Guaranteed to cause a chain reaction

The text messages arrived, one after another, following nearly every bruising catch that USC receiver Steve Smith made against Washington State.

“You’re my idol.”

“I see you out there.”

“You’ve got to be the national player of the week!”

When Smith returned to the locker room and scrolled through his Sidekick after the September victory, there was no mystery about the sender.

Carolina Panthers receiver Keary Colbert, USC’s all-time receptions leader, had fired off the missives from a hotel in North Carolina while watching his former teammate make 11 catches, most of which ended with bone-jarring tackles.

“It was like a big-brother thing,” Colbert said in a telephone interview. “I felt connected to that performance.”

Colbert and Smith bonded during the summer of 2003, when Smith flopped at Colbert’s apartment after pre-training camp workouts before his freshman season.

Nearly four years later, Smith has adopted Colbert’s intense work habits and route running while molding himself into one of the nation’s best clutch receivers.

“Keary just tells me how every game is your resume,” Smith said. “He gives me little keys and points to think about.”

Though overshadowed for much of his career by Colbert and All-Americans Mike Williams and Dwayne Jarrett, Smith has been USC’s go-to receiver this season. The senior from Canoga Park has a team-best 49 catches and ranks among the Pacific 10 Conference leaders in receptions and yards per game.

The 6-foot, 200-pound Smith is expected to play a major role Saturday when fourth-ranked USC plays 17th-ranked California at the Coliseum for the Pacific 10 Conference title. The Trojans, third in the Bowl Championship Series standings, can stay on track for a third consecutive appearance in the title game if they spoil Cal’s bid for its first Rose Bowl appearance since the 1958 season.

“We definitely know what’s out there for us,” Smith said.

Smith was not as certain about his own future last January, when Reggie Bush and LenDale White prepared to make themselves available for the NFL draft after their junior seasons.

Smith also waded into the NFL evaluation process, filling out paperwork requesting a projection from the league of his possible draft position.

“I called [the NFL] and I didn’t get to talk to one of the main guys -- it was off hours or something,” Smith said. “But I talked to one of the interns or something like that and he just told me, like, third or fourth round.”

Smith also sought counsel from Colbert, USC Coach Pete Carroll and former player personnel executives the coach summoned to address all of his players. Carroll’s evaluators told Smith he needed to finish routes better, improve his running after catches and his blocking.

Colbert told him to value his time in college and work to improve every facet of his game.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m not ready,’ ” Smith said. “Even though it might have made you feel small or make you feel bad, that’s what you need and you have to take criticism constructively.”

Smith dived into off-season workouts with a renewed commitment to improve and emulate Colbert.

His coaches noticed.

“Keary was the last guy in the weight room and he was the last guy off the practice field his whole life, or least as long as I’ve known him,” said USC offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, who is also the receivers coach. “Very few people are like that naturally. A lot of people just stay the same and they don’t improve, but Steve did.”

Said Carroll, “We’ve always hammered Stevie for years about being like Keary. He is Keary now.”

Smith’s evolution began when he served as the third receiver behind Williams and Colbert in 2003. He mostly took a backseat to Jarrett in 2004 and 2005, his spectacular three-touchdown performance against Oklahoma in the 2005 BCS title game notwithstanding.

But with Jarrett slowed by injuries for much of this season, Smith emerged as the favorite target for quarterback John David Booty, a first-year starter who was part of the same 2003 recruiting class.

Jarrett did not make the trip to Washington State because of a separated shoulder, so Booty relied on Smith. A month later, in a 33-31 upset loss at Oregon State, Smith caught 11 passes for 258 yards, the second-most receiving yardage in USC history.

Smith’s performance against the Beavers included numerous clutch catches, a hallmark of his season.

Of Smith’s 49 receptions, 10 have been on third down, seven on fourth. Only one of those 17 plays failed to move the chains.

“That goes back to me trusting him and knowing you can rely on him to do exactly what the play was meant to do,” Booty said.

Carroll said Smith’s decision to return has helped him improve his draft status and will net him “a ton more money” after draft day.

That, of course, remains to be seen.

An NFC scout who has evaluated Smith projected him as a late second- to early third-round pick.

“Another steady year, a lot of big plays. The biggest thing about him is if he has enough top-end speed,” said the scout, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “He’s a really solid possession receiver. He’s smart, instinctive. The biggest question is his vertical speed.”

Looking back, Smith is glad he did not hurry to become a pro.

Like Colbert, he has become a mentor for USC’s younger receivers. He also has a chance to help the Trojans win a third national title in four years.

“It’s the most fun I’ve ever had,” he said. “You just want to enjoy it and soak it all in before it’s all gone.”

Times staff writer Sam Farmer contributed to this report.

gary.klein@latimes.com

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Receiving line

Steve Smith’s career receiving stats for USC:

*--* Year Rec. Yds. TD 2006 49 786 7 2005 60 957 5 2004 42 660 6 2003 17 319 2 Totals 168 2,722 20

*--*

Source: ESPN.com