AN OFF-SEASON UPDATE : Smith Quickly Blending Into the USC Tradition

There isn’t much physical evidence that USC has a new football coach, because Larry Smith is seldom in his Heritage Hall office.

Smith is on the recruiting trail, trying to make up ground that was lost between the dismissal of Ted Tollner early in December and Smith’s hiring Jan. 2.

There is evidence, however, that a new regime is in power. A sign over Smith’s door details his goals for the USC football program:

--Be a class team and win with unity.

--Earn a USC degree.

--Beat UCLA and Notre Dame.

--Win Pac-10 championship and Rose Bowl.

--National championship.

Smith says he’s a goal-oriented person and he listed his own commandments when he became Arizona’s coach in 1980.

Some were the same that he has set for USC, but he didn’t reach so high in Tucson. For example, one of the goals at Arizona, rather than the national championship, was just achieving national prestige, which Smith and the Wildcats did to a certain extent.

At USC, though, national prestige is taken for granted, even in seasons like three of the last four.

Smith is aware that expectations are higher at USC than at Arizona and has adjusted his goals accordingly.

“I came here with my eyes wide open and I put more pressure on myself than anyone else,” Smith said. “I’m not afraid of failure.”

Smith said that people sometimes set goals too low because of fear of failure. He recalled that in his second season at Arizona he set a goal for a winning season. It was accomplished, barely, at 6-5.

“After studying films of the season, I was upset,” he said. “We all set our goals too low. I realized that if our goals had been higher we would have been in a bowl game. We didn’t reach high enough. So to me, you reach high.”

Smith wanted to establish a winning program at Arizona, a school that isn’t steeped in tradition, and did so. At USC, tradition lurks behind every bust of a Heisman Trophy winner, or famous coach in the lobby of Heritage Hall.

That suits Smith fine. He wants that tradition to be an ally of his own program.

“I need to revive more of it (tradition),” he said. “I don’t mean that we want to live on past ghosts, but on that type of enthusiasm and glory and expectations that can help the young people who are here today. They need to hear and see more of it. That gives them a role model to live up to.”

So Smith is soliciting the support of such famous former players as O.J. Simpson, Pat Haden and Ron Yary.

“I’ve already talked to some of them, or sent them letters,” he said. “We are also planning a couple of functions, encouraging them to come back--a reunion type of thing. I want to get these people back with what we’re doing so they can feel a part of it. It will take a team effort of everyone that is here and everyone that has been here. Everyone can contribute.”

This is the last year that O.J. Simpson, Mike Garrett and other famous alumni can make any contact with recruits. A National Collegiate Athletic Assn. ruling has banned the use of former athletes or boosters in recruiting in the future.

Smith is also determined to revive another USC tradition--the running game that was identified in the John McKay era as student body right or left.

Trojan traditionalists wince when they examine last season’s rushing statistics. USC averaged only 137 yards on the ground, the lowest since 1949.

Moreover, the average carry gained 3.3 yards, the lowest since a 1-9 team in 1957 averaged only 2.88.

At any other school, that would be just a dry statistic and, perhaps, not significant in a total assessment of a team. But the Trojans are captives of their own running back tradition--from Garrett through Simpson and Marcus Allen.

Smith, going along with what he perceived as a trend, favored multi-formations and a diversified offense at Arizona. But he drastically changed his philosophy last season.

“I have to be honest--I got sick to my stomach at what we were doing,” Smith said. “That wasn’t me. I got wrapped up like everyone else. You know, ‘Let’s entertain the fans.’ ”

When Smith hired offensive coordinator Chuck Stobart, with whom he had worked when they were assistant coaches at Michigan, he figured that the time was right to go back to their roots, the basic I-formation.

So Arizona, which hadn’t previously intimidated opponents with its running game, shot right to the top of the chart. The Wildcats led the Pacific 10 in rushing in 1986, averaging 219.3 yards a game, and had the conference’s second-leading rusher in David Adams.

The right personnel is, of course, a factor in any offensive deviation. But Smith said he was influenced by other factors.

“I noticed what was happening in the conference,” he said. “People were wrapped up in nickel defenses, stopping the pass. I’m not sure people knew how to stop the run anymore in this conference.

“Then I looked at statistics. The emphasis has been all pass. Teams were still throwing for a lot of yards, but touchdown passes and percentage of completions were down and interceptions were up. That really told me something. Football runs in cycles. The defense catches up with the offense.”

Tollner didn’t believe that USC could dominate teams on the ground as it had in other years. He favored a more diversified approach offensively, alternating between the I and split backs with some single-back alignments.

As the season developed, USC became a proficient passing team, but opponents weren’t overly concerned with its running game.

Smith said as much when he recalled how he prepared for the Trojans last year.

“Our feeling was that we had to contain (quarterback) Rodney Peete,” Smith said. “We didn’t. He hit on a bomb to Ken Henry, scrambled at other times, and their defense made some big plays and they beat us.”

Smith said that he shared the same offensive philosophy with Tollner for five years. But he’s headed in a different direction now.

He reasons that the passing game can be more effective when a running attack is established and cites UCLA’s productive offense in recent years as an example.

“We won’t be an option team and I don’t want to get our quarterback killed,” he said. “But I think the option will keep defenses honest and help Rodney with the overall running and passing game.”

In essence, Smith simplified his offense last year as Arizona had a 9-3 record, culminating with a win over North Carolina in the Aloha Bowl.

“Our approach was to create diversity from a simple look,” he said. “You teach the I-formation run game first, and the diversity comes from everything you do off it,” he said. “We learned to run the football again. I’d say we’re in the I-formation about 80% of the time and split backs 20%.”

Now Smith is in the process of selling himself and his staff to recruits.

“I think we’re qualified because of seven years of Pac-10 experience,” he said. “And the knowledge of what we do on the field is somewhat established.”

Sound defense and a proficient kicking game have been trademarks of Smith’s teams.

And, in keeping with a revived emphasis on the running game, Smith said that his top priority is recruiting quality tailbacks by the letter-of-intent signing day next Wednesday.

Smith is satisfied with the tailbacks he has inherited--Ryan Knight, Aaron Emanuel and Steve Webster--but the numbers are down at that position.

He also said he can get into more homes now, recruiting as USC’s coach, than he could at Arizona.

Asked to describe his perception of USC when he was an opponent for seven years, Smith said:

“Up front, seven on seven, on either side of the line, there was no way we could out-personnel them. We had to out-finesse them.”

Now Smith is in the power seat, under increased pressure, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.