A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Big Leagues : College football: Salmon turns down baseball contract and becomes important cog in the USC defense.

The Salmon brothers of Phoenix, Tim and Mike, have long shared a dream of playing together in the major leagues.

Tim, 24, made it this year, batting .177 in 23 games as a right fielder for the Angels after being called up from triple-A Edmonton, where he batted .347 with 29 home runs and 105 runs batted in and was Baseball America’s minor league player of the year.

Mike, 21, has been waylaid by football.

Mike Salmon is a defensive starter at USC who is playing outside linebacker after playing cornerback as a second-year freshman two years ago and safety last season.

“If we could play together, that would be awesome,” said Tim, who believes that his brother will pursue a baseball career after college. “But I’m pretty excited about what’s going on right now.”

Tim Salmon encouraged Mike to pursue an education--and football--after Mike was offered a package worth $80,000 to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Mike Salmon listened to his brother and changed his plans, which was not out of character.

The younger Salmon has always shown an ability to adapt.

Born with chronic bronchial asthma, Mike Salmon often became short of breath while playing football at Phoenix Greenway High. He kept an inhaler on the sideline and was not required by his coaches to run to the huddle after each play.

But breathing problems didn’t stop Salmon from being the Phoenix metropolitan player of the year.

As a wingback, kicker, punter, kick returner and defensive back, he led his team in receiving, rushing, touchdowns, points, tackles and interceptions as a senior. Among his eight field goals was a 49-yarder, and he had 18 interceptions during his high school career.

He was pretty set on signing with Arizona State. He and his brother had attended games at Sun Devil Stadium for as long as they could remember.

But while visiting the Arizona State campus one Saturday, Salmon was on the sideline when the Sun Devils played USC.

He was impressed not only by Trojan quarterback Rodney Peete, but also by the USC band. And the Trojans won, 50-0.

Said Salmon: “They just mauled ASU and I said, ‘Wait a minute.’ ”

At the time, USC wasn’t recruiting him. The Trojans came in late, but Salmon committed after a trip to the campus.

Brought in as a wide receiver/kicker, Salmon spent a season with the scout team before he was moved to defense.

And until last Saturday, when he was forced to leave during the second half of a 31-21 victory over Washington State, Salmon has not been bothered by asthma at USC.

He started seven games as a cornerback as a second-year freshman and all 11 as a safety last season. He had six interceptions during his first two seasons, including two in a 13-6 victory over Arizona State two years ago at Sun Devil Stadium.

But when Salmon makes his final visit to Tempe, Ariz., for USC’s game against Arizona State on Saturday, it will be as a 6-foot-1, 200-pound linebacker.

Though undersized, Salmon was moved from safety after USC’s season-opening tie against San Diego State, when the Trojans opted for an attacking defense that emphasizes speed and quickness.

Salmon would prefer to play in the secondary, where he would be involved in almost every play, but he has made a smooth transition to linebacker, with three sacks among his 24 tackles.

With Salmon functioning much of the time like a fifth defensive back, “we’ve gained the speed and the ability to cover running backs man-to-man at that position,” said Chris Allen, USC’s defensive coordinator. “Plus, we haven’t lost any toughness.”

Salmon said he has been told that he will be moved back to safety next season, by which time he hopes to play baseball.

Because of conflicts with spring football practice, Salmon has played baseball sparingly at USC, failing to get a hit in eight at-bats. But Coach Larry Smith has told him that he will be excused from spring practice next year.

If all goes well, he might sign to play professionally next summer before returning to USC for his final season of football eligibility.

“My advice to him is, ‘Don’t get ahead of yourself,’ ” his brother said. “ ‘Don’t think about baseball. Don’t think about wanting to be in the big leagues. Concentrate on football right now. Give it all you can out here because you may have the opportunity (to play professionally) in football.’

“He likes to think ahead and worry about things, but there’s nothing to worry about. He’s an (exceptional) athlete, so baseball’s going to be there. He’s going to get an opportunity.”