COLLEGE FOOTBALL : TAKING OVER THE REINS : With Troy Aikman and Rodney Peete Out of Picture, Their Successors--Bret Johnson at UCLA and Todd Marinovich at USC--Will Certainly Have Their Hands Full. . . : Trojan Quarterback Inherits Job That He Seemed Destined for All Along

First off, let’s get something straight. USC quarterback Todd Marinovich is tired of this born-to-be-a-Trojan stuff.

No, he did not come home from the hospital aboard Traveler.

No, he did not have cardinal and gold diapers.

Marinovich is just another guy whose family tree is planted in Heritage Hall, whose first companion in his crib was a football and whose athletic training began before he could walk.

The Marinovich roots at USC run deep. Todd’s father, Marv, was both an offensive and defensive lineman at the school in 1959, ’61 and ’62. His uncle is Craig Fertig, a star Trojan quarterback in the early ‘60s and later an assistant coach and administrator at the school.

Todd’s mother (Trudi), sister (Traci) and grandfather (Henry Fertig) all went there. Two of his cousins, Marc and Jennifer Fertig, are also at USC. Marc is an infielder on the Trojan baseball team.

And so, eventually, did Todd.

A week ago, Marinovich, who redshirted his first year, figured to start this season on the bench. Junior Pat O’Hara appeared to have won the starting job after putting in his apprenticeship under Rodney Peete.

Then O’Hara went down in a scrimmage with a season-ending knee injury and Marinovich suddenly had his destiny before him. Monday evening at the Coliseum, Marinovich will get his first chance to fulfill that destiny, when USC plays host to Illinois in its season opener.

If nothing else, he should be more prepared for this sort of situation than many his age.

His father went on after USC to play with the Raiders and also coached and scouted in the NFL before getting into the sports fitness business. He now runs an Orange County training center.

Todd, too, was a fitness freak. From birth.

Marv read books on infant exercise and had his son doing stretching and strengthening routines at the age of one month. Todd was soon crawling around the house with a medicine ball. His diet was strictly monitored. Other youngsters would arrive at a birthday party with a present in hand. Todd came with his own cake and ice cream, sugar free.

Drink a Coke? Forget it. Eat a Big Mac? Never!

Eventually, Marv corralled 13 different experts in various fields of physical development to work with his bionic boy, everybody from an eye specialist to a biochemist. And, lo and behold, Todd grew up to be 6 feet 4 inches and 210 pounds and became an athlete.

His father insists that was not the only goal.

“A lot has been written and said about it (Todd’s life-long training regimen),” Marv said, “but it was done for fitness. I wanted to create the perfect environment for his development. I wanted him to have a perfect environment to do whatever he wanted to do. If he had been a musician, that would have been fine. I still would have wanted him to have the discipline and the training.

“But before he was old enough to make choices, I had him participating in athletics. If you wait until they are old enough to make a choice, it’s too late. They have no background.”

No complaints from Todd.

“I’ve done everything so-called normal kids have done,” he said. “I don’t really know what normal is.”

It isn’t Todd on an athletic field, that’s for sure. He excelled at almost every sport he tried. He played Pop Warner football. He became an All-Southern Section second team basketball player. He was even drafted by the Angels, though he never played high school baseball.

But football seemed his destiny. After playing his first game as a freshman at Mater Dei High School in Orange County, Todd came off the field, smiled at his father and said, “Dad, this is it.”

And it was.

By the time his high school career ended at Capistrano Valley in Mission Viejo, where he transferred after his sophomore year, he had become the first prep quarterback in the country to exceed 9,000 yards passing, finishing with 9,194.

His choice of a college? Be serious.

But actually, it wasn’t that simple.

“I don’t think his relatives made that much of an impact,” his father said. “Being a quarterback, he watched John Elway. USC hadn’t thrown a lot. Stanford did.”

Todd was leaning toward Stanford, but the USC people tried to get him to focus on the Trojans.

To do so, they used tunnel vision. There was no game going on, but they marched him through the famous Coliseum tunnel that leads to the field. Once outside, Marinovich was greeted by the USC fight song, a recording of a full house of fans cheering and a flashing scoreboard that read “Welcome Todd Marinovich.”

“I got the chills,” he said.

Ultimately, his father said, “Todd wanted to be in Southern California. (Coach) Larry Smith was so positive and dynamic. And Todd didn’t want to be a successful quarterback with an unsuccessful program. Winning is very important to him.”

