With USC RB Vavae Malepeai doubtful, Markese Stepp in line for major role
This probably hasn't been the season redshirt sophomore running back Markese Stepp envisioned in his third year at USC.
After a grueling recovery from the ankle surgery that cut short his 2019 campaign, Stepp has battled a couple other physical setbacks this season, including a pectoral strain that kept him out of the Utah game.
All the while, his workload has decreased as the season has gone along -- the inverse of the trend he was on last year when he was USC's most effective running back prior to the ankle injury. After garnering 14 carries vs. Arizona State and 12 vs. Arizona, Stepp has only received 6 rushing attempts since (including just 1 last weekend vs. UCLA).
But that looks likely to change this week.
Redshirt senior running back Vavae Malepeai is unlikely to play in the Pac-12 championship game vs. Oregon on Friday, head coach Clay Helton said Wednesday.
"Right now, it does not look good to be honest with you. He has an MCL sprain, which is usually a multi-week -- just hasn’t practiced this week. Just does not look good for the game going in," Helton said.
Malepeai had the best game of any USC running back all season on Saturday, rushing 19 times for 110 yards and a TD before getting hurt late in that game. It was the first time the Trojans had leaned on a true lead back, after splitting carries three or even four even ways in the earlier games. Helton said the Trojans went into that game prepared to lean on Malepeai and senior Stephen Carr (7 carries).
This week, he's made it pretty clear Stepp will be in for a large role if Malepeai indeed misses the game as expected.
"I think Markese is on the verge of exploding, to be honest with you. After coming off, it has not been the easiest of roads in dealing with an injury, especially the one he had at running back. And to go through some dings early in this season, but what I appreciate about Markese is when he's called upon he does his job," Helton said. "He was called on in a critical moment last week if you remember on a third-and-short where we needed a powerful back to make a play when Vavae wasn't feeling all that great. To walk in there and do his job and get that first down for us spoke volumes to the kind of kid he is and the type of competitor he is.
"Now all of a sudden you look and Vavae is probably not playing in this game. Now your role increases and gets even bigger. So I can't wait to watch him play. I know he's looking forward to it."
Stepp led the Trojans last year with 6.4 yards per carry while seeing his role grow in the middle part of the season before the injury. He had strung together three straight productive games at that point with 10 carries for 62 yards vs. Washington, 10 carries for 82 yards and a TD at Notre Dame and a season-high 13 carries for 66 yards and a TD vs. Arizona before sustaining the torn ligaments in his ankle.
He showed some of that form earlier this season, rushing 10 times for 82 yards and a TD against Arizona in Week 2 before missing the Utah game and playing sparingly since.
But now maybe he can change the narrative of his season once more.
His practice yesterday might have been the best practice of the year for him the way he was racing up and down," Helton said. "He took every ball and I'm talking ran out of the back of the end zone going 100 miles an hour. So it's neat to see his enthusiasm and how excited he is for this week, and I look forward to watching him play -- I really do. I think he's right on the verge of doing something special, and we need him to. So I look forward to it."