from Banning High, was a redshirt in 1984. As a reserve nose guard last year, he got to play the last half of the season when Colorito went down with an ankle injury.

“Of all the guys we have at that position, he has the natural ability you’d like to have,” Ackerley said. “Even though he played last year, he’s the least experienced because he played only one year of high school football, his senior year. Otherwise, he was a basketball player.”

With USC’s offense sputtering for 3 1/2 quarters against Baylor, the defense was on the field for almost 38 minutes. Punter Chris Sperle also got a workout. He kicked 10 times for a 39.1-yard average.

Last year at the Coliseum, Baylor converted on 9 of 14 third-down plays in beating USC, 20-13. Last week at Waco, Tex., although Baylor had 408 yards in total offense, the Bears converted only 6 of 17 third-down plays.

USC’s young defenders had to deal with an experienced Baylor offensive line. They will play a less experienced but bigger offensive line in Saturday’s game against Washington at the Coliseum.

“Washington poses a little bit different problem than Baylor did,” Ackerley said. “Baylor was a physical team, but it had a finesse-type of line with quickness and scramble blocking. Now we’re facing a team that averages about 285 pounds across the front. What we’re facing is a physical, stronger type of individual.

“The key thing for us is whether we’ll be able to hold up physically. We’re giving up about 30 pounds a man across the front with our down linemen. That’s going to wear on us as the day goes along.”

Owens will be playing on Washington’s center, Bern Brostek, a 6-2, 272-pound freshman.

He said, however, that he would rather oppose bulky linemen than quick ones.

Despite the veteran strength behind the line, Owens realizes that there is pressure up front.

“It’s really up to us (the defensive line) what kind of season we’ll have,” Owens said. “If we perform well, that means our team will do good. I think we can only get better. By the time I’m a junior, I think we’ll have one of the best defensive lines in the country.”

The coaching staff would settle for constant improvement this season.

“Our approach with them is that every day they come to practice, they should get a little bit better than they were yesterday,” Ackerley said.

“If they’ll do that, then at the end of the year people won’t be talking about the inexperienced defensive line at USC anymore. They’re going to be saying: ‘Where did they get these guys? They’re knocking everyone off the football.’ ”

Trojan Notes Coach Ted Tollner said that quarterback Rodney Peete was able to practice Wednesday after missing Tuesday’s workout. Peete has a strained left hamstring. “I told him to tell me how his leg feels because I don’t want to lose him for a month,” Tollner said. “He said it wasn’t that weak and he was able to move around pretty well.” Tollner is satisfied that Peete will be able to play. If he’s not able to, Kevin McLean will start. “It’s the best quarterback situation since I’ve been here,” Tollner said. “If Kevin goes in, we still have a legitimate chance to win.” . . . Washington has won four of the last five games from USC, but the Huskies have only a 4-13 record against the Trojans in Los Angeles since 1950. In 1984, Washington had a 9-0 record and was ranked first in the country before losing to USC, 16-7, at the Coliseum. That game determined the Rose Bowl representative.