So he chose USC. Marv maintains he would have been happy with any decision Todd had made.

Even UCLA?

“That,” Marv said after a long, long pause, “would have been difficult.”

Monday’s opener, a 5 o’clock game, won’t be easy. Marinovich is a raw freshman, being thrown into a nationally televised game, against a highly regarded opponent. But his coach has confidence.

“He has a feel for the game,” Smith said. “He’s a big-play quarterback. He’ll do erratic things like most youngsters will. But he has thrown just one interception--it tipped off the receiver’s hands--in the scrimmages we’ve had. So I don’t think he’s a guy who is going to just put the ball up for grabs. He’s got a good, quick delivery.

“When you have a guy that’s never taken a snap in a game, you want to give him a chance for success and confidence. But it’s just like when you send your kids to college or out on their own, you’ve got to cut the apron strings sometime.”

Said Marinovich with a smile, “This is what I’ve been waiting for since I was a kid.”

It’s been a long time. But Marinovich will finally see the light at the end of the Coliseum tunnel tomorrow and, when he emerges, it’ll be shining on him.

For all the talk about the quarterback spot, this USC team, ranked in the top five in both wire service polls, will go as far as its defense and running game can carry it.

On the eve of their opener, here is the way the Trojans line up:

QUARTERBACK--Behind Marinovich are junior Shane Foley and freshman Reggie Perry. Perry, originally headed for a redshirt year, has opened some eyes with big throws in scrimmages.

RUNNING BACK--Smith will be forced to spread out the duties pretty evenly, at least in the beginning, among his three talented tailbacks--Scott Lockwood, Aaron Emanuel and Ricky Ervins. Leroy Holt is set at fullback.

RECEIVERS--John Jackson at split end needs just 23 catches to become the Trojans’ all-time reception leader. Gary Wellman moves over to flanker. Set at tight end is Scott Galbraith, All-Pac-10 last season.

OFFENSIVE LINE--Three starters return, led by All-Pac 10 guard Mark Tucker (6-3, 265). Also back are center Brad Leggett (6-5, 270) and guard Dan Barnes (6-4, 270). At one tackle is sophomore Michael Moody (6-7, 290). At the other is converted defensive lineman Pat Harlow (6-7, 270), who, according to line coach John Matsko, still “looks like a defensive lineman and plays . . . like a defensive lineman.”

Last year’s line depended on bulk. This year, quickness is the buzzword.

DEFENSIVE LINE--It was to have been the impregnable front of All-American Tim Ryan (6-5, 260), Dan Owens (6-4, 265) and Don Gibson (6-3, 250). With Gibson sidelined four to six weeks with a knee injury, the starting nose guard will be Gene Fruge (6-5, 260).

LINEBACKERS--Scott Ross is called by his coach, Tom Roggeman, “an assassin to ballcarrier’s statistics. He is the sledgehammer.” Still recovering from a pulled hamstring, Ross will be joined at inside linebacker by Delmar Chesley. The outside backers will be Junior Seau and Michael Williams.

DEFENSIVE BACKS--You start with a pair of All-Americans in safeties Mark Carrier and Cleveland Colter. Colter, back from a knee injury, may start slowly. Also in the secondary will be Dwayne Garner and Ernest Spears.

KICKING--Ron Dale has a slight edge on Marc Preston for the punting duties. Quin Rodriguez will be the placekicker on shorter kicks, Grant Runnerstrum on those 35 yards or more.

