USC Job Is Open Again : Trojans: Smith says Marinovich will have to earn back starting quarterback position.

Todd Marinovich, USC’s sophomore quarterback, probably would have been demoted this week even if he hadn’t been suspended for academic reasons, Coach Larry Smith said Wednesday.

“I wouldn’t say he would have been benched,” Smith said, “but he would have had to have a hell of a week of practice (to start).”

Smith also said that Marinovich will not be given the starting position but will have to earn it back in practice.

Marinovich apparently angered Smith when he complained of an earache Monday and begged out of practice after Smith had warned Marinovich and his teammates that such a move might cost them their starting positions.

Smith gathered the players at a film session before Monday’s practice and laid down ground rules in the aftermath of Saturday’s 35-26 loss to Arizona. USC squandered a 17-7 halftime lead against the Wildcats and was all but eliminated from the Rose Bowl race.

“I told every player in that room that . . . I needed four days of all-out practice,” Smith said. “Guys with bumps, bruises, little aches and pains--if they weren’t told by a doctor not to be out there, (they should) be out there.

“If they missed any part of a practice without something serious, then most likely they wouldn’t start in the game (Saturday against Arizona State at Tempe.).

“Monday during practice, about 40 minutes into it, Todd told Coach (Ray) Dorr (who coaches USC’s quarterbacks) that he had an earache and he had to go see a trainer, which was fine. So, I went over there and said, ‘Is your earache so severe that you don’t think you can practice?’ He said, ‘I don’t think I can.’ I said, ‘OK, then leave the field and go get treatment.’

“I went over to the offense and said, ‘We’ve got our first guy (out). Most likely, Shane (Foley) will start this week. Todd is sick and you know what I told you all, and I’m sticking to it.’ ”

Marinovich’s ailment, Smith said, was later diagnosed as a “minor” ear infection.

But Marinovich’s father, Marv, said that the infection, which spread in the last week from Todd’s left index finger to his left ear, caused a severe headache for his son and affected his balance and equilibrium in the Arizona game.

Marinovich completed 18 of 35 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown against the Wildcats, but threw three interceptions. And in the first three quarters, he completed only seven of 18 passes for 61 yards, with one interception.

“As well as I know Todd’s performance, I can tell when things are off,” the elder Marinovich said. “You watch a guy as much as I’ve watched that guy--I know when things aren’t right. And I knew something was haywire.”

Marv Marinovich said that antibiotics have improved his son’s condition this week.

Todd Marinovich declined interview requests made through USC and his father.

All that aside, Smith and Marinovich’s father again stressed that Marinovich’s suspension was related only to academics. Marinovich missed classes last week after making an agreement with Smith last month that if he didn’t go to class, he would be suspended.

He will be reinstated to the team next week, Smith said, if he attends all of his classes this week and meets his academic commitments.

Marinovich fell behind in his classwork, it has been learned, at a time when he was living with a teammate in what Smith described as a “small, dinky room.”

The players were assigned the room after they waited until the last minute to apply for student housing, Smith said.

“It really wasn’t the ideal situation for a guy playing football and trying to study,” Smith said of the cramped conditions.

When Marinovich tried to move to an off-campus apartment, he was told that he could not be reimbursed the scholarship money paid for his original room until housing officials could find other students to move into it.

He lived for a time with friends, sleeping on couches, until moving to Torrance a few weeks ago to live with his father.

“He did that so he could have his own room and his own schedule and could concentrate,” Smith said.

Last week, when he missed classes, Marinovich spent time with his girlfriend, a graduate student at Georgetown and former USC student who was in town visiting.

“There are some extenuating circumstances, but I don’t want to let Todd off the hook because if he makes a deal with the coach, then that’s what he’s got to do,” Marv Marinovich said. “If he didn’t live up to his part of the deal, he’s got to be (disciplined). That’s part of growing up.

“I hope he will learn something from it. I hope it will be a positive situation. If you take away his football, you’ve got his attention.

”. . . I feel horribly about it. He called the other day and it was very emotional. I really felt for him. But again, when you give your word, when you make an agreement--Larry Smith had no other way to go.”

Smith has described Marinovich as a poor practice player, but he said that he has never questioned his desire to play.

“Todd Marinovich wants to play,” Smith said. “There’s no question in my mind. He loves playing. I don’t think he’s tired of the game, or anything like that. He wants to play in the worst way.

“Next week, if Todd is reinstated, they’ll be competing to see who’s the starting quarterback,” Smith said.