Trojans Have the Horses to Rebuild : USC: Larry Smith’s team is inexperienced on defense, but the talent seems to be there.

Rebuilding a defense debilitated by the loss of several key players is USC’s No. 1 priority as it opens practice today in preparation for a demanding 12-game football schedule.

From last season’s team, which ranked first nationally in rushing defense and second in total defense, nine of 11 defensive starters are gone, including Junior Seau and Mark Carrier, who gave up their senior seasons to turn professional and were among the top six picks in the NFL draft.

It would seem a daunting task--replacing all that personnel and operating at the same high level--but the three-time defending Pacific 10 Conference champion Trojans are nothing if not confident.

“Our defense is going to be really close to where it was last year,” USC’s offensive coordinator, John Matsko, said Thursday. And none of his colleagues seemed to disagree.

Said Coach Larry Smith: “A large part of our success can or might lie in how quickly we can come together and jell and how quickly some younger guys can begin to contribute and adapt.”

And although the entire secondary must be rebuilt and Carrier, an All-American and winner of the Thorpe Award last season as the nation’s outstanding defensive back, will be replaced by a redshirt freshman, Howard McCowan, secondary coach Bob April said of his safeties and cornerbacks:

“Obviously, it’s unknown how they’ll play, but I think they’ll play great. It’s a great unit with great talent. It doesn’t make any difference that they haven’t played in a game yet. When they do get to play, they’ll play great.”

What Smith has described as “the fastest defense I have ever coached” will be built around inside linebacker Scott Ross, a two-time all-conference selection and a fourth-year starter.

The only other returning starter is nose guard Gene Fruge, but also back are Don Gibson, a two-year starter who missed last season because of a knee injury, and outside linebacker Craig Hartsuyker, a starter two years ago who was supplanted last season by Seau, the Pac-10’s defensive player of the year.

Listed as starters in the secondary are sophomore cornerbacks DeChon Burns and Stephon Pace.

But Smith said of those two and strong safety Marcus Hopkins: “They saw extensive duty last year. They didn’t start, but they were on the field. They’re not going to walk out there the first game and be in awe.”

Two redshirt freshmen are listed among the top four defensive linemen, but defensive coordinator Chris Allen has been quoted as saying that Terry McDaniels and Mike Hinz “look like they can become as good as anybody we’ve had here, including (1989 starters and NFL draft choices) Dan Owens and Tim Ryan.”

A sophomore, David Webb, replaced the injured Hartsuyker in spring practice and is listed as co-No. 1 on the depth chart.

“We just need game experience,” Allen said. “Nobody knows until we see them, but we anticipate having a good defense before this whole deal is over.”

In fact, they expect it.

Trojan Notes

Five offensive starters return, including quarterback Todd Marinovich, college football’s freshman of the year last season, and senior tailback Ricky Ervins, last season’s Pac-10 rushing leader and most valuable player in USC’s 17-10 victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl. . . . Sophomore split end Joel Scott may miss the Trojans’ opener against Syracuse on Aug. 31 at East Rutherford, N.J., because of an ankle injury suffered this summer in a pickup basketball game.

Coach Larry Smith admitted that the Trojans looked ahead to a Sept. 22 game at Washington when they accepted an invitation to play Syracuse in the Kickoff game. That will give the Trojans six weeks to prepare for their conference opener, instead of four. “I don’t think it’s any secret that the No. 1 thing we play for is the Pac-10 championship,” Smith said.

Safety Marcus Hopkins is listed as a junior in the USC media guide but will play this season as a senior. USC’s petition to grant him an extra year of eligibility was denied by the Pac-10 because Hopkins played in more than the allowable number of games in 1987, when a knee injury cut short his season. . . . Quincy Watts, three-time state sprint champion at Taft High in Woodland Hills, has joined the Trojans as a wide receiver.