USC Tailback Royster Says He Might Enter NFL Draft

Another Saturday on the sideline has left Mazio Royster leaning toward making himself available for the NFL draft next spring and forgoing his senior season at USC, the Trojan tailback said Sunday.

Royster, demoted to No. 3 on the depth chart, said he will meet with athletic department officials this week to determine if USC will keep him on scholarship if he gives up his final year of eligibility.

“If I leave, I definitely want to be able to come back and have them pay for me to finish up,” said Royster, a public administration major who will be about 30 units shy of a degree at the end of the fall semester.

Royster ran for 1,168 yards last season, joining Anthony Davis and Charles White as the only Trojans to rush for more than 1,000 yards as sophomores, but he fell out of favor with Coach Larry Smith this season as USC stumbled to a 3-8 record and eighth-place finish in the Pacific 10 Conference.

Royster said that his relationship with Smith is such that, should he stay, he doesn’t expect a chance to reclaim his starting position.

Royster made a season-low four carries in a 52-30 loss against California on Nov. 2, then sat out USC’s last three games as a backup to sophomore Deon Strother and junior Estrus Crayton.

He ended the season with 542 yards rushing in 111 attempts, an average of 4.9 yards. Last season, he averaged 5.0 yards.

“I’m still confused,” Royster said of his demotion. “If you look at my (yards-per-carry) numbers, they’re basically the same as last year. I know if I’d been given enough opportunities, I would have produced.”

Smith has indicated, however, that he believed Strother and Crayton were better runners than Royster. And Royster said that he had been told as much by Smith and his staff.