Strother in Right Spot for USC : College football: Senior fullback runs for two touchdowns to help Trojans to 45-20 victory over Stanford.

When Deon Strother began his USC football career in 1990, he was a tailback and trying to earn comparisons to O.J. Simpson, Marcus Allen and Charlie White, among others.

As a senior, Strother is being compared to Allen--but as a fullback.

The switch of Strother to fullback after three seasons as a tailback has turned out to be a godsend to the Trojans.

Strother ran for touchdowns of one and 38 yards early in the second half Saturday night at the Coliseum to turn a close, tense battle with explosive Stanford into a 45-20 rout.

The spectacular 38-yard run just past the middle of the third quarter jumped USC’s lead to 37-17 and seemed to take the fight out of the Cardinal.

Strother, who admitted that he wasn’t happy when Coach John Robinson proposed the switch to fullback, drew lavish praise from both his coach and quarterback Rob Johnson. They agreed the former Oakland prep star was the Trojans’ most valuable player.

Robinson went even further. “Deon Strother,” he said, “is one of the best football players I have ever been associated with. The job he has done since being switched to fullback has made us a much better team.

“Moving him to fullback has been one of the reasons we are doing so well. Everyone knows he is a big part of our success.

“The move meant he wouldn’t see the ball nearly as much as he did when he was a tailback. But lately, he has been getting the ball and making the most of his opportunities.

“The reason we moved him was that we needed his blocking, pass catching and running in our backfield. Our plan was to use him the way Marcus Allen was used when he was a fullback.

“The run he made for the second touchdown in the third quarter was a truly great run. It came on a blitz and Strother ran right through it. That’s great coaching.”

Johnson, after turning in another outstanding game with 349 yards passing, said Strother was the key Trojan.

“Johnnie (Morton) and I get the publicity, but Deon is the heart and soul of this team,” Johnson said. “He runs the short routes on passes, but he turns them into big gains.

“I know he’s good, because he’s my mom’s favorite player. She raves about him after every game.”

Strother, who played little after his long touchdown run, in part because Robinson didn’t want to pour it on his friend Bill Walsh, the Stanford coach, handled the ball only nine times all night.

He ran with it five times for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Strother, the Trojans’ No. 2 receiver behind Morton, also caught four passes for 76 yards. On all four, he turned short gains into extra yards.

USC, always a tailback-oriented team, seldom lets the fullback have the ball. Strother was used primarily as a blocker.

“All my life, I had been used to handling the ball,” Strother said. “At first, I wasn’t too happy.

“But Coach sold me on the importance it would be to the team for me to be at fullback. In the last few weeks, I’ve found out how true that was. I think it was a great move.

“It enabled me to show my versatility and it is a good feeling to know that I am really helping this team. Now, we have to beat Washington and UCLA and go to the Rose Bowl. I’m just happy to be a part of it.”