COLLEGE FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : USC : This Tale Definitely Has a Ring to It

Jim Hardy probably won’t ever find his 1945 Rose Bowl ring. It’s on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Hardy, the quarterback who guided the Trojans to victories in the 1944 and ’45 Rose Bowl games, visited USC’s training camp at UC Irvine and told the story:

“We beat Tennessee in the ’45 Rose Bowl game, 25-0 (with Hardy throwing two touchdown passes and running for a third score). They gave us our rings, and a week later I was commissioned into the Navy.

“After that game, for some reason, I lost a lot of weight. Halfway between Pearl Harbor and Guam, on a transport ship, I was leaning over the railing, and the ring fell off. I almost dived in after it.

“It’s probably about 25 miles deep there. Pretty cold water down there--I figure it’s still in pretty good shape.”

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Reggie Perry, the quarterback-turned-safety, continues to make more outstanding plays than anyone else in USC’s workouts.

“If this team has a great season, Reggie Perry will have a lot to do with that,” Coach John Robinson said.

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LaVale Woods, the a 5-foot-7, 190-pound freshman tailback from Chandler, Ariz., will be sidelined for at least a week after suffering a sprained an ankle Thursday.

Before the injury, Robinson had cited Woods as a standout among tailback newcomers.

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Wide receivers coach and former USC quarterback Mike Sanford, on his 1975 promotion by then-coach John McKay to first string:

“I started the season as the fourth-stringer, so I knew McKay didn’t know much about me,” Sanford said.

“When we lost two in a row with Vince Evans at quarterback, McKay met the press at Julie’s one day and said he was going to change quarterbacks.

“When they asked him who was the new starter, he said: ‘Stafford.’ ”

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Fathers and sons: Tight end coach David Robinson is the coach’s son; linebacker Joe Barry is the son of offensive line coach Mike Barry; Nose tackle Jonathan Himebauch is the son of recruiting coordinator Jack Himebauch; fullback Taso Papadakis is the son of 1970s USC linebacker John Papadakis; defensive tackle Matt Butkus is the son of NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus; safety Brett Hayhoe is the son of 1960s USC lineman Bill Hayhoe, and tight end Tyler Cashman is the son of 1960s USC defensive back Pat Cashman.