Papadakis Breaks Foot in Practice

USC lost its No. 2 tailback and best power runner Friday when Petros Papadakis broke his right foot when he was tackled during a play from scrimmage in Irvine.

“That’s a blow,” Coach Paul Hackett said. “We all know his spirit and what he’s done for us.”

The injury raises questions about the Trojan running game because of the concerns about No. 1 tailback Chad Morton’s durability, as well as the lack of a proven fullback.

Running back is probably the Trojans’ deepest position, but the worry is finding a power runner to take over Papadakis’ role in short-yardage situations.

“I don’t know. We have to find somebody,” Hackett said. “The best part of our offense last year was what we call ‘Tank’ and he’s really the power guy.”

One contender would be sophomore Frank Strong, who ran for 193 yards last season and seems to have overcome his fumbling problem.

Malaefou MacKenzie, who ran for 332 yards as a freshman before missing last season because of knee surgery, is “a possibility,” Hackett said, but he has been practicing lightly because of hamstring soreness related to his rehabilitation.

Other possibilities would be redshirt freshman Sultan McCullough, who had an excellent spring but has a chronic hamstring problem and is more of a speed runner, and senior Jabari Jackson.

There is no immediate prognosis for Papadakis’ return, but he could miss at least half his senior season after rushing for 365 yards and scoring eight touchdowns last season, including a 65-yard scoring run against California. He started four games last season in place of an injured Morton.

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Linebacker Markus Steele joined the team and practiced in shorts after being delayed while USC awaited his transcript from Long Beach City College.

“It was frustrating,” said Steele, a potential starter who will compete with Darryl Knight and Henry Wallace at weakside linebacker and has been given Chris Claiborne’s old No. 55.

“I wore No. 45 at Long Beach City, but when I talked to the coaches after Claiborne left they asked me how I’d feel about wearing No. 55. I didn’t know at first, but after I thought about it, I thought it was a great honor because guys have gone on to be first-round NFL draft picks after wearing it at USC.”

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Offensive tackle Matt Welch returned to practice despite an injury to his surgically repaired left shoulder.

“I saw a couple of doctors and they said there’s not much I can do except suck it up and play with it, or sit out of practice, and even if I stay out two weeks it would still be a problem,” Welch said. “I’ll keep battling.”