USC Suspends 3 : College football: Walters, Ifeanyi, Herrin subject to NCAA investigation for allegedly accepting payments from agent. Forfeits are a possibility.

Three USC football starters, including Shawn Walters, the leading rusher the last two seasons, were suspended Thursday pending an NCAA investigation into allegations they took thousands of dollars from an Oxnard sports agent.

Seniors Israel Ifeanyi, a powerful 6-foot-5 defensive end, and Errick Herrin, a 6-2 linebacker, were the other players indefinitely suspended. They and tight end Johnny McWilliams were questioned by NCAA and Pacific 10 Conference officials this week about their relationships with Robert Troy Caron, owner of Pro Manage.

Caron has allegedly paid Walters $15,900 since last October, according to documents obtained by The Times. The funds were used for airline tickets, pocket money and other expenses.

The fifth-ranked Trojans could be forced to forfeit their three victories if the players are declared ineligible and the NCAA eligibility committee then decides to sanction the school.

“Obviously the school [would have had] a competitive advantage using professional athletes,” one NCAA official said in explaining the potential reasoning to punish USC.

The latest controversy comes at a time when USC star receiver Keyshawn Johnson is being questioned about money he received from two other agents. If he is declared ineligible, USC probably would have to forfeit the games he played because the school opted to use Johnson despite the ongoing inquiry.

Under NCAA rules, a college athlete can lose his or her eligibility if found to have accepted cash or other favors from a sports agent.

According to a ledger from Caron’s office that itemizes expenditures, Walters used the money for trips from Dallas to Los Angeles and L.A. to Arkansas, monthly cash payments of up to $500, payments for a Westlake Village sports hypnotist, long-distance telephone calls and pocket money.

Caron also gave the three suspended players beepers, sources said.

Reached at his home Thursday night, Walters said he would not say anything on the advice of his mother.

“She said not to do anything until I hear from her and we figure some things out, and I won’t talk right now,” he said.

Walters, 22, a junior public policy major from Arlington, Tex., lost his starting job at the beginning of the season to Leonard Green. But when Green was injured last week, Walters was set to start Saturday against Arizona State at the Coliseum.

Walters gained 976 yards last season, averaging 5.1 yards a carry. He scored 11 touchdowns. As a freshman in 1993, he gained 711 yards and scored seven touchdowns.

“We tell our players over and over of the dangers of dealing with agents,” Coach John Robinson said after practice at Howard Jones Field. “So, they understand the rules. And the players are responsible for their own actions.

“Unfortunately, the only consequences are paid by the athletes, but the agents or runners or whoever they are fade into the night like drug dealers. Nothing happens to them.”

Ifeanyi, from Nigeria, was pulled from practice Wednesday afternoon by Athletic Director Mike Garrett to discuss the situation.

Ifeanyi, who had six tackles and two sacks in the Trojans’ 31-10 victory over Arizona last weekend, said agents call him often.

“I’ve never physically taken anything from them,” he said.

Herrin could not be reached.

“One of the dangers we have in college athletics are people who do favors for athletes,” Garrett said in a statement. “We’re trying to get all the facts and make a correct decision for all concerned.”

McWilliams, a tight end from Ontario, said he was questioned by an NCAA official Wednesday as another typed his replies. He also said Garrett, USC general counsel Robert Lane and David Price of the Pac-10 were present during his hourlong interview.

“These guys have control of my future,” he said. “They are messing with my family’s future. The NCAA guy tries to catch you in a lie.”

McWilliams said he did nothing wrong, although he acknowledged knowing two of the people investigators asked about.

McWilliams said agents constantly contact players.

“They call you up,” he said. “There are always 10 or 15 of them in the Coliseum tunnel pulling on you. ‘Don’t touch me,’ I tell them. The guy who offers me money, we’re done talking. If he’ll do something dishonest with me, I figure he’ll represent me dishonestly.”

Caron, 37, has been involved in the Ventura boxing scene representing Orlin Norris and Lupe Aquino.

But he allegedly hired Walters’ roommate, Melvin Nunnery, to try to make contact with Trojan players. Nunnery’s name is listed on Walters’ ledger for some of the expenditures.

According to Pro Manage’s brochure, Caron is licensed as a sports agent within California, but the state licensing agency said Thursday his application, submitted in January, is pending.

The brochure also said Pro Manage’s clients include NFL and NBA players. But the NBA players’ association does not list Caron as representing anyone.

Caron did not return phone calls Thursday.