USC Hopes to Go Those Last 2 Yards : Football: Rob Johnson, Tony Boselli among 10 returning starters as practice starts today.

Buoyed by 10 returning starters, a banner recruiting harvest and hopes of a Rose Bowl appearance, a Heisman Trophy and maybe even an Outland Trophy or a Lombardi Trophy, USC launches its 1994 football season on campus this morning at 8:30.

In the second season of his second Trojan tenure, Coach John Robinson brings back a solid core from his 8-5 team of last season--quarterback Rob Johnson, 320-pound All-American offensive tackle Tony Boselli and a recruiting class rated by many as USC’s best in years.

The Trojans open the season against Washington on Sept. 3 at the Coliseum, then travel to Penn State on Sept. 10. Two-a-day practices begin today and continue through next week.

The headliner is Johnson, who starts his senior year as a Heisman candidate. Johnson had a big season in 1993, throwing for 3,630 yards and 29 touchdowns while completing 68.6% of his passes.

Unfortunately for Johnson and USC, when it seemed they were on their way to the Rose Bowl, an almost routine two-yard pass by Johnson was intercepted in the end zone by UCLA’s Marvin Goodwin. At the time, the Trojans trailed, 27-21, in the final minute.

So USC, co-champion of the Pacific 10 with a 6-2 mark, missed out on a trip to Pasadena, going instead to Anaheim and beating Utah, 28-21, in the Freedom Bowl.

Johnson, 6-feet-4 and 220 pounds, had a season that surprised even him. A year ago, he was shown the USC passing records, topped by Rodney Peete’s 8,225 yards.

At the time, Johnson was ninth on the list with 2,343 yards.

He looked at Peete’s number that day and said: “I have no shot at Peete, none. But I can catch some of those other guys.”

Now, he can catch ‘em all.

Johnson can pass Peete with 2,252 yards, considerably fewer than he gained last year. Hard to believe, but he’s almost 1,000 yards ahead of Todd Marinovich, who passed for 5,001.

Johnson will have a new backup in Brad Otton, a 6-6 transfer from Weber State. Two-year backup Kyle Wachholtz, who is academically ineligible, will transfer to another school for his last year of eligibility.

Boselli, the 6-7 1/2 lineman projected as a first-round NFL draft choice, wants to play a complete season. He hopes to become USC’s first Outland Trophy winner since Ron Yary in 1967, or the school’s first Lombardi Trophy winner since Brad Budde in 1979. The Outland goes to the best interior lineman in the country, the Lombardi to the best lineman.

As for his roommate, Johnson, Boselli said Friday the focus is simply on winning football games.

“I hope he gets (the Heisman), but we both feel the same way--if we win every weekend and go to the Rose Bowl, he’s got it. Rob’s the best quarterback in the country, he’s shown that.”

Boselli played half a season a year ago. He was having another All-American year until the first quarter at Arizona, in the season’s fifth game. He went down in a heap with a dislocated left kneecap.

He missed five games but returned stronger than ever. At Washington, during a 22-17 victory, he drove defensive linemen eight and 10 yards off the line or onto their backs on running plays.

Six offensive starters and four defensive starters are back, including linebackers Jeff Kopp and Brian Williams, who led the defense last year with 83 and 78 tackles, respectively.

Also returning for the defense are defensive lineman Matt Keneley and cornerback John Herpin.

Joining Johnson and Boselli as returning offensive starters are tailback Shawn Walters, who gained 711 yards and scored seven touchdowns; wide receiver Ken Grace, tackle Kris Pollack and Boselli’s running mate at tackle, Norberto Garrido.

The punter, John Stonehouse, returns, as does kicker Cole Ford. Among Robinson’s recruits is Adam Abrams of San Diego, one of the nation’s outstanding high school kickers last year.

Junior college transfers expected to make an impact include linebackers Israel Ifeanyi, a Nigerian who played at Orange Coast, and Errick Herrin, a Gulf War Marine veteran from Mt. San Jacinto Junior College.

Among the freshmen, considerable interest has been focused on Darrell Russell, a 6-4, 300-pound defensive lineman from San Diego. In fitness drills the other day, he had a 28-inch vertical leap.

Contact drills will not begin until Wednesday, but already two injuries have been reported. Returning linebacker Gerald Caruthers broke a bone in his foot while running and will miss at least the Washington game, and returning tailback LaVale Woods is still favoring a knee injured during track season.

This team will be bigger, physically stronger and deeper in numbers than recent Trojan teams, Robinson says. He hopes games such as those against Penn State and Notre Dame last year, where his players were manhandled up front, are things of the past.

“We weren’t a physically dominant team last year and we need to be if we’re going to win championships,” he said.

“And the best thing I can do for Rob Johnson this year is give him a good running game. Last year, we’d pass and go ahead by two touchdowns, and then we couldn’t control the game with our run game. This year, I want to do that.

“In the Washington game, I don’t think we made a first down in our last three series. I want to have that sense of control--that’s a big issue with me.”