Washington Kicked Off for Classic

Delon Washington, USC’s starting tailback, was hit with an unexplained, one-game suspension Tuesday morning, taking him out of the Trojans’ season opener against Penn State in Sunday’s Kickoff Classic in New Jersey.

The Trojans announced the suspension of the junior running back in a half-page release, which stated the suspension was due to “a non-football related rule violation.”

Coach John Robinson said in the release: “USC uncovered an infraction regarding Delon. The violation was not connected to his involvement with our football team. He was immediately suspended from the Penn State game. USC declared him ineligible and notified the Pac-10 and NCAA. We have applied for his reinstatement.”

During the luncheon, Robinson referred to the “infraction” as a “one-time happening,” and said that the player “had acknowledged” the infraction. Then the coach said he would answer no questions regarding Washington’s status. He and other USC officials cited privacy laws in refusing to discuss Washington’s case further.

Nor was there a comment from Washington, who later participated in the team’s practice Tuesday afternoon. He was met by a half-dozen reporters as he walked off Howard Jones Field, but indicated he had nothing to say.

USC did issue a statement by Washington in the same release: “There’s not too much I can say. I’ll persevere. All I can do is accept the situation and just go on. I’ll cheer on my teammates in the opener and prepare myself for the next game.”

USC has a bye week after Penn State, then plays at Illinois Sept. 7.

Robinson said two other juniors, Rodney Sermons and LaVale Woods, would share the tailback position against Penn State. Sophomore Marvin Powell III is the fullback starter.

Robinson has tried to make the tailback and fullback positions interchangeable in the last two seasons, meaning Sermons and Woods could be in the game at the same time.

The suspension is Washington’s second in three seasons. As a freshman in 1994, he gained 109 yards against Washington in the season opener, played against Penn State the following week, then was withheld from competition for the rest of the regular season when his college board score was challenged.

Security personnel from American College Testing challenged his second ACT exam, which they said showed a marked improvement over his first score. He took the exam a third time during the suspension, passed it, and returned to play in USC’s 55-14 victory over Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl.

He led the team in rushing last season with 1,109 yards, the first 1,000-yard season by a Trojan since 1990.

The suspension was news to Washington’s teammates, even as late as Tuesday night.

“I don’t know anything about it,” one said. “Coach didn’t say anything to the team.”

The 5-10, 200-pound Washington had been slowed some in training camp by a pulled hamstring but had improved in recent practices.