COLLEGE FOOTBALL REPORT / WEEKDAY UPDATE : USC : Ervins Disappears From Trojan Plans

What’s become of Ricky Ervins? Last season’s Pacific 10 Conference rushing leader, Ervins hasn’t played since Sept. 29, when he sprained his left ankle while rushing for 199 yards against Ohio State, and isn’t expected to play Saturday against Arizona State at Tempe. He no longer is listed on the depth chart.

“Until he can start practicing and practice two days in a row, I’m not going to list him,” Coach Larry Smith said. “He’s at the point where he’s either got to get himself out on the field or forget the season.”

Ervins is not handling the situation well, Smith said, adding: “He’s having a tough time. He had pretty high goals and he’s having difficulty. Some guys can play over things; some guys can’t. You can’t ever tell how severe an injury is. Only he knows that. Some people, it may be severe and not even affect them at all. And some guys can have a (broken) fingernail and they can’t perform.

”. . . Ricky wants to be out there. I think he wants to be playing, but he hasn’t been able to get himself out there.”