Pac-10’s Lead Runner Has Other Leanings

The Dodgers haven’t developed a leadoff hitter since Steve Sax. The Angels have Darin Erstad, who ought to hit third, but he leads off because no one else can.

You never know where you might find talent, so the Dodgers and Angels scour the globe. In search of a leadoff hitter, however, they ought to consider skipping one of those costly scouting expeditions to Asia, Australia or Latin America and slipping a scout a few bucks to buy a ticket to Saturday’s UCLA-Oregon State game at the Rose Bowl.

The mission: Check out No. 35, Ken Simonton of Oregon State. As baseball scouts like to say about potential leadoff hitters, he can run a little bit.

He leads the Pacific 10 Conference in rushing. He sets some sort of school record virtually every week. He could make a very comfortable living in the NFL.

He would just as soon play the outfield. He played baseball and football in high school, preferring baseball. He plays only football in college, but he left his heart on the diamond.

“If I had to rank them, football wasn’t my favorite sport. It still isn’t,” Simonton said.

Baseball is the family business. His father, also named Ken, played in the minor leagues for the Boston Red Sox. His big brother Benji, a third-round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants in 1992, played eight seasons in the minors.

“We all played football too,” Simonton said. “We’re from an athletic family--doesn’t matter if it was football, baseball or shooting hoops. I grew up being an athlete. I loved to play everything.”

Simonton, a junior, isn’t sure when, or if, he will play baseball at Oregon State. His baseball career has been on hold--during his first year because of a lingering shoulder injury from high school and lately because of the priority demanded by the Beavers’ resurgent football program.

“I’ve been given an opportunity and a blessing to play this game,” he said. “I’m still playing ball. That’s all that matters.”

If Simonton stood on a street corner and you asked 10 people walking by whether he played baseball or football, all 10 would probably say baseball. When Coach Dennis Erickson arrived at Oregon State last year, armed with his one-back offense, he shuddered when he saw that this one back stood 5 feet 7. How durable could Simonton possibly be?

“That was something I was concerned about when I first came here and saw him. Then I saw him play,” Erickson said.

“I don’t think he’s any different than any other back that gets hit a lot. He’s strong. He’s not an easy target--maybe his size works to his advantage. He gets beat up like any other back, but I don’t think he’s any more prone to injury.”

Said UCLA linebacker Tony White, “Oh, he’s durable. He’s very explosive. He just plays hard. He plays every play like it’s his last.”

But what about his size?

“He obviously has a very big heart,” White said.

He has big numbers too. Simonton ranks fourth nationally in rushing average with 149 yards a game; no one in the Pac-10 is within 25 yards of him. He leads the conference in scoring with 66 points; no one in the Pac-10--kickers included--is within 25 points of him.

He holds seven school records, and he’ll add an eighth--most all-purpose yards--if he gets 137 yards Saturday.

If he runs for 16 yards Saturday, he’ll pass O.J. Simpson for 11th place on the all-time Pac-10 rushing list. If he runs for 107 yards, he’ll become the first player in conference history to rush for 1,000 yards as a freshman, sophomore and junior.

With the numbers come the accolades, no more lavish than those offered by Washington Coach Rick Neuheisel.

“I am a big fan of Ken Simonton,” Neuheisel said. “He’s a wonderful, engaging kid. He is a gifted player. He’s got great vision. He’s got great explosiveness.

“I think he is a little like Barry Sanders in terms of his ability to cut. I don’t think he has Barry Sanders speed, but he has the ability to cut and to elude tacklers like Barry does.”

Simonton practically blushed at the comparison.

“I’m pretty versatile. If I have to, I can cut or I can spin,” he said, “but I don’t try to pattern myself, especially after a guy like Barry Sanders. That’s an impossible feat.”

In Simonton’s freshman season, the Beavers won five games, the most in 28 years. In his sophomore season, they played in their first bowl game in 34 years. This season, they are 5-1 and nationally ranked for the first time in 31 years.

Simonton insists he can find enough incentive to return--including a shot at Ron Dayne’s NCAA career rushing record--and does not plan to jump to the NFL after this season.

“I’m in no hurry,” he said. And next year, when he might have to choose between an NFL career and a baseball dream?

“I’m looking for any opportunity,” he said. “As a 21-year-old black man, I can’t afford not to look at all my options.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Task Simple for Simonton

Oregon State junior Ken Simonton, the 12th-leading career rusher in the Pacific 10 Conference, can pass USC Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson on the list with 16 yards Saturday against UCLA. The Pac-10’s top 15 career rushers (bowl games included):

*--*

PLAYER SCHOOL YEAR CAR. YDS AVG Charles White USC 1976-79 1,147 6,245 5.4 Marcus Allen USC 1978-81 932 4,810 5.2 Darrin Nelson Stanford 1977-81 730 4,169 5.7 Napoleon Kaufman Washington 1991-94 736 4,106 5.6 Trung Canidate Arizona 1996-99 604 3,824 6.3 Gaston Green UCLA 1984-87 708 3,731 5.3 Anthony Davis USC 1972-74 784 3,724 4.8 Ricky Bell USC 1973-76 710 3,689 5.2 Rueben Mayes Washington St. 1982-85 636 3,519 5.5 Ontiwaun Carter Arizona 1991-94 786 3,457 4.4 O.J. Simpson USC 1967-68 674 3,423 5.1 Ken Simonton Oregon St. 1998- 780 3,408 4.4 Russell White California 1990-92 663 3,367 5.1 Derek Loville Oregon 1986-89 811 3,296 4.0 J.R. Redmond Arizona St. 1996-99 612 3,223 5.3

*--*

Source: 2000 Pac-10 Football Media Guide