Travis Hannah Ran From Mean Streets to USC

As a two-sport athlete at USC, former Hawthorne High School star Travis Hannah is so happy it almost scares him.

“Sometimes, I just sit and think what could have happened to me,” said Hannah, shaking his head. “Sometimes, I just wonder. . . .”

Hannah, a sophomore track sprinter and football flanker, said he lived with his mother and brother in an especially rough Los Angeles neighborhood when he was young. “It was right near here, by Adams Boulevard,” Hannah said during an interview at USC’s Heritage Hall last week.

By the time he was ready for junior high school, Hannah’s mother was finally able to move her two sons to a part of Inglewood more conducive to family living. He is forever grateful to her.

“If we hadn’t moved, I really don’t know what I’d be doing right now,” Hannah said. “I am one of the few people who have made it out of the old neighborhood and gone into college or got a good job.

“I would say nine out of 10 kids I knew there haven’t been successful in life. They’re selling drugs, or they just dropped out of school.

“Where would I be? Would I be in college or would I be selling drugs?”

Hannah, 20, appears headed for success in all facets of his life.

In football, he led the Rose Bowl champion Trojans with a 23.2-yard kickoff return average as a freshman in 1989. As one of only four returning wide receivers, he will be a top reserve this fall and should see considerable action in passing situations.

In track, he will compete in the 200- and 400-meter sprints and the 400- and 1,600-meter relays Saturday against UCLA in what may be the last track meet ever held at the Coliseum. With a career best of 45.54 seconds in the 400, Hannah hopes to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the second straight year by meeting the necessary standard of 46.20 against the Bruins. The NCAA meet is June 1-4 at Durham, N.C.

In the classroom, Hannah is working toward a degree in education.

“I want to teach elementary (school) kids,” he explained. “I’ve always wanted to help kids, to help them grow with special knowledge they need to better prepare for college.

“Where I went to (elementary) school in L.A., I had it hard.”

Hannah said he is deeply appreciative of his opportunities in higher education and for his ability to overcome earlier academic hardships. “I just thank God for letting me come here,” he said.

While counting his blessings, Hannah is quick to add that he is looking forward to being reunited with former high school football and track teammate Curtis Conway, who will join the Trojans in the fall after spending the last academic year as a part-time student at El Camino College.

“In football and track, my most spectacular moments have come with Curtis,” said the 5-foot-9, 165-pound Hannah, who was a year ahead of Conway at Hawthorne.

Conway and Hannah hooked up for 10 touchdown passes in 1987 at Hawthorne. That spring, the two close friends teamed up to lead the Cougars to their fifth state track title in six years. Hannah won the 400 in 47.20 seconds and teamed with Conway on the victorious 1,600 relay.

Hannah said his most exciting athletic moments in high school were a last-minute bomb he caught from Conway that led to a game-winning field goal in a playoff game, and a come-from-behind win by the Cougar 1,600 relay team at the Arcadia Invitational in which Conway ran the second leg and Hannah the anchor.

“We were way behind on the first leg, and then (Conway) brought us back,” Hannah said. “Then we fell behind again, until I brought us back.”

A smile crosses Hannah’s face as he recounts the Hawthorne glory days and looks forward to pairing with Conway on the Trojan kickoff return team.

But he quickly takes a serious tone as he talks about “showing (Conway) the ropes” in college.

“I’ve told him that it’s a big jump from high school to college football,” Hannah said. “It’s not just going from point A to point B, it’s more like going from A to C.”

However, Hannah added that his experience in the classroom is what will be most valuable to his friend. (After Conway graduated from Hawthorne in 1989, poor scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test prevented him from enrolling at USC right away.)

“In fact, we really haven’t talked too much about (athletics),” said Hannah, who sat out the 1988 football season and concentrated on his studies. “I’ve been explaining how school is a challenge here and that there’s no easy going.

