USC’s running backs have learned to ‘fly.’ Now they must learn to block
One of Tommie Robinson’s first actions this training camp, upon returning as USC’s running backs coach following a stint at Texas, was to deliver some unwanted news to Ronald Jones II.
“When I got here I told him, I said, ‘Hey, look here man, you’ve gotta block,’ ” Robinson said, recounting, and probably embellishing, the conversation.
Robinson mimed a panicking Jones.
“‘What? Huh? What?’ ” Robinson mimicked.
Robinson’s point: Jones, and the rest of a deep running back group, can run (“I mean RoJo ran track,” Robinson said, of Jones. “He can fly.”). Now, they’re working on refining everything else.
The unit has the potential to be one of the conference’s best. The Trojans return two backs who finished close to 1,000 yards in relatively few carries last season: Justin Davis (902 yards, 5.3 yards per carry, seven touchdowns) and Jones (987, 6.5, eight).
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The rotation is also as deep as it has been in years. Coach Clay Helton called Davis “a very, very complete back.”
Helton believes Aca’Cedric Ware, a sophomore, could be “maybe the next Justin Davis.” Dominic Davis, who also sprints for the track team, offers a speedy burst, and freshman Vavae Malepeai has impressed coaches with his physical maturity and quick grasp of the playbook.
“We’re in a good place right now with those guys,” Helton said.
Jones may offer the most potential. He thinks last season’s numbers reflected substantial growing pains. Despite averaging 7.6 yards per carry in his first eight games, he said he didn’t feel comfortable until breaking loose for 177 yards against Arizona, USC’s ninth game.
“It was a rough start as a freshman,” said Jones, who broke USC’s freshman rushing record.
Jones buzzed much of his voluminous hair in the summer, which Robinson jokingly theorized may make him even faster. Jones said he spent the rest of the off-season working on his strength and pass catching, another area, like blocking, where he can improve into an all-around back.
Still, he sees room for improvement. The summer, he said, involved “not too much conditioning. I could’ve done more of that. I’m feeling it now.”
Depth charge
USC’s return close to the maximum-allowed 85 scholarships this season has introduced a jolt into practices, Helton said.
He pointed to competitions such as at left guard, where Chris Brown has taken first-team repetitions over last season’s starter, Damien Mama. On Sunday, Helton said, after the coaching staff called for a power-right run, Mama “comes up to me and says, ‘Hey coach, this one’s for you.’ He knows how much I like it. And he pulls and absolutely annihilates the inside linebacker. So you can really see a fire under him.”
That, Helton said, wouldn’t have happened in recent seasons, when the Trojans’ depth was smothered by NCAA sanctions.
Quick hits
Defensive tackle Khaliel Rodgers was held out of practice Sunday under USC’s concussion protocol, Helton said. … Justin Davis, nursing minor hip and knee injuries, took fewer repetitions. … Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (toe sprain) and safety Chris Hawkins (hamstring tweak) were again limited in team drills.
zach.helfand@latimes.com
Twitter: @zhelfand
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