Freshman Kenan Christon now top USC RB: 'We'll give him all he can handle'

As he walked off the practice field Monday after talking at length about his decimated position group and how the Trojans plan to adjust, USC running backs coach Mike Jinks was still thinking about it.

He turned back to a reporter, shook his head and said in continued disbelief, "Ever seen anything like that?"

He was referring to the Trojans losing their top three running backs in the span of a week -- first leading rusher Vavae Malepeai to knee surgery last Tuesday and then Stephen Carr (hamstring) and Markese Stepp (torn ligaments in ankle) during the team's 41-14 win over Arizona.

There is no timetable for Carr's return and Stepp will undergo surgery to repair the ligaments, with coach Clay Helton giving an expected recovery timeline of 3-5 weeks.

That leaves true freshman Kenan Christon -- who made his debut out of necessity Saturday night and turned 8 carries into 103 yards and 2 touchdowns -- as the top option, with former walk-on Quincy Jountti behind him and then former running back turned cornerback turned receiver Dominic Davis now back at RB as the No. 3 option.

"My heart hurts for those guys because they've worked their tail off. We've got to move on, and I know that's what they expect of us as well," Jinks said.

Helton, meanwhile, seconded Jinks' incredulity over the situation.

"I've never lost three backs in one week before in 25 years, but you know what, there's a first-time for everything," Helton said.

The silver lining to all of this, of course, is that Christon played so well in his small sample size Saturday night, breaking touchdown runs of 55 and 30 yards in the fourth quarter while showing the elite speed that made him a California state champion in both the 100 and 200 meters this past spring. His 10.30 in the 100 tied the state meet record.

"He's showing it -- 10.3 is elite. I've been around some 10.5s, 10.6s, 10.3 can go," Jinks said. "Where we may lose some things in some short-yardage situations, you gain in some of those plays that have been 20-25 yard plays, he's going to eat up some angles and they're going to be explosive plays. So you've got to take the good with the bad."

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