Carroll Looking for a New Beginning

The Pete Carroll era at USC actually begins a couple of hours before today’s season-opening game against San Jose State.

The team bus will pull up outside the Coliseum, at which point the new coach and his players will make their way through crowds of alumni and fans, down the stadium’s peristyle steps, then across the field to their locker room.

Talk about a dramatic entrance. It’s a tradition Carroll wants to establish with his first team.

“Walking into the Coliseum is a very special experience,” he says. “I want them to see that.”

But it will take more than pomp and circumstance to make Carroll a success with a storied football program that, in the last decade, has been through four coaches and more mediocre seasons than it cares to think about. He will need to revive an old tradition: winning.

The quest begins with a potentially dangerous underdog, a Spartan team that put a scare into USC at the Coliseum last season, and Carroll appreciates what is at stake.

“We want to get off to a good start,” he says, “so this game is critical for us.”

It will be the test run for a Trojan offense that has switched to a spread formation, multiple receivers and plenty of snaps from the shotgun. Quarterback Carson Palmer is eager to run up-tempo plays that should cut down on the number of times he is sacked or hurried.

“It’s so much quicker,” Palmer said. “I won’t be holding onto the ball as long.”

But receivers such as Kareem Kelly and Keary Colbert have been asked to adjust in training camp. Much of the offense’s success hinges on whether they can make the appropriate reads at the line of scrimmage, then turn short passes into long gains.

The new scheme also pushes tailback Sultan McCullough and fullback Charlie Landrigan into the mix as pass catchers.

At least the Trojans will get their feet wet against a defense that ranked last in the nation in 2000, giving up 476 yards and nearly 30 points a game. Even worse for the Spartans, a few of their best defensive players, including middle linebacker Josh Parry, have graduated.

It remains to be seen what adjustments a new coaching staff--the Spartans hired Fitz Hill in the off-season--will make. Palmer does not appear overly concerned.

“We’ve heard it’s the same as our defense,” he said. “So we’ve been practicing against San Jose State all summer long.”

The USC defense has been significantly downsized this fall, with safeties shifted to the linebacker spots and a cornerback at free safety. Carroll, who made his reputation as a defensive coordinator in the NFL, wants a squad that can cover the pass and pursue the run.

In other words, the kind of defense that might be well-suited for San Jose State.

Again, the Spartans might show up with a different look, but the returning talent suggests they will stick close to the spread offense they ran so well last season.

Quarterback Marcus Arroyo returns after throwing for 2,334 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2000. He has a trio of veteran receivers and an offensive line that averages 315 pounds.

But, most of all, he has tailback Deonce Whitaker, who gained 1,577 yards last season and is now on the Doak Walker Award list.

Hill says the diminutive back, who stands 5 feet 6, wants to prove himself again this season.

“He’s as explosive as he’s ever been,” the San Jose State coach said. “He loves to work and he’s not a prima donna even though he could be. He just makes plays.”

The question with Whitaker is durability. Against USC last September, he gained 50 yards and staked his team to a 12-point lead, only to sit out much of the second half because of an injury as the Trojans rallied to win, 34-24.

USC cannot expect to escape so easily this time.

Much of the responsibility for containing Whitaker will fall to the linebackers, who will be stretched between the pass and the run. That means added pressure on Matt Grootegoed and Frank Strong, the recently converted safeties.

“The concern is still at linebacker,” Carroll said. “Making sure that these guys are up to speed and prepared.”

The Trojans also must get a solid performance from the secondary, which appeared to be their most improved unit this summer, and consistency from new kicker David Davis.

The worry over special teams, Carroll said, “will not be put to rest until they have a chance to go out there and perform.”

In the meantime, the team was looking forward to its grand arrival. More than a few players were expecting to feel chills as they walk down those steps to the field.

“Kind of cool,” Palmer called it, adding: “It’s good to get some tradition in our pregame.”

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SAN JOSE ST. AT USC TODAY, 3:30 P.M. TV: FSN2