In Wayne’s World, Heisman Is His : San Diego State: Pittman waits for his chance at stardom.

San Diego State running back Wayne Pittman has a message for teammate Marshall Faulk, and it’s nothing personal.

It says: Hurry up and get your Heisman so I still have time to get mine.

Faulk is the nation’s leading rusher with an average of 168.9 yards per game. Faulk, 19, a redshirt sophomore, has been a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy since the start of the season.

Pittman, also 19, also a redshirt sophomore, averages 37.1 yards a game rushing.

Pittman, however, suggests he’s as good as his star teammate. Perhaps the only difference is a little speed and one practice day last season before the Pacific game. Now he hopes Faulk can get his Heisman this year.

Asked how he imagines it would feel to be in Faulk’s shoes, Pittman responds, “Well, um, I will be. So it really doesn’t bother me too much.

“He got his day just a step faster than I got mine. I’ll be there, too. Once Marshall goes to the NFL . . .”

Is he trying to say that he could be a Heisman candidate, too?

“Yeah.”

Go ahead and shrug off this statement, Pittman said. Write him off as opponents do--before they see him get the ball, before they must tackle him.

Opponents feared the speedy, elusive Faulk last year after he burst onto the national scene with then an NCAA-record 386 yards against Pacific. When Faulk missed three games because of cracked ribs, they got an ominous glimpse of the blunt, hard-nosed Pittman.

Pittman, a 6-foot, 200-pounder from Mira Mesa High, gained 149 yards on 28 carries against Texas El Paso in his first start--four months and eight days after his 18th birthday. He scored two touchdowns in the 28-21 victory.

The next week Pittman buried any hope for T.C. Wright to re-emerge in Faulk’s convalescence. Pittman had 153 yards on 36 carries in SDSU’s 24-21 victory at Utah. Wright, the incumbent before the season, carried only three times.

Another Western Athletic Conference opponent, Colorado State, learned again last week: Don’t fool with Wayne Pittman.

Faulk was bothered by a strained left quadricep and did not carry after a little more than six minutes remained in the second quarter. Faulk was stopped short of 100 yards rushing (60 on 18 carries) for the first time in 13 games.

Pittman got the 100 yards--51 on 12 carries and 49 on three pass receptions. “They think, ‘Pittman’s in. Oh, we can relax for a while,’ ” Pittman said. “And I kind of do something that makes them look bad.”

The Rams got the Pittman indoctrination five minutes into the second quarter, when quarterback David Lowery passed to him out of the backfield. Pittman rambled 23 yards before two defenders wrestled him down.

The next play, Pittman crashed through the middle for 13, dragging three defensive backs. He romped another 17 yards to the CSU 24 on a Lowery pass the next drive, which produced a field goal.

Cornerback Andre Strode and linebacker Brian Schneider got to know Pittman well. They had do gang-tackle him twice on six- and seven-yard runs straight ahead. And only free safety Greg Myers prevented Pittman from scoring as he pummeled the middle again on a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter.

“I can’t wait to get the ball,” Pittman said. “I’m thinking TD. And if the TD’s not there--if somebody’s in the way--they’re going to get it.”

Said Aztec Coach Al Luginbill, “If we took him over on defense, he’d start for us at free safety or dime back or outside linebacker. That’s how tough he is.

“He’s just a natural football player. He makes plays. That’s the only way I can describe him.”

But Luginbill went on describing.

“He was the best two-way football player out of high school that we recruited in that class,” Luginbill said. “I mean, you put on the film and 50 feet later you shut it off and say, ‘Hey, this guy . . . this guy can get it done.’ ”

The next stop for the Aztecs (4-2-1, 4-1 in WAC) in their bid for their first Holiday Bowl berth since 1986 is Saturday at Wyoming (4-5, 2-3).

Ironically, they don’t know Faulk in Laramie. ABC is sending truckloads of cameras to cover Week 8 of Faulk’s Heisman chase. With Faulk injured for last year’s game, Wyoming saw plenty of Pittman. Too much, maybe.

He knocked Cowboys clean out of their saddles: 147 yards on 26 carries. The Aztecs won, 24-22.

Like his running style, Pittman’s talk is not fancy. He spares the details. He hits you straight ahead.

“I’m a hard-nose runner, but I can get shifty,” he said. “My speed is decent. I can get nasty at times. But when the play’s over, I’ll help you up.”

If Faulk is the superstar, Pittman is like a cult hero to Luginbill. Luginbill loves him. Luginbill is president of Pittman’s small fan club.

“He’s going to be real successful at this level and then have a real chance to play on the next level,” said Luginbill, “because he’s so doggone tough and he can do so many things.”

Pittman ranks among the top three in SDSU rushing, total offense, all-purpose yardage and kick returns. He’s tied for fifth in scoring with two touchdowns. But, with Faulk relatively healthy--he’s been slowed by the hip ailment--Pittman is seeing less playing time this year.

And when the idea of using Pittman more comes up, the coach quickly becomes politician.

“Wayne, somewhere down the line, is going to have his own time at San Diego State,” Luginbill said. “We need to use his talents the best way we can to help our football team.

“Everybody says, ‘Well, put two backs in (SDSU’s one-running back offense).’ What good does that do? Do you think I’m going to put Wayne Pittman out there and have him be a blocker?

“He’s a tailback. He’s not a blocker.”

Faulk, with NFL stars praising him and the nation’s media keying on him like WAC defenses, doesn’t do interviews but for game days and Wednesday press conferences.

But he can’t resist a little barb when he sees Pittman being interviewed.

“Oh, don’t believe him,” Faulk said to a reporter as he walked past after practice.

Pittman kept talking--speaking of how he deals with his potentially suffocating situation. He talked about redshirting. Pittman also said, unflinchingly, that he considers himself a future Heisman prospect.

“That’s a good attitude to have. . . . That’s a great attitude to have,” Faulk said. “He’s a quality back.”

“He has some breakaway speed that I don’t have,” said Pittman, comparing himself with Faulk. “Basically, in my eyes, that’s about it.

“Marshall had two good practices the week of the Pacific game, and I had one good one and one average one. They gave him the go-ahead (when Wright was injured in the first half).”

About redshirting?

“I really have thought about it,” Pittman said. “If Marshall stays his whole four-year time, that would be pretty tough for me. When he’s gone, I would have an extra year to be in the spotlight. It would be all right. I’d be out there messing around with the scout team. I’ll put on a little size, too.”

For now, Pittman will have to be an NFL prospect banging around in Faulk’s bullpen.

“You can’t get down and feel sorry for yourself,” he said. “You’ve just got to believe in your ability.”