RIDING OUT THE STORM : Sidelined by Suspension, Walters Waits His Turn to Play Again for USC

For two years, you didn’t need eyes to appreciate the way Shawn Walters carried a football.

You could hear him.

Crunch! Splat! Bam!

Those were the sounds the fast, 230-pound tailback made when he collided with would-be tacklers.

Then last November, the NCAA stripped him of his eligibility for taking money from an agent.

Crunch! Splat! Bam!

Those were the sounds Walters made when he landed on his ear, thrown out of college football by the NCAA.

USC appealed, and last Dec. 15 Walters’ eligibility was partially restored. He was given back most of his senior season. The 6-foot tailback is eligible this year beginning with the season’s fourth game, Sept. 21 at Houston.

So most of last season, instead of being John Robinson’s main man in a revitalized running offense, he wound up serving a long term in Robinson’s doghouse.

Walters had led the Trojans in rushing in his freshman and sophomore seasons and seemed primed for a 1,000-yard season a year ago.

But he and two teammates were pulled out of practice in the season’s fourth week and taken to Athletic Director Mike Garrett’s office.

The charges:

--Walters was accused by the NCAA of accepting money from representatives--his roommates--of Ventura sports agent Robert Caron. He was suspended by the school Sept. 28.

--Senior linebacker Errick Herrin was accused of receiving $860 from Caron representatives. He served a five-game suspension.

--Senior linebacker Israel Ifeanyi was accused of accepting $190 from Caron representatives and $3,650 from fellow Nigerians living in Los Angeles. He served a four-game suspension.

Walters’ case was far more serious. Documents later indicated he had accepted $15,900 from Caron. Later, USC determined Walters accepted about $3,900 in pocket money, plus other items.

During the lengthy investigation, Walters admitted to USC officials he took money from two roommates--Melvin Nunnery and Corey Tucker--but denied knowing they were associated with Caron.

But he won’t admit it to anyone else.

In a recent interview, when asked if he had apologized to his teammates, he said:

“There’s nothing to apologize for. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Did he deny taking any money?

“Yes, it’s not true.”

Not one dime?

Answer: “No.”

Said USC general counsel Robert Lane: “Shawn admitted to us he took money from his roommates, but denied knowing they had an association with Caron.”

Caron was sued for damages by USC, and Lane said Caron settled, agreeing to pay USC $50,000, in two $25,000 installments. Walters was required by the NCAA to make restitution before he can play and is doing so, USC officials say, the money coming out of his stipend checks for his scholarship.

Robinson for months said nothing about Walters’ status, saying only that he and the player were having frequent meetings, “talking it out.”

After last season, the two met in Robinson’s office about five times, Walters said, each meeting lasting an hour or more.

A recurring theme: friendships.

“He told me I had to be more careful about who I give away my friendship to,” Walters said.

“He brought that up several times, friendships . . . and being careful about who I trust.

“It was important for me to learn that because I was brought up to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. But Coach told me I can’t always do that. . . .

“He told me he was worried about my head, about my mental attitude.

“He knew how much pain I was in, how much football meant to me.

“Coach Robinson is a player’s coach. I’ve never heard one player here say a critical thing about him. But if you mess up like I did, he can get really angry at you. But after that, it’s like he’s your father. . . . He reprimands you pretty good, but you know he’s still in your corner.”

Now, a new and final season for Walters, a senior majoring in business administration.

With a new roommate. Walters now rooms with teammate Rashard Cook.

And a new physique. For the first time since he arrived at USC, Walters doesn’t look flabby. After an entire summer of weight training on campus, his upper body is rock-hard. At the team’s recent weightlifting contest, he bench pressed 375 pounds, tops among running backs and a 60-pound improvement over a year ago.

And a new GPA. He took an economics class this summer and says he got an A-minus, pushing his grade average closer to a B than a C.

He was asked to identify the most painful part of his ordeal and he talked about the first game he missed after the suspension.

“The team played Arizona State in the fourth game,” he said.

“All I could think of the night before was my teammates at the hotel, going to meetings, having dinner together, and there I was, in my apartment. That felt awful. Then, during the game, I was in my apartment, watching on TV. . . . That nearly killed me.

“Another really painful part was the first time I talked on the phone to my mother. She was really upset. But I was too, and for the first time I lost my temper in front of my mom--I’d never done that before, out of respect for her.

“But this time I did, not because I was angry at her, but at whoever had brought all this down on me. I cursed and I cried.”

Walters said one of the first things he did after the suspension was write a letter to his team, and asked Robinson to read it at a team meeting.

“I told the team I considered them my family away from home, and that what they thought about me mattered a lot to me,” he said.

“And I told them the last thing I wanted was to hurt this team.”

But hurt it he did, Robinson said.

Robinson recently said of Walters: “Shawn did a really selfish thing, and he really hurt our team. But he’s a good guy who has paid a big price. He’ll get his nine games this year and he’ll graduate.”

Months ago, after learning details of the investigation into Walters, Herrin and Ifeanyi, Robinson called the latter pair “rubes.”

“What Herrin and Ifeanyi did . . . they were like rubes, not thinking things through, doing something dumb, being taken advantage of,” he said.

“But what Shawn did was far more serious. I told him we needed some long conversations in the off-season before I’d decide if he could come back.”

Walters was asked what he has learned in a year.

“I’m a wiser football player and a very eager football player,” he said.

“I’m going to show this coaching staff and my teammates that I can do this and do it very well. I’ll show them I’m stronger, faster . . . and smarter.”