USC football 2019 preview: Running backs hope less is more

USC football’s running backs will have to prove “less is more” as the transition to Air Raid offense may open opportunities while slightly cutting back touches.

The USC football running back stable may be the most intriguing unit on the roster in 2019.

While there are bigger stars and bigger question marks at other positions, the Trojan rushers could be in line for a boom-or-bust type of campaign.

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Will the talent available reach its full potential or fall by the wayside in USC’s new offense?

Who’s back:

Vavae Malepaei (RS-Jr.)Stephen Carr (Jr.)Markese Stepp (RS-Fr.)

Who’s gone:

Aca’Cedric Ware

Who’s new:

Kenan Christon (Fr.)

Will they run the ball?

USC’s shift to the Air Raid rightly raised some concern for the future of the running game at what had once been dubbed college football’s “Runningback U.”

New offensive coordinator Graham Harrell and head coach Clay Helton were quick to stress that Harrell’s version of the scheme was more balanced than other, more familiar Air Raid’s out there. That actually bears out in statistics from Harrell’s time at North Texas.

The Mean Green ran 47 percent of the time in 2018. The year before they were almost completely balanced at 49 percent, running 517 times and passing 520 times. Senior running back Jeffery Wilson even averaged 17 carries per game in 2017. Last year, leading rusher DeAndre Torrey averaged the same carry total in eight starts. Wilson and Torrey also had 24 and 25 catches respectively.

That means USC’s running backs can expect to be involved in an offense that is still expected to be rather pass-heavy.

Who will run the ball?

Expecting any one Trojan running back to replicate those North Texas averages is complicated. USC might have too many good backs to have one feature.

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Stephen Carr is a five-star talent who is a full year removed from the back surgery and other nagging injuries which seemed to limit him in 2018.

Vavae Malepeai is an all-around contributor whose combination of power, quickness, blocking, pass catching and flat out grit could give coaches ample reason to keep him on the field.

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Markese Stepp is the power back whose bulldozing style had observers’ mouths watering during Spring Camp.

And that’s not even mentioning speedster Kenan Christon, the incoming freshman who stayed in the spotlight before his USC enrollment by lighting up the track circuit.

Carr and Malepeai are both capable of leading the Trojan rushing attack whether as an either/or or a running back duo.

New running back coach Mike Jinks has tended towards a one-man attack, so sorting out the pecking order will be the first order of business. Giving whichever running back is out there better opportunities to shine in 2019 than they did in 2018 is next on the docket.

How ever it shakes out, the Trojans could hardly be in better hands on a personnel front.

But will they be able to run the ball?

USC’s problem in 2018, when their rushing offense ranked 10th in the Pac-12, had little to do with the running backs themselves. Leading rusher Aca’Cedric Ware even averaged 6.6 yards per carry, tops among players in the conference with more than 55 carries.

The Trojan offensive line, offensive scheme and overall offensive dysfunction had a lot more to do with it.

So the question of whether or not USC will be able to run the ball in 2019 comes down to fixing those three things.

The line will be discussed later this week, but there are hopeful signs on that front.

More than anything, the introduction of Harrell’s scheme should bode positively for the backs. A more coherent offense will benefit all of USC’s playmakers, opening up opportunities across the board.

Those opportunities may not come with a volume of carries, but with the value of the carries when they come. Instead of running into a brick wall because some chart dictates a run, Harrell should be able to put the runners in position to succeed by calling their number when it’s most advantageous to run.

The trouble, of course, is the amount of “shoulds” and “ifs” involved in that discussion.

If the offensive line doesn’t improve, if Harrell’s offense doesn’t take off as hoped, if Pac-12 defenses quickly diagnose the new scheme, then there’s no hope for the running game.

The final big wrinkle in the plan? Health.

In addition to the back surgery which kept him out of Spring Camp in 2018, Carr has missed seven games in the past two seasons due to injury, and has been dogged by injuries in many other appearances in that span.

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Malepeai redshirted in 2016 in large part due to injury. His injury woes haven’t been as extensive as Carr’s but he missed time in 2017, had ankle issues in 2018 and tweaked his hamstring before Spring Camp in 2019.

The possibility of health concerns loom over a running back group which includes just four scholarship options.