The future of USC's backfield on display as Kenan Christon stars in debut

Once freshman running back Kenan Christon broke into the open field with only an Arizona safety to beat early in the fourth quarter Saturday night, most everyone inside the Coliseum could tell he was likely taking it all the way.

USC running backs coach Mike Jinks called it even sooner, though.

"It was fun tonight because when he hit the first one, Mike Jinks, as soon as he hit the line of scrimmage, said 'Touchdown,'" Trojans coach Clay Helton recalled after the game. "It's hard when you're a 10.3 [second] 100-meter kid and you have that type of speed and that type of hole. ...

"It's nice to have that feeling when you know the ball breaks and he's even, he's leaving. It was good to see."

RELATED: Going in-depth on Kenan Christon's track exploits and path to USC

It was an odd night for the Trojans, who had plenty to feel good about in a 41-14 win over the Wildcats (Christon being near the top of that list), but also plenty to lament (mostly on the injury front).

Christon's opportunity, for example, came after junior running back Stephen Carr limped off the field with a hamstring injury in the second quarter, redshirt freshman Markese Stepp exited with an ankle injury in the third quarter and veteran reserve Quincy Jountti subsequently fumbled on his first carry of the game.

USC's overall offensive performance was also significantly skewed once the game was out of reach, as the Trojans piled on three touchdowns over the final 18 and a half minutes to help offset a slow start by the unit.

But Christon contributed two of those touchdowns and earned every bit of them, scoring first on the aforementioned 55-yard sprint and less than 5 minutes later finding the end zone again on a 30-yard burst. Both times, the Arizona defenders were rendered flat-footed trying to react as Christon zoomed through a hole and never slowed down.

The blazing-fast freshman -- who tied the California state track meet record with a 10.3-second 100-meters this past spring -- hadn't played all season before that series of unfortunate events (which actually started with leading rusher Vavae Malepeai's knee surgery on Tuesday).

And yet he needed only 8 carries to turn in the Trojans' second-best rushing total of the season with his 103 yards (behind only Malepeai's 134 vs. Fresno State).

"You could see he's definitely a track champion for sure," center Brett Neilon said. "He was patient and he took off. He's a tremendous talent, really fast. I didn't even see him hit the hole, and then I looked up and he's already by the end zone."

Said wide receiver Tyler Vaughns: "We've been waiting to see him just use his speed, just knowing how fast he is, just knowing what type of player he is. It was just great to see him in a game and just explode on them."

That's an apt description.

Fans are already envisioning the future of USC's backfield and a new thunder-and-lightning combintion with Stepp -- the 235-pound bulldozer -- and Christon.

Depending on the injury situation -- Helton didn't have any status updates after the game -- the future may be now for the Trojans.

"With losing Vavae this week and losing two more backs this week, I would imagine Kenan's going to have a pretty big role going into Colorado as well as Quincy Jountti," Helton said. "We'll see who we get back."

Christon, meanwhile, mostly let his coach and teammates (not to mention the fans) do the talking afterward.

He was asked about the challenge of waiting his turn, starting the season fifth on the running back depth chart.

"It's not tough at all. I'm here to help the team. I'm willing to do whatever I can, wherever they need me I'll go and I'll play. I've just been preparing the right way and staying focused," he said.

It showed.

Neilon, meanwhile, mentioned the wings Christon has tattooed on the outside of each leg.

"He deserves to have those, for sure," he quipped.

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