USC coach Clay Helton didn't provide many injury updates Monday morning in his Zoom call with reporters, but he did deliver an encouraging report on running back Markese Stepp.

Stepp, who remains one of the most intriguing Trojans entering this 2020 season after what he showed in limited opportunities last year (averaging a team-best 6.4 yards per carry), entered camp still working his way back from ankle surgery and then incurred another setback with what was categorized as a mid-foot sprain.

But he had returned to action the middle of last week and continues to progress toward being active for the season opener Saturday against Arizona State, though Helton added a new wrinkle to his physical diagnosis.

"I saw a lot yesterday, to be honest with you. I thought he had by far his best day. We're in full pads today and I'll get even a better feel. But in talking to him last night after practice and this morning in the training room, he felt really good and the most confident he's been," Helton said. "Right now, it's actually not as much his ankle [which] feels phenomenal -- he's got a little bit of a big toe turf toe that is probably more of the issue right now. But he looked really good yesterday and we'll see where it's at today. But I'm anticipating him being ready for Saturday the way he's progressing."

Stepp didn't get to play against Arizona State last year, sustaining a season-ending left ankle injury (torn ligaments) a few weeks earlier against Arizona. He had rushed for 307 yards and 3 TDs on just 48 carries to that point and was just finally seeing an expanded role when the injury occurred.

Now, it's unclear what role Stepp is looking at this season, with senior Stephen Carr healthy again and drawing high praise from the coaching staff, sophomore Kenan Christon now established after leading the backfield down the stretch of last season and redshirt senior Vavae Malepeai, the starter the first half of last fall, presumably in the mix at some point as well. Malepeai was slowed by a hamstring injury in camp and there has not been a recent update on his status.

Still, the Trojans are bound to have more options than they had late last season when Malepeai, Carr and Stepp were all injured in the span of a week, thrusting an until-then-unproven Christon into the spotlight.

"It obviously helps the cause. Like I said, the cool thing about the backs that we have, if we've got all four of those backs healthy you've got four different players, and everyone has a little bit different skill set," offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said Monday. "And I think because of that it makes it really hard to prepare for those guys. It makes us more versatile because when we have healthy running backs, we're getting fresh legs in there, nobody's getting tired and you've got a different skill set coming at you every down. So it's exciting to get those guys back, it's exciting to see them get healthy, see them play at a high level and going into the game if that's the case we feel really good about where we are running the football."

Last year led to a bit of a skewed perception of Harrell's offense. Coming in billed as an Air Raid disciple, the expectation from the start was for a heavy passing attack. And then watching quarterback Kedon Slovis rattle off four 400-yard passing performances in the span of five weeks late in the season, including a program-record 515 against UCLA, that only reinforced a perception that Harrell wants the passing game to comprise the majority of the offensive attack.

The numbers tell one story -- USC ranked 119th nationally in rushing last season at 118.23 yards per game and 6th in passing offense (335.8).

But Harrell and Helton have consistently reiterated they actually prefer a balanced pass/rush approach, and Harrell's comments on that matter Monday really drove home the point.

"Obviously a lot of people talk about our receivers and quarterbacks and talent we have at those spots, and we do have a lot of talent there. But in this offense if you can run the football, that's when you win the most games," he said. "You can look at it anytime, anyone that runs anything like this offense, when the run game's been established, when they've been able to run the ball effectively, they have much better seasons. So being able to do that is going to be really important for us this season. Again, I feel great about who we have up front to do that.

"When all four of those running backs are healthy we're bringing a different look at them every time, and I think it's going to help the run game. When we run the ball at a high level, like I said, it's going to make this offense really hard to stop, and that's what we're going to try to do."

Stepp is the bruiser, the 230-pound bull capable of creating yards that don't seem to be there, breaking tackles and extending runs. Carr is the veteran shifty all-purpose back who has stated a commitment to being more of a north-south runner and all-around back this year. He and Christon, who is probably the fastest player on the team, are capable pass-catchers, and Christon in particular has gotten some work flexed out as a receiver this camp. And Malepeai is the steady senior who does all the little things right and has the coaching staff's utmost trust when it comes to pass-blocking, executing assignments, etc.

How that backfield is divided up this season remains one of the most interesting subplots, and if Stepp is truly healthy for the opener, some answers on that front may come quickly Saturday.

"They've shown that they can all be an every-down back, so it's kind of not one of those situations where I want to just roll one in on third downs, this, that or the other," RBs coach Mike Jinks said earlier this month. "We're going to continue to compete and the hot one or the hot two or three will be the guys out there playing. ...

"I’ve challenged those guys for one of them to step up and be that alpha, to be that guy. I’m excited to watch them try to go get it. It’s an extremely talented running back room. We’re going to find ways to get all of those guys on the field."