Here’s the Catch: USC’s Small Receivers Play Big : College football: Trojans Gary Wellman and John Jackson are capable of making the big plays.

When Gary Wellman began his freshman football season at USC in 1986, he had many doubts. He lacked confidence in his ability to play wide receiver after completing an outstanding career at Westlake High, where he starred as an all-purpose runner.

At 5 feet 9 and a stocky 170 pounds, Wellman thought he was too small to play big-time college football--until he saw John Jackson on the practice field.

Jackson was a redshirt freshman who stood only a couple of inches taller and weighed nearly the same as Wellman. Jackson may have looked as if he had just graduated from a local Pop Warner League program, but he showed his younger teammate that size is not necessary to be a successful receiver.

Normally, small receivers are found running inside on carpeted, domed stadium floors, executing in a run-and-shoot offense using multiple formations. They are seldom found on a team that features a power offense with two standard receivers, playing in a vast grass-filled stadium.

But at USC, more than three years after their first meeting, Wellman and Jackson have teamed up to become perhaps the Trojans’ smallest pair of starting receivers ever.

As USC heads into its third consecutive Rose Bowl game, against Michigan on Monday, Jackson, a senior, leads the team in catches and yardage with 57 receptions for 908 yards. Wellman, a redshirt junior, is the team leader in touchdown catches with six while catching 22 passes for 421 yards.

Jackson’s USC career statistics are not astonishing when you consider that he was an All-American wideout at La Puente Bishop Amat High, where he had 92 career catches for 1,583 yards. And he is the son of former Trojan assistant coach John Jackson.

However, Wellman’s college prosperity came as a surprise, even to himself.

“When I first showed up at SC, I was skeptical if I would ever have a shot to play,” Wellman said. “I had never played receiver before and all I knew about it was to just run and try to get open. But once I saw J.J. (Jackson) play as a redshirt freshman, that inspired me.”

In 1988, Wellman shared time with Jackson at flanker, opposite split end Erik Affholter, and caught 21 catches for 377 yards.

With the graduation of Affholter, it was Wellman’s rise as a receiver that prompted Jackson to be switched to split end before this season. Given his first starting role, Wellman has turned into the Trojans’ big-play receiver, averaging 19.1 yards a catch.

“I think we work great together,” Wellman said. “J.J. is such a threat that teams are always double-covering him, which opens things up for me.”

Jackson credits the pair’s success to time spent working together.

“Gary is so easy to adapt to,” he said. “At first, it took time for us to adjust to one another, but with the more work we have gotten together, the better we have become. I now know where he is going to be on the field at all times.”

Originally, Wellman had speed but was not known for his pass routes or catching ability. Jackson was considered a disciplined, sure-handed type with only average speed.

Through hard work, they have each added some of the other’s qualities to their own skills.

Wellman, who ran on the Trojans’ 400-meter relay team last spring, has become a complete receiver. This season, his six touchdown catches averaged 25.7 yards, and he has demonstrated a knack for making difficult catches, such as his game-winning, two-point conversion against Washington State and his controversial diving touchdown against UCLA.

“I am definitely a better receiver now,” Wellman said. “I had a couple of great spring football practices and I think that helped me develop to the point where I know I can play.”

To his teammates, Wellman appeared out of place when he took his spot in the receivers’ pass-route line four years ago. But not anymore.

“When I first saw Gary, I had only heard that he was real fast--but I didn’t believe it when I looked at him,” Jackson said. “He had really short legs and arms (and was) not what you would think a speedy receiver would look like. But after seeing him play, I knew that he would become a receiver who would step in after the older guys graduated.”

While Wellman had to learn the finer points of being a receiver, Jackson simply had to get faster and bigger.

Jackson was not exactly a plodder when he arrived at USC, having run the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds, nor was he especially undersized at 5-11, 170 pounds. His problem was that he simply gave the illusion that he was both slow and small.

But after many hours in USC’s weight room and on the track, Jackson transformed himself into a speedy giant. Well, sort of. He is an inch taller, with an added 15 pounds of muscle, and consistently runs the 40 in 4.5.

Several times this season, Jackson displayed his strength and speed. Against Ohio State, his 87-yard touchdown catch was the longest pass play in USC history. Against Notre Dame, he muscled and maneuvered for a school-record 14 catches for 200 yards, also setting an Irish-opponent record.

What is impressive about Jackson’s achievements this season is that they came on passes by Todd Marinovich, a redshirt freshman quarterback. Marinovich was pressed into action when Jackson’s friend and summer-workout partner, Pat O’Hara, suffered a knee injury a week before the Trojans’ season-opening loss to Illinois.

In 1988, USC had the passing combination of Rodney Peete to Affholter, which was expected to be replaced by O’Hara to Jackson. But that combination was lost for the season.

“It was tough to deal with because Pat and I had worked so hard in the off-season,” Jackson said. “When Todd first came in, I made the mistake of trying too hard. I always wanted to be open for him but I should have just been doing my job. I should have had confidence in him instead of trying to play for him and me.”

Jackson’s accomplishments at USC, both on and off the field, are well-documented. In the condensed player biography section in the 1990 Rose Bowl program, he has a page all to himself listing his accomplishments, which include:

--Named a two-time GTE Academic All-American, who received his undergraduate business degree last May and began work on his M.B.A. in the fall.

--Received an NCAA Top Six award given to the best senior athletes in the nation.

--Chosen as a National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame scholar-athlete.

--Selected as a second-team All-American by the Sporting News and as an honorable-mention selection by the Associated Press.

--Became USC’s career leader in receptions with 158 and in yardage with 2,323.

--Has caught a pass in 36 consecutive games to tie former Trojan Randy Simmrin’s Pacific 10 record.

Jackson was also honored as an All-Pac-10 center fielder last season and was drafted by the Angels in June. He has already been named as a 1990 preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball.

Unlike that other Jackson, Raider running back/Kansas City Royals outfielder Bo Jackson, John Jackson is clear about which career he will pursue first.

“I never thought that my baseball career would work out like it has,” he said. “After I left high school, I thought my baseball career was basically over. I only began to play it here out of curiosity.

“Now, it has come to the point where I have to decide on what I am going to do. I have had a good college career doing both, but I’ve decided to pursue football. I will play baseball this spring just to have fun.”

Jackson now must prove himself to be worthy of an NFL career, but is optimistic about his chances.

“In the past, USC has had a more run-oriented offense,” said Jackson, who some scouts say could be drafted as high as the second round.

“Hopefully, this trend is changing. We now feature a more diverse offense where we pass and run equally. I think that I can compete equally with any receiver in the nation.”

Next season, while Jackson embarks on a new career, Wellman will be taking his turn under the senior spotlight. But both have a common goal at the moment--ending USC’s two-game Rose Bowl losing streak.