“I’ve had tutoring and learned how to manage my time. I’ve learned that doing well on your first midterm (test) is a key part of getting a good grade in a class.

“I’m going to try to pass all those things along to Curtis.”

While staying on pace in his classes, Hannah works extra hard on the track, trying to make up for time lost to spring football practice and a series of nagging injuries.

“I’ve been behind because of football and because I had a groin pull and a little hamstring problem,” said Hannah, who made the 1989 All-Pacific 10 Conference track and field team. “But my first goal is still to qualify (for the NCAA tourney) in the 400 meters against UCLA.

“Some people are worried about me because I haven’t had a (qualifying) time yet, but I’m not getting myself down.”

Still, Hannah said he puts pressure on himself to perform well. More than anything else, he wants to please his mother, Juanita Butler, and his brother, Leslie, 23.

“I was always the sports one,” Hannah said. “My brother was never in sports, but he’s very proud of what I’ve done and brags about me playing on TV.

“And my mom has been the most joyful thing in my life. She always took care of us, even when it was tough.

“She’s been worried if I’m going to be ready (for the UCLA meet). I don’t want to let her down.”

Despite the inconvenience of missing track practices and meets, Hannah said he doesn’t regret playing spring football.

“This spring, I was basically all football,” said Hannah, who had one catch for seven yards and two rushing attempts for 46 yards as a freshman flanker last fall. “I know that I have quite a few more steps to take in football.

“I went into spring ball with a clear mind. I said to myself, ‘OK, Travis, you have to show what you can do.’

“I sat out a year and that set me back. And lot of people were saying, ‘Hey, Travis, you’re too small.’ ”

But Hannah said he had a big-time spring. “I wanted to show my coaches that I can play,” he added, “and they were really happy. They said, ‘Travis, you have really showed us a lot.’

“I feel that I had a great spring.”

He also feels comfortable as a member of the 1990 Trojans “because this team is very fast. It’s built around speed this year.”

Hannah’s confidence in his football future has been boosted by following the career of his cousin Stephen Baker, a 5-8, 160-pound former Fresno State and West Los Angeles College star who has spent the last three seasons as a wide receiver with the New York Giants. Baker had 13 catches for 255 yards and two touchdowns last season.

“I kind of grew up with him,” Hannah said of Baker. “He told me, ‘Travis, you don’t have to be big. All you have to do is have speed and catch the ball. That’s what the NFL likes.’ ”

Hannah is planning on hooking up with Baker again later this year. “He’s helped me a lot in the past,” he said. “And he’s going to help me this summer with patterns and other stuff. Basically, I’m following in his steps.”

From his enthusiasm about football, one might suspect that Hannah is a football player first and a track man second. But he steadfastly refuses to say that he likes one sport more than the other. “A lot of people ask me that--which sport I prefer--but I’m in the middle. It’s a tie,” he said. “I started off with football in high school, but track enabled me to be great in football.

“I like football because it’s a physical, contact sport, but track is very competitive, too. It’s exciting when I get in my blocks, and it’s like, ‘Hey, nobody can beat me.’ ”

And, Hannah added, he does not have to choose between the two sports.

“That’s what made my career at Hawthorne, and why I chose to come to USC--the chance to do both,” he said.

He credits Cougar track Coach Kye Courtney for showing him the way to two-way athletic prowess.

“Coach Courtney showed (Conway and Hannah) that we had the ability to run track when we didn’t know,” he said. “Definitely, the coaching makes Hawthorne.

“They’re very strong and energetic and strive to make you the best. They make you believe in yourself, and that’s what made me better in football, too.”

As he gave thanks to the role Courtney has played in his life, he turned the conversation back to the inspiration of his mother.

“We talk on the phone a lot, and I tell her all the things I’m doing,” he said. “I’m really glad she’s stuck by me the way she always has.

“Moving me and my brother away (from Los Angeles) and taking care of us all by herself. . . . I just hope I can take care of her some day, to repay her.”