USC

John Fox played in every game last season and was the starting quarterback for nine, but he’s prepared not to play Sunday when USC opens the season against Purdue in the Pigskin Classic at the Coliseum.

“We have a lot of tight ends. I don’t see myself playing,” said Fox, who decided to move to tight end after Mike Van Raaphorst earned the starting quarterback’s job. “I’m OK with it. That’s my role.

“But going from starting to not playing, that’s tough. It’s hard not to get down.”

Fox’s chances to play this season probably will come mostly on special teams, though perhaps not in the first game. He is already the backup holder, and Coach Paul Hackett said he’s working him in on the punt team, the kickoff team and the kickoff return team.

“We’re getting him involved, and we’re beginning to get Quincy [Woods] involved too,” Hackett said.

Woods is the other former quarterback who switched positions, moving to receiver.

Between those moves and No. 3 quarterback Jason Thomas’ sore ankle, USC would be in a bad spot if Van Raaphorst and No. 2 Carson Palmer were both badly injured. Fox, who said he was giving up quarterback for good when he switched positions, said he’d be there in an emergency.

“If they ever wanted me to, heck, yeah, I’d jump on the field if the team needed me,” he said. “But I definitely don’t want to be the No. 3 quarterback. I didn’t even want to be No. 2.”

*

The Trojans will break their three-week camp at UC Irvine today and return to Los Angeles for final preparations for Sunday’s game. They began tapering their workouts Thursday, practicing in shorts.

“You can be sure we’re not going to burn them out,” Hackett said. “We’ve worked very hard here. We’re not going to do anything to mess that up.”

Defensive end Lawrence Larry hasn’t been practicing because of a high ankle sprain. He is still listed as possible for the game, but Ryan Nielsen or Shamsud-Din Abdul-Shaheed might start in his place. . . . A sobering assessment of the Trojans appears in Sports Illustrated’s Aug. 31 edition: USC is ranked No. 43. The magazine thinks the Pigskin Classic will be a good matchup, though. Purdue is No. 44.