TEMPE, Ariz. -- The USC coaching staff made it a well-kept secret this week -- not what freshman running back Kenan Christon could do (that's been clear for weeks), but how much he'd be allowed to do after being limited to 16 touches in each of his first two starts.
Head coach Clay Helton and running backs coach Mike Jinks both said plainly that Christon needed to remain a 15-20 touch-a-game guy at this point in his career.
"Asking any more of him right now might be a little much, just being honest with you," Jinks said.
As it played out, it was only too much for Arizona State on Saturday as Christon was unleashed early by the Trojans for 8 carries and 4 receptions totaling 98 total yards and 2 touchdowns in the first quarter alone. He'd finish with 20 carries for 62 rushing yards and those 4 catches for 82 yards and the scores.
"They told me that we were going to be able to run the ball this game, so they just told me throughout the week just to be ready to run the ball," Christon said afterward. "I think it shows mostly that the coaches have trust in me more than anything, so it feels great."
It also only furthers the Trojans' pending dilemma.
Saturday was Christon's fourth game, meaning if he plays another snap this season he can no longer redshirt and save a year of eligibility.
Injured running backs Stephen Carr (who has missed three games now with a hamstring injury) and Vavae Malepeai (who has missed four games after a minor knee surgery) both were in uniform for warmups Saturday before ending up inactive. Either or both could play next week, Helton said, meaning USC may have the option of sitting Christon down the rest of the way.
But that would mean taking the fastest player out of this offense with at least three more games remaining (with bowl eligibility secured).
"[Carr and Malepeai] were really, really close this week to the point where one more week I think one or both could be ready. So I'm going to sit down with Kenan, I'm going to sit down with the other two backs and see exactly where they're at," Helton said. "We'll make the best decision for our football team and Kenan moving forward, but if he's needed, I mean, we're one game behind Utah and we've got to go win the next one. We'll do what's best for the team first. If we can get away getting the other two backs back, we'll make that decision when it comes."
Christon acknowledged that initially this season he did want to redshirt and extend his eligibility window.
"Yeah I did, in the beginning of the year I did," he said.
As for how he feels now -- now that he's second on the team with 320 rushing yards through four games?
**Not subscribed and want to keep reading? Take advantage of our FREE TRIAL through Dec. 6 to get full premium access to all of our exclusive content as we cover USC football, recruiting and basketball from all angles. Use promo code FreeUSC at sign-up.*
"That's between the coaches, I don't really know too much. So it's all up to them," Christon said.
"It doesn't really matter too much. If I redshirt, that's cool. If I don't, even better. I just want to do what's best for the team."
What was best for the team early on Saturday was getting the ball in the hands of Christon, who scored the Trojans' second and third touchdowns of the first quarter.
On the first of those two big plays, QB Kedon Slovis checked down to Christon, who secured a hard and high pass and then took off to the right corner, plowing through the last possible tackler for the score.
Less than 4 minutes later he was in the end zone again on a 58-yard catch-and-run touchdown. It was a third-and-4 play as Christon jogged out of the backfield to the left and into a wheel route. Slovis hit him around the ASU 38 and he soon dragged cornerback Jack Jones (a former Trojan) for about 10 yards until shaking free of him on the way into the end zone.
