He’s Worth More Than a Thousand Words : College football: USC’s Ifeanyi is a picture of intensity as the Nigerian tries to go from cricket player to linebacker.

A well-remembered picture, in a long-forgotten magazine.

That’s why Israel (Izzy) Ifeanyi is on USC’s football practice field this spring, launching his 6-foot-4, 245-pound body into Trojan ball carriers and quarterbacks.

Ifeanyi, a 23-year-old junior from Nigeria, doesn’t remember the name of the magazine or who was wearing the football uniform.

He simply remembers thinking: “This is what I want to be--an American football warrior.”

Ifeanyi talked the other day about the picture: “I was about 13, living with my grandmother in Owerri, Nigeria, and all I remember is being at a friend’s house, looking at this magazine.

“There was this picture of an American football player, and I was very impressed with it. The player seemed like a warrior to me. I decided then that’s what I wanted to be, a football player.

“I don’t remember what the magazine was, or who the player was, but I can still clearly remember the picture.”

Sometime later, his father got him an early 1980s videotape of a Miami-Cincinnati NFL game.

“I watched it over and over,” he said. “I didn’t even know the names of the positions, but I couldn’t wait then to learn how to play.”

Ifeanyi, who had been a promising young cricket player in Nigeria, came to the United States in 1990 and initially stayed with a friend and his family in Windsor, Conn.

“I learned there that a good place for me to be in order to qualify for college, and to learn football, was California,” he said. “I wanted to start at a California junior college.”

Ifeanyi contacted another Nigerian athlete, Uzoma Obiekea, who was playing basketball at El Camino College in Torrance.

“Uzoma was living in Inglewood with his brothers and sisters, and in 1991 I moved in for a couple of months with them,” he said.

“Uzoma went to UC Irvine to play basketball and I went there one day with him. I heard about Orange Coast College being there (in Costa Mesa) and I went there one afternoon to introduce myself to the football coaches.”

Mike Taylor, Orange Coast defensive coordinator, recalled: “Izzy walked in the door one day and just introduced himself, and said he wanted to play football.

“The first thing I noticed about him was that he filled up the doorway pretty good.

“He didn’t know much about football, but he’s a bright guy and he picked up the game really fast. He’s got a great football body and runs a 4.6-second 40. We played him at outside linebacker and at defensive end on pass plays.

“He had a good freshman season for us in ‘92, but he really improved last season. The coaches voted him a unanimous all-conference player. He’ll be a pro someday.”

Don Lindsey, USC’s defensive coordinator, found it hard to believe that Ifeanyi had never put on a football uniform until 1992.

“He was obviously very well coached in JC,” Lindsey said.

“You can’t tell by watching him in practice that he has so little experience. He’s very success-oriented. He has a great desire to win and to do all the little things right.

“He still has a way to go, because next season he’ll see things he’s never seen before . . . guys the size of Tony Boselli (USC’s 6-8, 300-pound All-American offensive tackle) blocking him.

“If you had a team full of guys like him, you couldn’t wait to get to practice every day. He’s hungry to learn, hungry to improve.”

Ifeanyi will play outside linebacker for the Trojans and will line up as a defensive end on pass plays, Lindsey said.

And he will wear a special linebacker’s number, 55. That was Junior Seau’s number in 1988 and ‘89, and it was also worn by departing senior linebacker Willie McGinest.

In spring drills, Lindsey said, Ifeanyi’s pass rushing has been superior to his defending against the run.

John Robinson won’t declare Ifeanyi a starter yet, but the Trojan coach said: “He plays hard and he can really move. He’ll play a lot.”

Ifeanyi said Robinson gets high marks for patience, adding: “I was very nervous when practice started, because I know so much is expected of me.

“But Coach Robinson made me feel much better when he came up to me the first day and said, ‘Go ahead and just play. And don’t be afraid to make mistakes.’

“Coach Lindsey told me to learn all the little things first, like lining up in the right place. And not to try and make the big play every time.”

In the end, Ifeanyi might be able to provide more to USC than his own talent in his new sport.

He has a “little” brother, back home in Nigeria. Seems he plays basketball.

“I was 19 and 6-4 when I left home, and my little brother was taller than I was,” he said. “The last time we played basketball, he beat me.”

Trojan Notes

USC will finish spring drills Saturday with an 11 a.m. scrimmage. . . . In addition to Israel Ifeanyi, Coach John Robinson has expressed satisfaction with three other junior college transfers who have practiced all spring--wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson and defensive end Marcus Bonds of West Los Angeles, and linebacker Errick Herrin of Mt. San Jacinto.