Faulk’s Record Secret: ‘Keep Playing’ : College football: San Diego State freshman didn’t let up against Pacific’s defense, running for a record 386 yards.

A month ago, the choice was whether or not to redshirt Marshall Faulk.

Now, San Diego State is facing a different decision: Do the Aztecs bronze the cleats Faulk was wearing Saturday night, or do they let him keep them for a while?

Faulk, an 18-year-old freshman running back who set an NCAA single-game rushing record against the University of Pacific Saturday night, entered the game with a total of 11 carries for 39 yards in only one collegiate game.

By Sunday, friends from his hometown of New Orleans were telephoning to say they saw him on ESPN and were reading about him in the local newspapers.

Faulk gained 386 yards on 37 carries to surpass the NCAA Division I-A record of 377 yards set by Anthony Thompson of Indiana in 1989 against Wisconsin. Thompson gained his yardage on 52 attempts.

The yardage was also a single-game record for any NCAA division.

And in the aftermath Sunday, Aztec officials discovered one more record Faulk set--he surpassed the NCAA all-purpose yardage mark of 417 yards set by Temple’s Paul Palmer against Eastern Carolina in 1986 and by Greg Allen of Florida State against Western Carolina in 1981. Faulk had a total of 422 yards--386 rushing, 11 receiving and 25 on one kickoff return.

The unlikeliest of heroes, Faulk didn’t enter the game, a 55-34 Aztec victory, until tailback T.C. Wright suffered a bruised left thigh late in the first quarter. He got his first carry with less than four minutes remaining in the first quarter.

By the end of the quarter, he had carried only three times for 12 yards. But he carried 13 times for 117 yards in the second quarter, 11 times for 194 yards in the third, and 10 times for 63 yards in the fourth.

“It could have happened to any back on our team,” Faulk said. “But I was out there at the time and all of the runs were just going good for me. I was making the right decisions.

“Everything was happening like I was in high school again. It was like, ‘Man, what am I doing?’ ”

He scored seven touchdowns and 44 points--both NCAA freshman and San Diego State school records.

“I didn’t sense it until after the third touchdown,” he said. “I was like, ‘Golly, this kind of stuff doesn’t happen much to freshmen.’

“I was telling myself, ‘Keep your head on straight. Keep playing, keep playing.’ ”

He did, and San Diego State needed every yard he could muster. The Aztecs nearly blew a 40-21 lead as Pacific pulled within 40-34 in the fourth quarter. San Diego State wasn’t safely ahead until Faulk scored the final touchdown, a 25-yard run that was his last carry of the game and gave him the NCAA rushing record.

Faulk, 5-feet-10, 180 pounds, is one of three recruits from Louisiana signed last winter. It was part of a bizarre odyssey that left Curtis Johnson, receivers coach and primary recruiter in Louisiana, shaking his head. Johnson received several death threats last winter while he recruited linebacker Fred Harris of Woodlawn High in Shreveport. Johnson said the threats came from people who didn’t want to see Harris, the Gatorade player of the year in Louisiana last year, leave the state.

But Johnson, a St. Rose, La., native, had told Coach Al Luginbill that high school players will leave Louisiana, so the Aztecs pressed forward. The recruiting of Faulk, who ran a 10.3 100 meters while in high school, didn’t get as nasty as that of Harris, but it was competitive. Faulk took recruiting visits to Miami, Texas A&M;, Nebraska and Louisiana State and, two days before signing day, told Johnson he was undecided between San Diego and Nebraska.

San Diego State won, thanks in large part to a relationship already established between Johnson and Faulk. The two were set to fly from New Orleans to San Diego for Faulk’s San Diego visit, but inclement weather delayed the flight for a couple of hours. Then, their connection in Houston was fogged in and also delayed a couple of hours. Both said they established a friendship on that day.

The Aztecs knew Faulk was talented, but so far he has surprised the Aztec coaches.

“We just didn’t know how good he was,” Johnson said. “We didn’t have an opportunity to see him on film. His coach told me when we were recruiting him that Texas A&M; had all the film.”

But Faulk’s coach at Carver High in New Orleans, Wayne Reese, isn’t surprised. Reese designed his offense around Faulk.

“I don’t think there was a high school back in the country better than he was,” Reese said earlier this week. “I’m talking complete back--running, moves, catching the football, knowing what to do. He’d have started anywhere he went, including Nebraska.”

Against Pacific, much of Faulk’s yardage came on counter plays.

“It seemed like every time we ran it, it broke for a big gainer,” he said.

Said Pacific linebacker Ron Papazian: “They had really good blocking (on the counter). He would get to that hole and just cut off it.”

Luginbill, whose policy is that starters do not lose positions because of injuries, said that Wright will start Saturday at Air Force. Faulk won’t argue.

“I really don’t feel as if I’m ready to start,” he said. “Starting is kind of hard--you have to get physically and mentally ready. I’m ready physically, but I just don’t know if I’m mentally ready.”

Faulk Is First

Top NCAA Single-Game Rushing Performances

Yds Player Team Opponent Year 386 Marshall Faulk San Diego State Pacific 1991 377 Anthony Thompson Indiana Wisconsin 1989 357 Mike Pringle Cal State Fullerton New Mexico State 1989 357 Reuben Mayes Washington State Oregon 1984 356 Eddie Lee Ivery Georgia Tech Air Force 1978 350 Eric Allen Michigan State Purdue 1971 349 Paul Palmer Temple East Carolina 1986 347 Ricky Bell USC Washington State 1976 347 Ron Johnson Michigan Wisconsin 1968 343 Tony Jeffery Texas Christian Tulane 1985 342 Roosevelt Leaks Texas Southern Methodist 1973 342 Charlie Davis Colorado Oklahoma State 1971