Tailback U. Who? : USC Lacks Big Name, but Lockwood Helps Get Big Yardage

If someone had suggested at the start of the season that USC would have a 9-0 record in November and a No. 2 national ranking without a dominating-type tailback, he would have been flaunting tradition.

More to the point, the suggestion wouldn’t have been credible.

The only difference now is that USC’s offense is productive with tailbacks , not an individual such as Mike Garrett, O. J. Simpson, Ricky Bell, Anthony Davis, Charles White or Marcus Allen.

Even though Steven Webster, the Pacific 10 Conference’s leading rusher last year, has been virtually inactive this season with injuries and Aaron Emanuel has missed 5 games with a lower leg injury, USC has had quality performances at the position.

In fact, the tailback position is averaging 158 yards a game, a projected 1,700 yards for the season.

Scott Lockwood, a sophomore, has made a major contribution to this tailback-by-committee approach. He has gained 500 yards, has a 4.6-yard average and has scored 4 touchdowns.

Ricky Ervins, another sophomore, has gained 382 yards, has a 4.7-yard average and has scored 2 touchdowns.

And despite his inactivity, Emanuel, a junior, has contributed 282 yards, a 6-yard average and 6 touchdowns.

Even redshirt freshman Calvin Holmes, a fourth-string tailback, has made some impact with 172 yards, a 5.1-yard average and 2 touchdowns.

The running game has been further enhanced by fullbacks Leroy Holt and Jeff Brown. Holt has gained 433 yards, averaged 4.4 yards and scored 5 touchdowns. Brown has a 4.1-yard average and has gained 134 yards.

Lockwood has been the starting tailback for the last 4 games, but he realizes that he isn’t going to be called upon to carry the ball 40, or more, times as his predecessors did.

“I know that USC is traditionally known for a single tailback,” Lockwood said. “Now it’s 4 or 5 guys who have played, and it will continue to work that way. It’s fine with me, as long as we win.”

There are some drawbacks, though, such as establishing a rhythm at the position by sustained repetition.

“It’s hard when you feel you’ve got something going and then you come out, sit around and cool down,” Lockwood said. “It takes you out of the tempo of the game.

“On the other hand, it gives you a chance to rest. In the tight games, you need all the freshness you can get.”

All of the tailbacks have contrasting styles. Lockwood is a glider with deceptive speed. Ervins, at 5 feet 7 inches and 195 pounds, careens across the field like a runaway bowling ball. Emanuel is the power type, breaking tackles and running over defenders. Holmes is pure speed.

Lockwood concedes that his speed is deceptive, saying: “I think it’s almost an advantage for me because it looks like I’m not really moving, or making the right cut, or hitting the hole at the right time. But it works out.”

Sometimes 40-yard dash times in football are distorted. However, Lockwood, Ervins and Holmes were all sprinters in high school and all have legitimate credentials.

“Last spring I was timed in 4.4 seconds for the 40,” Lockwood said. “Holmes and Gary Wellman (a wide receiver) each ran 4.38 and Ervins a 4.39. So we’re all right there together.

“When I was in high school in Boulder, Colo., I was timed in 6.2 for the indoor 60-yard dash.”

Lockwood has been productive while playing with what he said is a sprained Achilles’ tendon.

“It’s the same type of injury that Aaron has had,” Lockwood said. “You can’t push off, or get any flexibility out of your foot. I’m wearing a brace and so is Aaron. It was tough to play with early on, but now it’s healing.”

Lockwood is also skilled at another position. When strong safety Cleveland Colter’s knee locked on him against California Nov. 5, Lockwood became the punt returner.

He has averaged an impressive 15.4 yards on 5 returns.

“I haven’t done that since high school,” he said. “It’s kind of fun and I’m getting the hang of it. It was tough, though, when we played at Arizona State, because the sun was always in my eyes.”

Lockwood has a USC legacy. His father, John, now a high school football coach in Colorado, was a defensive lineman and fullback at USC in the mid-1960s. His grandfather and uncle both played baseball at USC.

He says that the season has been geared to peak for Saturday’s game with UCLA and the Nov. 26 game against top-ranked Notre Dame.

Lockwood unexpectedly had a chance to play as a freshman against UCLA last year when Webster went out with a knee injury at the end of the first quarter.

“I played until the third quarter, then I went out with 20 stitches in my head,” Lockwood said. “Someone tackled me when my helmet came off.”

As for Saturday’s game, Lockwood said:

“Coach (Larry) Smith has stressed focusing on one game at a time and everything is coming right up to this game. Like track, you have to have your best times at the end of the season.”