USC ROSTER

No Player Pos Ht Wt Cl. Hometown 1 John Jackson FL 5-11 180 Sr. Diamond Bar 2 Johnnie Morton FL 6-0 185 Fr. Torrance 2 Marcus Hopkins S 6-0 195 So. San Diego 3 Ernest Spears CB 6-0 190 Sr. Oceanside 5 Austin Park K 5-8 150 Sr. Glendale 5 Marc Rodgers FL 6-0 185 So. Los Angeles 6 Damien Pierre QB 6-1 180 Fr. Atlanta 6 Marvin Pollard S 6-2 185 So. Carson 7 Mark Carrier S 6-1 185 Jr. Long Beach 8 Cleveland Colter S 6-1 195 Sr. Tempe, Ariz. 9 Dwayne Garner CB 6-0 195 Sr. Oakland 10 Shane Foley QB 6-2 200 Jr. Newport Beach 11 Quin Rodriguez K 6-0 160 Jr. Mesa, Ariz. 13 Todd Marinovich QB 6-4 210 Fr. Newport Beach 14 Andy Norell K 6-0 175 Fr. Upland 15 Zuri Hector S 6-3 200 Fr. San Francisco 15 Garret Skipper K 5-11 170 Fr. San Bernardino 16 Howard McCowan CB-S 6-0 180 Fr. Carson 17 Reggie Perry QB 6-2 195 Fr. Denison, Tex. 17 Marc Preston P 6-1 195 Jr. Irvine 18 Ron Dale P 6-3 195 So. Boulder City, Nev. 19 Stephon Pace CB 6-1 190 Fr. Duarte 19 Paul Lewis QB 6-0 165 So. Riverside 21 Calvin Holmes FL 5-9 180 So. Carson 22 Marcel Brown S 6-3 205 Fr. San Diego 22 Vern Avery FB 5-11 215 So. Oakland 23 Grant Runnerstrum K 6-2 185 Jr. Granada Hills 24 Aaron Emanuel TB 6-2 225 Sr. Palmdale 25 Damion Smith QB 6-3 185 Fr. Inglewood 26 DeChon Burns CB 5-11 190 Fr. Riverside 26 Eric Gates TB 6-1 190 Fr. South Pasadena 27 Marlon Washington SE 6-0 195 Sr. Kansas City, Kan. 28 Eric Dixon TB 6-0 200 Fr. Huber Heights, Ohio 29 James Wilson LB 6-5 220 So. San Diego 29 Matt Hurray FL 6-0 165 So. Balboa Island 30 Mike Mooney FB 6-2 225 Fr. Temple City 31 Mazio Royster TB 6-1 190 Fr. Pomona 34 Ricky Ervins TB 5-8 190 Jr. Pasadena 35 Scott Ross ILB 6-2 235 Jr. El Toro 36 Shannon Jones ILB 6-4 220 Fr. Houston 36 Josh Tobias FB 5-8 180 Fr. Bakersfield 37 LamontHillinquest S 6-3 210 So. Lynwood 37 Tim Lavin FB 6-1 205 Fr. Agoura Hills 38 Raoul Spears FB 6-0 230 So. Compton 38 Curt Himebauch S 6-1 175 Fr. San Dimas 39 Leroy Holt FB 6-0 225 Sr. Carson 40 Craig Hartsuyker LB 6-4 215 Jr. Valley Center, Calif. 41 Scott Lockwood TB 6-0 195 Jr. Boulder, Colo. 42 Rory Brown FB 6-2 220 Fr. Pueblo, Colo. 43 Bobby Irvin TE 6-4 215 Jr. Pacific Palisades 43 Fred Harris DT 6-5 230 Fr. Denver 44 Derrick Gachett FB 6-2 225 Sr. Riverside 44 Brett Walsh CB 5-11 165 Jr. San Diego 45 Travis Hannah FL 5-9 160 Fr. Hawthorne 45 Al Aliipule T 6-4 250 Fr. Vista 46 Bruce Luizzi CB 6-1 185 Fr. Burbank 46 David Kerr FB 6-1 200 Fr. San Gabriel 47 Bob Crane TE 6-4 220 Fr. Long Beach 47 Marc Peterlin S 6-0 190 Fr. Hollister 48 Matt Gee ILB 6-3 235 So. Arkansas City, Kan. 48 Jason Moore FL 6-0 190 Fr. Reseda 49 Matt Butkus NG 6-1 225 Fr. Malibu 49 Ed Chavez FB 6-1 230 Jr. Bakersfield 50 Tom Dabasinskas C 6-5 255 Sr. Escondido 51 Cordell Sweeney OLB 6-4 225 Sr. San Jose 52 J.R. Chesley OLB 6-3 230 Fr. Indian Head, Md. 53 Delmar Chesley ILB 6-2 235 Sr. Washington, D.C. 54 Michael Williams OLB 6-4 230 Sr. Dallas 55 Junior Seau OLB 