Wellman’s Size Is in Stature, Not Height : USC: Receiver seems to be an easy target for Marinovich when the game is on the line.

At 5 feet 9, Gary Wellman might be difficult to spot from a distance.

But not for Todd Marinovich.

Saturday at the Coliseum, USC was leading Penn State, 19-14, in the fourth quarter. But the Nittany Lions had scored on their last possession. The Trojans were faced with a third-and-11 at their 17-yard line. A failure here would give Penn State the ball back in good field position. Marinovich needed help.

And then he spotted Wellman.

The result was a 16-yard completion across the middle and Penn State never threatened again.

It was one of a career-high nine catches for Wellman, good for 121 yards, another high. It was the second game in a row he has set career standards. Against Syracuse in the season opener, he caught seven passes for 109 yards, including one for 46 yards and a touchdown.

But such performances are nothing new.

Against Washington State last season, USC trailed, 17-10, with 3:31 to play. Marinovich drove the Trojans 91 yards in 18 plays to score. Still down by one with four seconds to play, Marinovich faded back on a two-point conversion attempt, the defense in his face, the game on the line.

And then he spotted Wellman.

The USC receiver was alone, waiting at the back of the end zone. Marinovich threw and the Trojans had an 18-17 victory.

In the regular-season finale against UCLA, Marinovich had a rare off day. There were three fumbles and an equal number of interceptions by the Trojans on a day in which it seemed Marinovich wasn’t going to score.

Until he spotted Wellman.

USC’s only touchdown of the long afternoon came on a 13-yard pass from Marinovich to Wellman, the receiver coming down at the edge of the end zone, his knee barely hitting in bounds. The game ended in a tie, 10-10.

It’s a new season now. All the questions of a year ago about the untried freshman quarterback have been answered with an exclamation point.

“Todd and I work so well together because we both see the same spot, both read the defenses the same,” Wellman said.

With the graduation of John Jackson, the leading receiver in Trojan history, Wellman has become USC’s No. 1 target. It’s not exactly what he envisioned when he arrived from Westlake High, where he was a running back. He was first-team All-CIF Coastal Conference his senior year after rushing for 890 yards with an average of 7.7. per carry. He was also one of the top high school sprinters in the state.

When he became a Trojan receiver after a redshirt year in 1986, Wellman said, “I was skeptical if I would ever have a shot to play.”

Hardly.

His nine catches Saturday place him 21st on the team’s all-time list with 61 catches. He is already within seven catches of last season’s total and within 25 of breaking into the Trojans’ all-time top 10.

“I wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world,” Smith said. “Last year, he started to come into his own. He was the heir apparent when John Jackson left. He’s got great speed and great concentration.”

Said Wellman: “You know you’re going to get hit. It just comes with the job. So you might as well catch the football. Besides, getting belted is good for the ego.”

When he doesn’t have a football in his hands, Wellman has a golf club. Playing nearly every day this past summer at the North Ranch Country Club near his high school alma mater, Wellman got down to a five handicap.

Would Wellman consider a career as a professional golfer?

“No,” he said, “I don’t want the pressure.”

No, he would rather catch a football in front of 100,000 people with the clock running out, the defense running down his back and Marinovich running out of options.

No pressure there. Not when you’ve done it as many times as has Gary Wellman.