USC’s Royster Makes Professional Decision

Mazio Royster, the forgotten man at USC last year, has decided to forgo his senior year of college football and cast his lot with the pros. He will make himself available for this spring’s NFL draft.

When the 1991 season began, Royster was on the cover of USC’s media guide and was projected as a potential All-American tailback and perhaps even a Heisman Trophy candidate. By season’s end, he was on the bench as the third-string tailback behind sophomore Deon Strother and junior college transfer Estrus Crayton. He did not play in the final three games.

Wednesday, Royster said he has decided to take his chances on professional football. It wasn’t, he said, because of his falling-out with Coach Larry Smith--a situation that apparently was resolved after the season--but because he believed it to be in his best interest.

“It was a long decision-making process,” said Royster, wearing a Ram cap and a big smile. “Once the season was over, I realized that I should wait before making any decisions that could affect my career. I talked with a lot of people, weighed a lot of factors, and today I finalized it. I tightened up all the loose ends and I’m ready to move to the next level.

“If there was one thing that swayed me, it was the injury factor. I knew I could be injured and be forgotten by next year’s draft.”

It was an injury, a knee sprain, that took Royster out of the lineup in midseason. He hadgained 132 yards and scored two touchdowns in 29 carries against Oregon, then gained 114 yards and scored two more touchdowns in 23 carries against Washington State, when he was injured. After he recovered, Strother and Crayton continued play and Royster complained publicly. about his lack of playing time.

Royster had been only the third Trojan sophomore to run for more than 1,000 yards when he gained 1,168 yards, while scoring eight touchdowns, in 1990.

“I know now I made a mistake,” said Royster, who straightened out his problems with Smith after USC’s 3-8 season. “I have never been an outspoken guy. My motto has always been, ‘Actions should speak louder than words,’ and that’s what I should have done.”

Shortly after the 1991 season, in which the Trojans finished 3-8, Royster said he met with Smith and discussed their problems.

“Maybe I was a little upset with him, and he was upset with me,” Royster said. “I told him that with all the things I did the year before, like leading the conference in rushing and being ninth in the nation, I wondered why I wasn’t playing, but he explained to me how he felt he had to make some changes to try and get things going, and that left me out. I appreciate his situation now.”

Smith, who was on a recruiting trip, said in a prepared statement: “I wish Mazio well and hope it works out well for him. We’ll do everything we can to help the pros in their evaluation of him so he can get drafted as high as possible. I just hope he comes back to school to finish up his degree, because that’s the bottom line.”