Trojans Putting House in Order

Two years on the bench was almost more than Lawrence Larry could endure. Frustrated and unsure, he was willing to try anything.

So the USC defensive lineman walked into a South-Central Los Angeles gym last summer with a notion that boxing’s sweet science might help him wage hand-to-hand combat on the football field.

“Boxers are very tough, very quick,” Larry said. “I wanted to incorporate that into my game.”

That kind of thinking can make coaches cringe. Football players are supposed to be forged from drills, weightlifting and film study.

“I don’t know about boxing,” said Jeff McInerney, the USC defensive line coach. “The last time I looked, you don’t punch anybody on the field.”

But McInerney cannot argue with the improvement in Larry’s play. The junior defensive end, who Coach John Robinson said had a great camp, is listed as a co-starter for the season opener against Florida State on Saturday.

This ranks as a knockout victory for a large young man who hails from humble beginnings.

No one from Littlerock High, on the fringe of the high desert, had ever attracted Division I interest until Larry played there. As a senior linebacker, he was selected to the 1994 SuperPrep magazine All-American team and went to USC with great plans.

“I never let coming out of a small high school affect my expectations,” he said. “I was expecting big things immediately.”

Such optimism was not surprising, given his natural enthusiasm, the way his eyes often widen and his face breaks out in a grin. That first year, Larry became friends with three other talented newcomers--Billy Miller of Westlake, Marvin Powell III of Birmingham and Daylon McCutcheon of Bishop Amat.

While McCutcheon became a starter early on, the other three saw enough action to believe they were destined for stardom as the Trojans beat Northwestern in the Rose Bowl. It was, Larry said, “the perfect college experience.”

Then came 1996.

Larry, Miller and Powell could not find a steady spot in the lineup. And the Trojans struggled.

“The team goes 6-6 and you’re not even a starter,” Larry said. “You can easily be down and want to quit.”

After the season, his father offered some unusual advice. The elder Larry was a fan of Ed “Too Tall” Jones, a former Dallas Cowboy who briefly quit football to become a boxer.

“Too Tall got knocked out of the ring but when he came back and played football, my father saw a major improvement,” Larry said. “I was like, ‘What the hell. It wouldn’t hurt to try.’ ”

Talking with his hands, gesturing in short jabs, he recalled that he and teammate George Perry found the Broadway Gym, where they met trainer Vernon Fletcher.

“They thought they were in shape, but it’s a different kind of endurance [in boxing],” Fletcher said. “On the football field, you’re mostly using your legs. Now you’re using your hands and legs and you find yourself getting tired quickly.”

Fletcher kept his new pupils out of the ring. He wanted them to start with the basics.

Four or five days a week, they threw hooks and uppercuts with light weights in their hands.

They pounded the heavy bag for hours at a time. They worked on quickness, too, learning to be lighter on their feet and to fend off punches.

Fletcher saw improvement almost immediately.

“It’s a pleasure working with real athletes,” he said. “They know how to work, they give you all they have.”

When summer practice began, Larry found that boxing wasn’t so different from thwarting offensive linemen.

“When an offensive lineman is trying to put his hands on me, I see it a little quicker,” he said.

A relatively small 6 feet 3 and 240 pounds, Larry had always relied on quickness. Now he felt even more coordination between his hands and feet. His mental approach to the game changed as well.

“Before a football game, you’ve got butterflies but you know you’ve got your team behind you,” he said. “With boxing, you’re out there by yourself. I try to imagine that.

“That helps me out a lot.”

McInerney remains skeptical. The coach sees other reasons behind Larry’s development.

After all, his new weakside end spent all summer working with conventional strength and speed coaches, too.

Larry practiced with Willie McGinest, a Trojan alum who plays for the New England Patriots. And with two years under his belt, he recognizes plays and reacts more quickly.

“Larry is feeling comfortable being a Division I college football player,” McInerney said. “That’s why Larry is starting.”

But Larry firmly believes boxing has helped him and maybe that’s the key. He believes he is ready to assume a consistent role on the team.

Against heavily favored Florida State, he will face 6-8, 280-pound Ross Brannon. He says he will think about a solitary boxer stepping into the ring.

Boxing has helped him knock out the doubts.

“This morning I was looking in the mirror and I was thinking. . . . I’ve always pictured myself as a younger guy coming in,” he said. “Now I’m the older guy. It’s like overnight.

“I have to play my role. I have to be a leader.”