Stephen Carr looking to reclaim freshman form and leave 'no regrets'

When new USC running backs coach Mike Jinks was asked about junior tailback Stephen Carr this week, well, his response was rather telling.

"I went back and I kind of watched his freshman tape -- that's a lot to be excited about," Jinks said. "I know that he had a pretty significant injury that he recovered from last year, and I think he rolled an ankle toward the end of the year. Really with Stephen, a lot of it has been getting that confidence back and getting out here and playing, getting reps."

Indeed, Carr did not have the sophomore season many envisioned for him last fall -- perhaps in part due to the aftereffects of offseason back surgery, before a fresh ankle injury ultimately sidelined him the final few games.

Jinks added that he's liked what he's seen from the junior so far, and Carr -- the No. 2-ranked all-purpose back and No. 38 overall prospect in the 2017 recruiting class -- proclaimed himself fully healthy as the Trojans opened spring practice on Tuesday.

"I feel A-1, amazing," he said.

Asked if that meant no issues of any kind, be it with the back or ankle, he nodded affirmatively.

If that's the case, then there will be many fans right there with Jinks thinking back to the kind of potential Carr showed as a true freshman in 2017.

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He had broken out in his first game with 69 yards and 2 touchdowns on 7 carries against Western Michigan, which marked the most rushing yards for a USC true freshman in a season opener since the great Charles White had 93 in 1976.

Carr then followed up with 119 rushing yards on 11 carries along with an 18-yard catch against Stanford. He'd later draw the start against Cal (20 carries for 82 yards and a TD, 6 catches for 47 yards) and total 298 rushing yards in all through the first four games before spraining his right ankle against Washington State.

Then came the offseason back surgery last March. Then another ankle injury in the Oregon State game late last fall, as he'd finish with 384 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns and see his yards per carry drop from 5.6 as a freshman to 4.7.

"That's all in the past now," Carr said this week. "... Each season I had some type of injury, so this season hopefully if God's willing everything goes OK."

And what does he feel his potential is, if that happens?

"Shoot, sky's the limit. I can't even say that, I can't speak on that. I'm going to put in the work and it's all going to show on the field," he said.

It's not hard at all to envision a true, complete breakout season from Carr, if he can remain healthy. That "if" is always going to be a necessary qualifier to any forecast for the big-play back, but the opportunity is there.

USC returns two other scholarship running backs in redshirt-junior Vavae Malepeai, who presents an entirely different style, and redshirt-freshman Markese Stepp, who received only 7 carries last season. Freshman Kenan Christon joins the mix this summer.

And unlike the running-back-by-rotation approach USC used last year -- stubbornly so at times -- with then-senior Aca'Cedric Ware, Malepeai and Carr, Jinks has a much different philosophy for the position.

"I want them all to compete to be the guy. If we have a guy, I'm going to play the guy -- I'm a big believer in that," he said. "We're going to do what our skill set allows us to do, but I want these guys to compete. I want these guys to come at me and make me give them 20-25 touches a game. That's what I'm looking for."

Malepeai was productive last fall, totaling 501 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns while averaging 5.4 yards per carry, and he could well end up in that lead back role. But Carr offers a big-play dynamic that is intriguing in an offense that should create such opportunities with its pace and the demands it will put on a defense to defend a spread passing attack.

And to that point, there's another way in which Carr is hoping to showcase himself as well.

"It's no doubt that we're going to run the ball, but I think we have more passing opportunities, opportunities to catch the ball out of the backfield," he said. "Like I said before, that's something I love to do."

Said head coach Clay Helton: "When we signed Stephen and signed Vae, you looked at those kids and not only were they great runners, but they were tremendous [receivers] out of the backfield. Stephen can actually line up at wide receiver, run routes and catch. He's a natural catcher. And you can see in this system how much the ball is spread around, and how many times the backs get it. You may look up and one of the running backs in this offense gets 60 catches in a year. That's going to happen. So his skill set really helps us out. Those are extra touches for him."

Jinks said he'd prefer to have a running back who can excel on all three downs, rather than having to sub out for a different skill set on third down and give the defense a chance to make changes as well. Malepeai caught 15 passes for 88 yards last season and will be looking to show he can be that guy as well.

As for Carr, there's no reason to think he's anything but at full strength as he says, but he hasn't been prominently featured yet in the limited team periods the Trojans have run through three practices.

Helton was asked about that after the third session Saturday and he quickly countered.

"I thought he was phenomenal today," he said. "You know what I saw today, I actually told him over there, my favorite run, he made just one of those ugly, dirty 4-yard runs where there was no [hesitation with] the feet. He put one foot in the ground and he exploded north. And that was the one thing that comes with confidence, that maybe last year there was a little hesitation, there was a little pattering of the feet with contact coming. ...

"There has not been a huge run yet -- they'll come -- but the confidence is what I'm seeing from him now. This will be an important camp to build that confidence."

A pivotal camp to set up a pivotal year for Carr.

Asked what his goal is for 2019, he summed it up succinctly.

"No regrets," he said.