Peete Has to Let Others Do Talking

Last week, USC quarterback Rodney Peete could hardly walk. Now he can’t talk.

Peete is making medical history of sorts. Just as he’s recovering from the measles, he has come down with laryngitis.

The USC medical staff has restrained Peete from talking until Thursday. So who calls the signals in practice?

That’s freshman quarterback Todd Marinovich, who will stand behind Peete as a stand-in voice and call out the snap count.

“Rodney is much better after his bout with the measles, but now he can’t talk at all,” USC Coach Larry Smith said Monday. “We feel he’ll get his voice back by Thursday. So, in the interim, he’s still out there, practicing.

“It’s an unusual way of practicing, but at least Rodney is out there this week, unlike last week when he missed all but one day of workouts.”

Peete’s voice was weakening in Saturday’s game against UCLA. Flanker John Jackson said he had to read the quarterback’s lips on audible signals, changing a play at the line of scrimmage.

What’s in store for Peete before the Rose Bowl game with Michigan Jan. 2? Chicken pox? Mumps?