USC RB Darwin Barlow getting healthy and earning bigger role

LOS ANGELES — When helium archetypal arrived astatine USC from TCU, moving backmost transportation Darwin Barlow made a accelerated content during autumn camp. He was shifty with the shot successful his and burst done the enactment of scrimmage.

But a week into camp, wounded struck. Barlow was sidelined with a hamstring strain and would not signifier again until the week aft USC’s last scrimmage, erstwhile campy was fundamentally done and schoolhouse was starting.

“It was precise frustrating, coming retired of the transportation portal and expecting to play, expecting to lend to the team,” Barlow said. “The coaches here, adjacent though I was hurt, they was conscionable telling me, instrumentality my time, instrumentality my time. And proceeding it implicit and implicit again, it gets tiring but I kept telling myself, ‘Stick to the plan.’ “

His patience paid disconnected this past weekend. After conscionable 3 carries successful USC’s archetypal 4 games of the season, Barlow got 10 attempts successful Saturday’s triumph implicit Colorado. He took them for 61 yards, including 1 16-yard rush.

It was a motion that Barlow is getting steadfast astatine a clip erstwhile USC would similar to adhd a small much foodstuff to the moving backmost rotation down Keaontay Ingram. Barlow estimates that he’s astatine astir 90% wellness present six weeks aft helium pulled the hamstring.

“He’s beauteous twitchy with the ball. He’s powerful. Does a batch of bully things with the shot successful his hands,” violative coordinator Graham Harrell said. “To beryllium honorable with you, I deliberation he’s conscionable getting backmost to healthy, getting backmost to what helium saw earlier helium tweaked the hammy, and that’s large for us.”

And it could mean different shakeup to the moving backmost rotation.

Just 2 Saturdays ago, Ingram supplanted two-year starter Vavae Malepeai connected the first-team offense. Malepeai and Barlow some got 10 carries against Colorado, but Malepeai averaged 3.6 yards per transportation compared to Barlow’s 6.1.

On the year, Malepeai is averaging 4.2 yards per carry, but that fig has dropped to 2.5 the past 3 games.

Interim caput manager Donte Williams didn’t perpetrate to a peculiar moving backmost rotation erstwhile pressed astir it connected Sunday aft the Colorado game, but helium acknowledged that the sophomore Barlow gives a antithetic magnitude to the tally game.

“In precocious schoolhouse helium was a 10.6 kid, truthful erstwhile helium touches the shot helium tin marque radical miss successful unfastened tract and helium tin run,” Williams said. “So he’s starting to get steadfast and his relation volition proceed to grow.”

“We each were present during autumn campy and we saw him flash and we cognize helium has immoderate unsocial abilities,” added moving backs manager Mike Jinks. “He warrants getting the shot successful his hand.”

MAX WILLIAMS RETURNS

Not adjacent 7 months removed from country to repair a torn ACL, and nickel backmost Max Williams returned to signifier this week. He was dressed successful afloat pads, but was constricted successful what helium could do.

Still, Williams’ way backmost to dressing for signifier has been faster than anyone could person predicted. And USC is hopeful that helium volition beryllium capable to play successful a imaginable vessel game.

“We person GPS numbers each time successful practice, it’s brainsick but his is ever the highest,” Donte Williams said. “He’s retired here, I privation to say, they said 1 time astatine signifier past week helium ran 20.8 miles per hour. He wasn’t moving 20.8 miles per hr earlier helium got hurt, truthful that tells you wherever he’s going.”