6-3 245 Jr. Oceanside 56 Brian Tuliau ILB 6-2 235 Jr. Long Beach 57 David Webb ILB 6-4 220 Fr. Irvine 57 Michael Solum G 6-4 220 Fr. Pacific Palisades 58 Scott Freier G-C 6-3 255 Jr. Antioch 59 Alan Wilson ILB 6-2 235 So. Gardena 60 DeNail Sparks G 6-3 265 Fr. Claremont 61 Craig Gibson C 6-3 230 Fr. Orange 62 Len Gorecki T 6-5 255 Fr. San Dimas 62 Miguel Gutierrez G 5-11 255 So. Los Angeles 63 Brad Leggett C 6-5 270 Sr. Fountain Valley 64 Michael Gaytan T 6-6 275 Fr. Malvern, Pa. 64 Dale Evans C-T 5-11 285 Jr. Santa Monica 65 Joel Crisman DT 6-5 270 Fr. Grundy Center, Ia. 65 Marc Raab G-C 6-3 250 So. San Diego 66 Randy Hord DT 6-3 245 Sr. Riverside 67 Kian Ramsay G 6-6 275 Fr. Independence, Ore. 68 Dan Barnes G 6-4 270 Sr. Woodland Hills 69 David Apolskis T 6-4 250 Fr. Houston 70 Brian Turk GE 6-4 265 Fr. Santa Ana 71 Brent Parkinson G 6-6 260 Sr. Canyon Country 72 Michael Moody T 6-7 290 So. San Francisco 73 Titus Tuiasosopo C 6-2 270 Fr. American Samoa 74 Keith Siscel T 6-6 265 Fr. Vacaville 74 Kevin Lane DT 6-4 240 Fr. Zephyr Cove, Nev. 75 Mark Tucker G 6-3 265 Jr. Los Angeles 76 Bill Schultz T 6-5 285 Sr. Granada Hills 77 Pat Harlow T 6-7 270 Jr. Norco 78 Terry McDaniels DT 6-5 250 Fr. Altadena 78 William Howard G 6-4 250 Fr. San Diego 79 Thomas Holland DT 6-4 250 Fr. Carrollton, Tex. 79 Steve Beckley T 6-4 235 Fr. Ft. Worth 80 Junior Moi OLB 6-4 225 Fr. Vista 80 Tom Brown SE 5-8 160 Fr. Newark, Calif. 81 Joel Scott WR 6-3 200 Fr. Houston 82 Larry Wallace FL 6-1 170 Fr. Stockton 82 Jason Uhi NG 6-3 240 Fr. Irvine 83 Gary Wellman FL 5-9 175 Jr. Westlake Village 84 Gidion Murrell TE 6-4 225 Fr. Palm Springs 84 Arthur Nash LB 6-0 215 Fr. Jenkins, Ky. 85 Michael Salmon WR 6-1 195 Fr. Phoenix 86 Scott Galbraith TE 6-3 250 Sr. Sacramento 87 Frank Griffin TE 6-4 230 Jr. Rancho Cordova 88 Yonnie Jackson TE 6-2 225 Fr. Stockton 89 Brad Banta TE 6-5 230 Fr. Baton Rouge, La. 90 Dan Owens DG 6-4 265 Sr. Whittier 91 Dan Fruge NG 6-5 260 Jr. Fresno 92 Don Gibson NG 6-3 250 Jr. Orange 93 Darren Gallaway DT 6-4 225 Fr. Anaheim 94 Adam Swaney DT 6-5 255 Fr. Roseville 94 Frank Hearst OLB 6-1 205 So. Woodstown, N.J. 95 J.P. Sullivan DT 6-5 250 Sr. Vista 96 Matt Willig DT 6-8 245 So. La Mirada 96 Andy Link TE 6-5 235 Fr. Woodland Hills 97 Mike Hinz NG 6-3 255 Fr. Riverside 97 Frank Longo WR 5-10 180 So. Malibu 98 Kurt Barber OLB 6-4 230 So. Paducah, Ky. 99 Tim Ryan DT 6-5 260 Sr. San Jose

USC SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT TIME SITE Monday Illinois 5:00 p.m. Coliseum Sept. 16 Utah State 7:00 p.m. Coliseum Sept. 23 Ohio State 12:30 p.m. Coliseum Sept. 30 Washington State 2:00 p.m. Pullman, Wash. Oct. 7 Washington 12:30 p.m. Coliseum Oct. 14 California 1:00 p.m. Berkeley Oct. 21 Notre Dame 12:30 p.m. South Bend, Ind. Oct. 28 Stanford 3:30 p.m. Coliseum Nov. 4 Oregon State 3:30 p.m. Coliseum Nov. 11 Arizona 7:00 p.m. Tucson Nov. 18 UCLA 12:30 p.m. Coliseum

ALL TIMES PACIFIC.