USC Has a Bevy of Running Backs : A Five-Player Platoon Is Carrying the Load for Trojans

Traditionalists accustomed to watching a USC tailback account for most of the rushing yardage in a game will be seeing a more democratic system this season.

It wasn’t unusual for O. J. Simpson or Marcus Allen to carry the ball 40 or more times. As John McKay, the former USC coach, said, “The ball isn’t heavy.”

However, in USC’s season-opening, 34-7 win over Boston College last Thursday night, Coach Larry Smith used five running backs with gratifying results.

Smith said Tuesday that he may continue to platoon his running backs, as long as they’re productive.

“When a guy gets in there, he doesn’t have to worry about holding anything back, whether it’s for 8 plays or 20,” Smith said. “The bottom line is as long as we get our run production, I don’t care who gets it, whether it’s the tailback, or fullback, or what the guy’s name is--as long as we do it.”

Smith didn’t use Steven Webster, who is making satisfactory progress after extensive knee surgery, against Boston College.

In that game, at least, Webster, the Pacific 10’s leading rusher last year with 1,109 yards, wasn’t needed.

The Trojans accumulated 229 yards on the ground. Fullback Leroy Holt led the parade of running backs with 86 yards, followed by tailback Ricky Ervins, 41; fullback Jeff Brown, 40; and tailbacks Scott Lockwood, 32, and Aaron Emanuel, 27.

Smith on his running backs:

Ervins--”He has a start, stutter move and gets through the line quickly.”

Lockwood--”He’s smooth and fluid and hits the seam. He’s a slasher.”

Emanuel--”He’s a strong, hard runner who breaks tackles.”

Holt--”He broke eight tackles against Boston College. He’s hard to bring down by one person, or one hand.”

Brown--”He’s in there with the rest of them.”

Smith isn’t sure whether Webster will be able to play Saturday when USC opens the conference season against Stanford at Palo Alto. He is getting more contact work now and his status will be clarified at the end of the week.

“Steve hits the hole from the tailback position quicker than anyone we have. He has fine vision,” Smith said.

Smith said he was fortunate to have a tailback and a fullback, without much depth, when he was coaching at Arizona.

Now, he has a modest version of the Thundering Herd of the 1930s.

Emanuel didn’t play last year. He was suspended from school for disciplinary reasons stemming from an off-campus altercation with former heptathlete Sharon Hatfield.

“There seems to be an extra something driving Emanuel,” Smith said. “There was some turmoil around him in spring practice a year ago. He has a different perspective now. When he caught that touchdown pass (in a crowd) against Boston College he just wanted the ball more than the other guy.”

Webster carried the ball an average of six more times than any other Trojan tailback in 1987. And it may shake down that way again as the season progresses.

However, for now, Smith is just going with the flow.

“I’m not going to worry about it,” he said in reference to alternating his running backs. “I want to keep them healthy. Let them compete and we’ll crank it up and go.”

Stanford will be opening its season against USC at home, while the Trojans have already played a game. So, who has the advantage?

“The disadvantage is that your opponent can see your strengths and weaknesses,” Smith said. “We can only look at last year’s Stanford film. Still, I would rather have played that first game, given the choice.”

Stanford has eight returning starters on offense and seven on defense. Smith said that Stanford is quicker than Boston College, especially defensively.

Jack Elway, Stanford’s coach, delayed his decision on his starting quarterback until this week. Brian Johnson, a sophomore, who started the last seven games last year, will start ahead of Jason Palumbis, a promising redshirt freshman.

“Johnson is an outstanding competitor and his game experience was the determing factor in the decision,” Elway said. “Jason had an excellent spring. He has good timing and is an accurate thrower. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but overall it will be a positive thing.”

Trojan Notes

USC Coach Larry Smith said that offensive lineman Brent Parkinson won’t make the trip to Palo Alto. He hasn’t sufficiently recovered from off-season knee surgery. Guard Mark Sager, defensive tackle Tim Ryan, cornerback Dwayne Garner and linebacker Junior Seau, who didn’t play against Boston College, are also doubtful for Stanford with injuries. Smith was dissatisfied with his team’s lack of killer instinct against the Eagles. “We let them off the hook. We should have led, 31-0, at halftime,” he said. An illegal player downfield penalty negated a touchdown pass from quarterback Rodney Peete to tight end Scott Galbraith. Then, just before the first half ended, a defensive breakdown contributed to a 60-yard touchdown pass play for the Eagles.

Smith is also displeased with the length of Quin Rodriguez’s kickoffs. He said that freshman punter Ron Dale may be used as a kickoff specialist. . . . USC’s 27-point winning margin over Boston College was the highest for a road opener since 1909, when the Trojans beat Cal Poly, 51-0. . . . Leroy Holt’s 86 yards rushing was the most by a USC fullback since Todd Spencer also had 86 in a 1981 game against UCLA.

Saturday’s game, which will be televised by Channel 7 starting at 12:35 p.m., is the earliest USC has ever opened conference competition and the earliest it has ever played Stanford, a series that began in 1905.