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LOS ANGELES — Going into the season, the program was for USC to usage 2 moving backs, a 1A and 1B strategy to consolidate the moving crippled but springiness 2 antithetic looks to opposing defenses.
But successful Saturday night’s nonaccomplishment to Oregon State, USC showed a antithetic approach.
Texas transportation Keaontay Ingram got his archetypal commencement astatine USC and was the recipient of the Trojans’ archetypal 10 hand-offs. When the crippled was over, helium had carried the shot connected 14 of USC’s 18 designed tally plays and was connected the tract for 49 plays compared to chap backmost Vavae Malepeai’s 29.
If USC is acceptable to marque Ingram the featured backmost of the offense, helium is acceptable for that responsibility.
“Most definitely,” helium said aft signifier connected Tuesday. “I’m an older guy, seasoned guy, I cognize tally fits, I cognize however safeties fits, I cognize however linebacker fits, I cognize spread responsibilities of d-linemen. So if they enactment that connected my shoulders, that won’t beryllium a problem.”
So far, nary 1 astatine USC (2-2 overall, 1-2 Pac-12) is making immoderate specified declarations publicly. Malepeai is simply a sixth-year senior, a squad skipper and the Trojans’ starring rusher each of the past 2 seasons, truthful nary alteration is going to beryllium made hastily.
As for Saturday’s discrepancy successful carries and snaps betwixt Ingram and Malepeai, moving backs manager Mike Jinks said it was simply a substance of feeding the blistery manus aft Ingram had aboriginal success.
“When they’re hot, they each cognize this, they’re not coming out. They’re not coming out,” Jinks said. “So we were gonna support feeding him arsenic agelong arsenic we perchance could.”
In the archetypal quarter, Ingram rushed six times for 40 yards. He displayed the physicality and elusiveness that made him specified a large summation to the USC moving backs country successful the spring, adjacent astatine the outgo of seeing Stephen Carr transportation implicit the summer.
As the Trojans fell behind, they weren’t capable to tally the shot arsenic frequently, but Ingram finished with 79 yards, bully for a 5.6 mean per carry. Malepeai rushed 4 times, each successful the 2nd half, gaining conscionable 12 yards.
It’s been a akin inclination this season. Ingram has conscionable 4 much carries than Malepeai done 4 games, but helium has gained 225 yards to Malepeai’s 180. The Texas transportation is averaging 4.9 yards per transportation portion the returning starter is astatine 4.3.
Ingram’s services could beryllium needed successful this weekend’s matchup with Colorado, too. The Buffaloes (1-3, 0-1) person a beardown and carnal beforehand 7 connected defense, 1 that Ingram’s benignant of moving would beryllium well-suited to face.
“We person to lucifer their physicality,” Jinks said. “He does a large occupation of moving down his pads. He’s a hard antheral to bring to the ground, truthful we’re going to request him to beryllium that guy.”
Ingram, meanwhile, wants to spot USC get disconnected to a beardown commencement successful Boulder aft tepid first-quarter performances the past 2 weeks against Washington State and Oregon State.
He understands that a batch of the unit for a accelerated commencement falls connected the moving backs.
“I transportation that with pride. I transportation that each azygous game,” Ingram said. “If I tin spell up with a ft up, I consciousness similar the discourtesy can, too, particularly if it’s conscionable a 10-yard spark oregon a 5-yard spark, immoderate the lawsuit whitethorn be. If we request a spark, I consciousness similar I’m the feline to present that. So I transportation that connected my shoulders a lot.”
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