USC TAILBACK : Junior Steve Webster Has Won the Job, but He’s Sidelined With Ankle Injury

Introductions usually aren’t necessary when it comes to identifying the starting tailback at USC.

Over the years, aspiring tailbacks have served apprenticeships, sometimes at fullback, as Ricky Bell and Marcus Allen each did.

When they were promoted, they were relatively experienced and recognizable. Steve Webster is an exception. He’s sort of the mystery guest at the position. He has played in only 1 of USC’s last 21 games, making a significant cameo appearance against Stanford last season.

However, he was the best-conditioned athlete during spring practice and won the starting job from Ryan Knight and Aaron Emanuel, who had considerably more playing time.

Despite the designation as the No. 1 tailback, though, there’s some doubt about when Webster will play again.

He hurt some ligaments in his left ankle during a casual basketball game in July.

He wore a cast on his foot for three weeks, then a walking boot. He is running again but not practicing with the team.

The worst scenario for Webster is that he may be one of those promising athletes continually restricted by injuries.

For sure, the 5-foot 10-inch, 185-pound junior has had his share of ankle problems. After a redshirt season in 1984, he sprained his right ankle in practice in ’85 and was inactive the rest of the season.

Webster had surgery on the ankle during the off-season but wasn’t able to play until the seventh game of the 1986 season, against Stanford.

He went in during the second half, when the Trojan offense was lagging, and weaved and darted for 60 yards in 16 carries as USC won, 10-0.

But no sooner had he emerged than he was gone again. He reinjured his right ankle in that game and was lost for the rest of the season.

He impressed new Coach Larry Smith in spring practice, though, and resisted further injury--until last month.

“I talked to Steve a week before he went home,” Smith said. “I told him to be a workout guy and a football player and don’t try to be a basketball player. He assured me he wasn’t a basketball player. A week later, I got a call that he hurt his foot in a two-on-two game.”

Said Webster: “I talked to Coach Smith and he was pretty upset, because we had a talk before I went home and I told him I didn’t play any basketball at all--and I usually don’t. He said, ‘You’ve got to take care of yourself. You’ve got to think of the team,’ things like that. I just had some idle time and it was just a shoot-around.”

Webster said he didn’t think it was a serious injury at the time. But when his ankle started to swell, he knew otherwise.

Lately, he has been running in a pool and he’s optimistic that he’ll be able to practice next week.

“The rehabilitation is going well, and I think I’ll be able to cut and take a hit soon,” he said. “I’ll be wearing an ankle brace. It’s very light, but I won’t wear it in a game.”

Smith said: “If everything works according to schedule, he will increase his running program each day. Hopefully, we’ll have him in full pads next week and go up the ladder with him.”

Smith is concerned because Webster is the only starting player not practicing with the team.

“However, if you hurry him before he’s ready to go, you could cut down on the number of games he can play,” Smith said. “I’d rather sacrifice a game or two at the beginning of the season and then have him for nine straight games.”

If Webster is not available for the opener Sept. 7 against Michigan State at East Lansing, Mich., Knight will most likely be the No. 1 tailback.

Emanuel has been suspended for at least the fall semester by an administrative review board for allegedly punching heptathlete Sharon Hatfield last spring at an off-campus party. He is now on trial in Pasadena Municipal Court on two misdemeanor battery counts.

To counter a possible depth problem at the position, Smith has said that one or two freshmen probably will get playing time.

The prospects are Scott Lockwood, Ricky Ervins, Calvin Holmes and Marcus Hopkins, all sprinter types.

Webster, though, brings more than raw speed to the position. He has the vision, cutting ability and a quick burst that is essential to the makeup of a productive tailback.

He also is a breakaway threat, something that has been missing from the USC backfield in recent years. The longest run by any Trojan running back in the past two years was a 37-yard jaunt by fullback Kennedy Pola, who had chronic knee problems.

Rodney Peete, USC’s starting quarterback, marvels at the way Webster blasts off from his tailback position.

“It’s very exciting to watch him run,” Peete said. “He gets from point A to point B in a hurry. He’s the quickest guy I’ve ever seen for six yards. When I hand the ball off to him, he’s gone, he’s already in top gear.”

Clarence Shelmon, who coaches USC’s running backs, is also impressed.

“You want the tailback to be somebody who can make something happen on his own,” he said. “The key is to make that first defender miss you, and Webster has the ability to do that.”

Webster came to USC from Helix High in La Mesa, near San Diego. He gained 869 yards his senior season, averaged 13 yards a carry and scored 5 touchdowns on runs of 70 yards or more. All that was accomplished after he missed the first three games with a broken thumb. In the spring, Webster was a part-time sprinter and baseball player.

It has become almost a cliche when athletes say that they had always wanted to go to USC, or UCLA, or Notre Dame. Webster doesn’t fit that mold.

“I didn’t pay any attention to college football when I was growing up,” he said. “From the time I was 8 until I was 13, I was playing Pop Warner football on Saturdays.”

So Webster didn’t have any role models. But he’s well aware of Marcus Allen, a San Diego prep star who preceded him at USC.

Webster, though, who is reported to have 4.45-second speed in the 40-yard dash, has been USC’s best-kept secret in recent years. Onlookers at practice would say, “Who is that guy?” as Webster slithered through the defense.