LOS ANGELES — Injuries to Silas Redd and D.J. Morgan have opened the door for true freshman Justin Davis in the USC backfield.
And He’s more than taken advantage this spring.
When USC coach Lane Kiffin was asked if it was possible for Davis to be the No. 2 tailback in the fall, Kiffin fired back: “It’s possible for him to be the No. 1 tailback.”
Concluding his very first stretch of spring practices at USC, Davis has gone above and beyond what was expected from him and has earned high praise from his head coach.
Kiffin says the type of impact the freshman has been able to make this spring is very rare, indeed.
“I can’t imagine a guy having more of an impact in just a month of practice than he has,” Kiffin said. “He’s so natural. He sees things really well.
“Outside of quarterbacks, I don’t think we’ve had major impact mid-year skilled offensive players over the years come in (like Davis has). … It’s not like his yards are coming against the two’s, he was running against that first defense.”
Davis was the No. 6 running back in the class of 2013, according to Scout.com. He rushed for over 2,600 yards as a junior and 1,806 yards and 23 touchdowns last season at Stockton’s Lincoln High School.
As a freshman in high school, he found success in the backfield even though he never wanted to be there. Growing up a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Davis wanted to be a wide receiver like his favorite player Hines Ward.
His coaches had other things in mind during freshman tryouts.
“The coach didn’t think I was a wide receiver,” Davis said. “He put me at running back and I just took off from there.
“I think I found my position then.”
Davis began to love his new position and became a five-star recruit by the time he left Lincoln.
He’s gone from having aspirations of being a wide receiver to potentially being a wide receiver’s best friend.
The depth at running back has grown immensely from a season ago with Redd, Morgan, Davis, Buck Allen, the return of Tre Madden from an ACL injury, and incoming freshman Ty Isaac.
Fans that come to the Spring Game on Saturday at the Coliseum could get a sneak peak of what a success in play action looks like with an improved running game, which could pay even more dividends for reigning Biletnikoff Award winner Marqise Lee in 2013.
“It becomes too easy to take (Lee) away if you can’t run the ball,” Kiffin said. “We’re probably not at our best over the years here when we’re spread out. Even though we do multiple stuff, SC’s best offenses have always been when we ran the ball really well and the play actions have come off that with the plays outside to the wideouts.”
Added Lee: “I’m happy. I wanted the run to work for the last five years.”
Davis would be more than happy to oblige.
