BATTLE FOR THE ROSE BOWL : UCLA vs. USC : THE QUARTERBACKS : Peete Talks a Pretty Good Game, but He Plays It Even Better as USC Record-Setter

Rodney Peete is on a marathon course of interviews this week. He is asked to analyze USC’s season, talk about Saturday’s opponent, UCLA, and perhaps provide some insight into his personal nature.

After all, he is USC’s quarterback, a high-profile athlete at a high-profile school.

As usual, Peete is accommodating, articulate and patient, smiling frequently as he answers the same questions time and again.

“The word charisma was demonstrated for me for the first time through Rodney,” said Nancy Mazmanian, USC’s assistant sports information director. “He just brightens up a room and knows how to make people happy.”

Everyone is aware that Peete is a skilled, poised quarterback, who already holds seven school passing records and will pick up more soon, or as a senior next season.

When Peete is away from the spotlight, he is teasing the personnel in Heritage Hall, an affectionate sort who is touching or playfully bumping heads with people he feels comfortable with.

There is an openness about him, though, that is misleading. Part of Rodney Peete is not always shared with others.

“To some extent, he reminds me of Marcus Allen, although Rodney is more outgoing,” Mazmanian said. “Both have the same carefully guarded nature. Rodney is a happy-go-lucky person, but he’s also very self-protective of himself. He has to know you before he opens up to you.”

Peete’s personality has paved a smooth path for himself, even as a youngster when he was as competitive as he is now.

His mother, Edna, told Life magazine: “He always has been competitive--even in marbles when he was a little kid. We told him, ‘Rodney, you can’t win all the time.’ Your friends will stop coming around. But he wouldn’t give in, and his friends kept coming. He had a way of making them believe it was an accident that he won.”

Mazmanian recalls that when Peete reported late for baseball practice in 1985 and then started at shortstop against UCLA, the other players could have resented him. Since it was Rodney, though, everything was OK.

Peete is on the verge of playing in the most important game of his college career, with the Rose Bowl at stake.

He led USC to a 17-13 upset victory over UCLA as a red-shirt freshman in 1985, scoring the winning touchdown on a one-yard sneak with 1 minute 13 seconds remaining.

Last year, he and his teammates sat stunned in the locker room at halftime as they trailed UCLA, 31-0, eventually losing, 45-20.

“It was a painful thing, sitting in that locker room at halftime,” Peete said. “We can’t help but think about it, how badly we got beat.”

As for the 1985 game, Peete said: “That was probably the best feeling I’ve ever had in football.”

Saturday’s game at the Coliseum?

“I can hardly wait. I wish we could play the game now. It’s fun being in a situation like this. It’s the reason you come to USC, to play in these types of big games.”

Even though USC beat Arizona, 12-10, last Saturday to qualify for a Rose Bowl showdown with UCLA, Peete had his worst game of the season. He completed only 7 of 20 passes and fumbled on a wild scramble that took USC out of field-goal range at a critical time of the game.

“I played like a freshman,” Peete said. “I’ll have to play 10 times better for us to be more productive on offense.”

Peete said the Bruins will be the quickest team USC has played, even quicker than Arizona. He is also aware that USC will have to play its best game to win. The Trojans have had some uneven games recently, such as good offense and lagging defense against Stanford, and then vice versa against Arizona.

Overall, Peete has performed consistently, completing passes on the run or from the pocket, while also posing a threat on option plays.

He has completed 59.4% of his passes for 2,156 yards and 17 touchdowns, while throwing 8 interceptions. He has added another 101 yards as a runner and has been sacked only 6 times.

“Peete gives your defense four, or five different dimensions that you have to try to get a hold of,” UCLA Coach Terry Donahue said. “He’s a very elusive athlete. If you have a prototype drop-back, or roll-out passer, you can set up for one or another. Coupling that with the option, you’ve got your hands full. He’s integral and crucial to their offense, as Troy Aikman is to ours.”

There has been speculation that Peete and Aikman will be promoted as Heisman Trophy candidates next season by their respective schools.

“That’s interesting,” Peete said. “I didn’t really come here thinking about winning the Heisman Trophy because for so long USC quarterbacks just pitched the ball to the tailbacks. I don’t put a lot of stock in that, but it’s nice if people would consider me for that award.

“Aikman is a great, great player. I’ve seen him play. He’s got a good arm and he’s a smart quarterback. He can beat you in a lot of ways. We’ll have to keep him off the field.”

Asked to assess his own performance this season, Peete said: “Up to the last game, I’d say I was improving. I’ve become smarter and a little more disciplined in regard to where I throw the football.”

Peete plays a pressure position and he was asked how he responds to it.

“Early on, there was pressure,” he said. “But as you grow older, you learn how to put everything in perspective. I have a tremendous amount of belief in myself and I try not to let anything get me down because I’m a leader on this team. If they see me get down and start to doubt my confidence at any one time, or I let the pressure get to me, it’s going to affect them. I can’t allow that to happen.

“I’ve always been a person that takes everything in stride and goes with whatever happens.”

Peete is one of the most prominent college quarterbacks in the country. He also stands out as a premier black quarterback, along with Syracuse’s Don McPherson, Nebraska’s Steve Taylor and Oklahoma’s Jamelle Holieway, who is injured.

“I think people are looking at me as just a quarterback,” Peete said. “When I was growing up, people said I wouldn’t get a shot, and as you get older you better change your position and develop your skills to be a wide receiver or defensive back.

“That made me want to play quarterback even more because of the stereotype. I wanted to prove that I can play quarterback and nothing will stand in my way.”

Peete came to USC with the provision that he could play both football and baseball. He has excelled in both sports. As a starting shortstop last season, he hit .304 with 24 runs batted in, 5 of them game winners. Scouts have more than a passing interest in him.

Peete is also a communications major who wants to become a television or radio broadcaster after he fulfills his athletic ambitions.

His personality, it would seem, is his greatest asset in any endeavor.

He’s focused now, though, on Saturday’s game and the challenging aspect of it.

“It’s not just the game, but the whole atmosphere building up to it, such as the band playing on campus this week,” Peete said. “For so many years, it has come down to USC and UCLA for the Rose Bowl and that’s the way I remember it growing up.

“We’ll definitely be ready to play this week. In September, we said we wanted to be in position to win the championship. We have one more game to go.”

RODNEY PEETE’S 1987 PASSING STATISTICS

OPPONENT Att. Comp. Int. Pct. Yds TD LG MICHIGAN STATE 32 20 2 .625 229 0 26 BOSTON COLLEGE 22 14 0 .636 248 2 53 CALIFORNIA 24 15 0 .625 235 1 46 OREGON STATE 18 15 0 .833 249 2 31 OREGON 39 21 2 .539 279 3 43 WASHINGTON 17 10 1 .588 123 2 23 NOTRE DAME 45* 23 1 .511 275 1 27 WASHINGTON STATE 19 10 2 .526 155 1 23 STANFORD 20 17 0 .850 273 5* 39 ARIZONA 20 7 0 .350 90 0 30 TOTALS (10 G) 256 152 8 .594 2156 17 53

* School record.