ROSE BOWL NOTEBOOK : O’Hara Goes to Pasadena in Familiar Role

When USC quarterback Pat O’Hara suffered a season-ending knee injury a week before the start of the Trojans’ season last summer, he was left with a long rehabilitation period, which became longer a week later when he had to return to the hospital for additional surgery.

Now, as USC prepares to face Michigan in Monday’s Rose Bowl game, O’Hara is the forgotten man, after redshirt freshman Todd Marinovich went on to have an All-Pac-10 season.

While Marinovich became one of the top freshmen in the nation by passing for more than 2,000 yards, O’Hara assumed the role of recovering former starter.

After backing up All-American Rodney Peete for two seasons, O’Hara beat out Marinovich for the starting position during spring and fall practices. Then, O’Hara was hurt in a scrimmage.

“There have been a lot of peaks and valleys,” O’Hara said, referring to his rehabilitation. “But there have been more valleys.”

As the Trojans went on to earn their third consecutive Rose Bowl appearance, O’Hara, who has thrown only seven passes in his Trojan career, had to work hard in the dreary world of rehabilitation to have any hope of resuming his playing career.

Initial reports on his comeback were not good as O’Hara tried to regain weight he lost because of his injury. After his second visit to the operating room, O’Hara did not look at all like the 6-foot-3, 200-pound, strong-armed quarterback who passed for nearly 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns in 10 games of his senior season at Santa Monica High School.

However, as USC won games on the field during the season, O’Hara made gains in the training room.

“I am ahead of schedule,” said O’Hara, who has a year of eligibility remaining. “I have just about full range of motion back and I will start running Feb. 1.”

But he will remain on the USC sideline Monday at his third consecutive Rose Bowl game, hoping that he will get a chance next year to play in his first.

When asked to evaluate Marinovich, Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler said:

“He’s a tall kid with an excellent touch on the ball. It’s hard to throw some passes with crossing patterns that are shallow. He has a tremendous knack of doing that.

“He’s not as mobile as Rodney Peete, but he’s mobile enough. USC runs some option plays with him, and he scrambles for some yardage. He is able to move around and throw.”

A key reason that Michigan is ranked 11th nationally in scoring defense is the play of its secondary, headed by junior safety Tripp Welborne, who started against USC in last season’s Rose Bowl game and provides the Wolverines with leadership and experience.

Welborne, who also returns punts for Michigan, is a major concern for USC’s wide receivers. He was a consensus All-American this season and a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back. Some NFL scouts rate him as a first-round draft choice this spring if he forgoes his senior year.

“Their secondary is very good,” USC receiver John Jackson said. “They have three of the four backs who played against us last year, with Welborne being their leader. They move him around a lot, so you do not know what coverages he is in.”

Who needs the Gipper? It was pointed out to Schembechler that former President Ronald Reagan visited USC’s practice.

Schembechler said he doesn’t plan to even the celebrity score by inviting former President Gerald Ford, a center for Michigan in the 1930s, to the Wolverines’ practice.

It was then suggested to Schembechler that USC will be a President up on Michigan.

“I saw him (Reagan) play in the movie (“Knute Rockne All-American”) and he wasn’t good enough to beat us.”

Times staff writer Mal Florence contributed to this story.