With This Line, You Can’t Tell if He Can Hack-ett Yet

When USC All-American tackle Anthony Munoz went down with an injury in 1979, the Trojans replaced him with Don Mosebar. When Mosebar went down with an injury, the Trojans replaced him with Bruce Matthews.

If Paul Hackett, as an offensive assistant to Coach John Robinson, didn’t know how good he had it then, he certainly does now.

Twenty years later, in Hackett’s second season as USC’s head coach, pro scouts aren’t certain that the Trojans have one future NFL player on their offensive line, much less three at one position.

So take an average offensive line, subtract four injured starters and replace them with players who are on the second team because they’re not as good as the players on the first team, and the offensive collapse--minus 20 yards rushing, 60 yards lost on sacks--in a 31-24 loss at Arizona on Saturday is no mystery.

The only mystery was the comment Saturday by USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett, a Heisman Trophy-winning running back, that he didn’t understand what was happening with the running game.

Garrett was courteous enough to return a call Monday, but return the call was all he did.

He didn’t want to talk about the football team, having learned from the situation with Robinson in 1996 and ’97 and then been reminded Saturday that anything the athletic director says contributes to the perception that he is scrutinizing the coach’s performance.

Of course, he is. That’s his job.

But if he answers one question about his coach, the next one will be about what Garrett has concluded. It is far too early in Hackett’s tenure to draw conclusions. The last thing he needs now is a vote of confidence.

All USC fans, understandably impatient, can expect to learn from the rest of this season is how Hackett adjusts with a makeshift offensive line, game-breaking receivers who have been unreliable because of injuries and illness, and a second-team quarterback.

In the long term, whether Hackett will someday be recalled at USC as another Howard Jones, John McKay or even the earlier Robinson will depend on recruiting. I would advise him to spend as much time as possible in the homes of offensive linemen so that Student Body Wrong can once again become Student Body Right.

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Bob Toledo must have known that the third-and-11 pass into the end zone from the Oregon 40-yard line with 1:29 remaining had little chance to succeed, even against a team coached by his favorite defensive coordinator, Nick Aliotti. . . .

“Toledo could have been a genius,” the UCLA coach said Monday. “Instead, Toledo was a bum.” . . .

I disagree on both counts. He is hardly a bum, but neither would he have been a genius even if the Bruins had scored a touchdown. . . .

He should have called a running play that, even if it hadn’t gained enough for a first down, would have enabled the Bruins to run an additional 30 seconds off the clock before punting. . . .

The Ducks, who had no timeouts remaining, then would have had the ball at their 11 with about 49 seconds left, instead of with 1:16. . . .

As Arizona State proved the week before, that’s all the time in the world against the Bruin defense. About all you can say for Toledo’s call is that he got away with it this time. . . .

Seeing Bret Saberhagen start for the Red Sox on Monday reminded me that the Angels are seeking a general manager and the Dodgers a president. . . .

No, I’m not suggesting Saberhagen. But his former agent, Dennis Gilbert, would be a good choice for either position now that he’s no longer an agent. . . .

Gilbert, a former minor league player and a major agent who has represented players such as Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza and Jose Canseco, knows baseball and the business of baseball. . . .

It wouldn’t be an unprecedented hire. The Arizona Diamondbacks have done OK with former agent Joe Garagiola Jr. as their general manager. . . .

USA Track and Field officials will announce today that Willie Banks, former UCLA triple jumper, has been elected to their Hall of Fame. . . .

Presiding over the wedding of Liz Caplan and John Walls on Sunday in Pacific Palisades, George Foreman said he was more nervous than when he entered the ring against Muhammad Ali. . . .

“That was just a fight,” he said. “This was for life.” . . .

Trust me, there’s nothing more depressing when you’re hungry than looking ahead of you in the buffet line and seeing Foreman and Butterbean.

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While wondering if a subway World Series would disturb the unaffected, genteel nature of New York baseball fans, I was thinking: The NFL should figure out a way to suspend Eagle fans, St. Louis can still have Georgia Frontiere, be prepared to prove it if you tell me you took Kurt Warner in your fantasy league.

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Randy Harvey can be reached at his e-mail address: randy.harvey@latimes.com.