Sehorn Proves to Be a Quick Study at USC : Football: An offensive standout in junior college, he is making an impact as a Trojan defensive back.

As a highly regarded transfer who set a state junior college record for all-purpose yardage as a receiver and kick returner last season, Jason Sehorn was expected to make an impact on the USC football team.

But not at free safety.

Sehorn was moved to defense after only a few days of practice and has steadily moved up the depth chart at his new position. He is listed No. 2 behind senior Stephon Pace and is expected to play a lot.

“There’s a lot he doesn’t know about tackling, but he’s improving every day,” said Bob Cope, who coaches USC’s defensive backs. “He’s got tremendous work habits, and he’s got good athletic sense in that he understands what’s going on and he picks things up easily.

“He really is going to make a big contribution to our team. He’s a very, very gifted athlete, and his progress has been phenomenal.”

Also noteworthy was the unusual route he took to USC.

Sehorn, academically ineligible until his senior year, played only one season of football at Mount Shasta High. He did not play high school baseball, but after playing in 44 games for an American Legion team after his senior year, he was signed by the Chicago Cubs as a free agent.

He played one season as an outfielder, batting .184 and striking out 52 times in 125 at-bats over 49 games at Huntington, W.Va., in the Appalachian League before joining the football team at Shasta College. There he caught 59 passes as a freshman and accounted for 1,904 all-purpose yards.

The Cubs, unhappy that Sehorn hadn’t told them that he planned to play football, released him during the spring of 1991.

“I didn’t care,” Sehorn said. “I didn’t like baseball. That’s why I never played it (as a youth). I played two years of Little League and nothing else. It’s not a fun sport.

“I was there (in the minors) probably from February to August, and we had eight days off. It’s just too much. You get bored playing every single day. You come to the dugout hoping your name isn’t in the lineup.”

Sehorn accounted for 2,404 all-purpose yards at Shasta last season, a national-record 267.1 per game, and ended his two-year junior college career with 4,308 all-purpose yards, a state record.

He made recruiting trips to USC and Mississippi, turning down invitations from Washington, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Virginia.

More than a few recruiters asked him about playing defense, Sehorn said, but USC Coach Larry Smith was not among them. Sehorn was asked to make the move two weeks ago, Cope said, because USC is overstocked at wide receiver, but lacks depth in the secondary.

Sehorn, told that he would play twice as much at safety as he would at receiver, gladly accepted. He doesn’t anticipate moving back.

“Not after seeing what we can do to a receiver,” he said. “We’re not going all out to kill anybody (in practice), but the hits you see these people laying on the receivers--I don’t want to be a receiver anymore.”

Trojan Notes

No. 1 quarterback Rob Johnson completed all four of his passes for 118 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown pass to split end Johnnie Morton, during a 75-play scrimmage Saturday at UC Irvine. Reggie Perry completed 10 of 15 passes for 58 yards, with one interception. . . . Freshman tailback Dwight McFadden ran for 54 yards and a touchdown in 10 carries. . . . No. 1 tailback Estrus Crayton was held out because of a pulled groin. . . . Offensive guard Clay Hattabaugh probably will sit out the opener against San Diego State on Sept. 5 because of a dislocated kneecap, Coach Larry Smith said.