What We Learned: Markese Stepp might be USC's best RB but there are no promises that 'his role will be increased' for Notre Dame

Markese Stepp is returning home this weekend. The Indiana native was once committed to Notre Dame before signing with USC, an odd twist of fate considering he didn’t grow up rooting for either team in the storied rivalry yet his recruitment exposed him to both sides.

The bigger story, or the more pertinent one, as the Trojans prepare for Saturday’s game in South Bend is what role Stepp will have on the field. USC’s own social media account tweeted Tuesday that 52 percent of his caries this season have resulted in a first down or touchdown, which leads all FBS running backs with at least 25 carries.

The problem is, Stepp has just 25 carries. It’s a strikingly low figure through five games when considering how productive he’s been. The redshirt freshman is averaging a team-high 6.4 yards per carry and has gains of at least 15 yards in three of the four games he’s appeared in.

Against Washington, he turned a career-high 10 carries into a career-high 62 yards. Those 10 attempts also tied Vavae Malepeai for the team lead, a notable development given that Stepp had clearly been No. 3 in the pecking order in games prior. He had just three carries the week before.

As the USC offense, directed by a true freshman quarterback making just his second road start, prepares to play a stingy pass defense in possibly inclement weather, the run game figures to be crucial to the Trojans’ chances of pulling off the upset.

Perhaps it’s a situation in which Stepp alone should get 25 carries. Just don’t assume his usage to dramatically change this weekend.

“Markese has done a good job when we’ve given him the ball and he’s done a good job since I’ve been here,” offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said. “The thing about it is, we just have three backs that we believe in. The youngsters have done some good things, too. We just got a lot of guys back there and you can’t give them all touches.

“I think we’ve done a good job getting him touches and when he’s gotten the ball he’s done a pretty good job with it. So, I don’t think his role will be increased or decreased necessarily much from what it’s been because we got three guys that we feel really good about that we feel need to be in the game.”

An additional issue with Stepp would seem to be when he’s in the game. By the time he got his second carry against Washington, in the second quarter, the Trojans were already trailing 14-0. He logged just three carries the week before against Utah, entering the game for the first time in the fourth quarter and helping USC run out the clock. He played briefly in the first half versus BYU but again saw most his action during what became a frantic fourth quarter.

As it would in Washington, his workload proved to be too little, too late. He’s the quintessential tone setter at 6-2, 235 pounds, and yet he has just one carry in the first quarter this season. Harrell said Stepp’s limited role isn’t a product of limitations in his game but rather USC’s depth at running back.

Stephen Carr is averaging 6.1 yards. Malepeai, who’s started all five games, is picking up 4.6 yards a carry in about three times the attempts of the other two.

“Sometimes it may look like, oh, he doesn’t have enough of a role,” Harrell said of Stepp. “I think he’s prepared to play every down just like the other (two) are, and whoever gets the touches gets the touches.”

Clay Helton on Tuesday didn’t cite the veteran running backs as he has in the past when discussing Stepp’s role. Instead, he suggested the second-year back’s usage has coincided with his development. The correlation confirms what many have assumed, that Stepp isn’t playing more because he’s not quite ready to.

“He’s learning pass protection. I think he’s really taken a step forward there,” Helton said. “He’s learning how to try to be a natural pass catcher out of the backfield. It’s something he’s worked extremely hard on.”

While Stepp isn’t as far along as his peers in some aspects, and understandably so, he is proving with each carry that he’s the team’s best ball-carrier.

How long will it take for him to be the most relied upon?

FOOTNOTES

Along with starting quarterback Kedon Slovis, USC has one of its best defensive players back. Safety Talanoa Hufanga was cleared to play Saturday versus Notre Dame after missing the Washington game with a concussion and shoulder sprain. The sophomore practiced in a non-contact jersey Tuesday as a precaution while the rest of the team was in full pads.

Helton said cornerback Olaijah Griffin, who’s been battling back spasms, is not quite 100 percent yet. The sophomore returned to practice last week after also sitting out against the Huskies.

“Getting very close,” Helton said. “He practiced both yesterday and today and is looking good. As long as he continues to progress he’s got an opportunity to help us Saturday.”

Helton added that the bye week allowed Malepeai (knee), defensive end Christian Rector (ankle) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (foot, shoulder) to heal.

The fourth-year coach was asked how he deals with constant speculation regarding his job status and what message he relays to the team on the topic.

"For myself personally, I just focus on the 110 men out there. I have three children by birth and 110 I've had the honor to adopt, and when you think about them as your children and your sons, you concentrate your full attention on them on and not anything outside this wall," Helton said. "Because the fact of the matter of is they have something truly, truly special to play for down the stretch here. What an awesome story it would be to go win the Pac-12 South and go be Pac-12 champions, to go play in a Rose Bowl.

"That opportunity is there and we've got to work our butts off to be able to get there so you have to have great focus on that and worry about your kids and allowing them to be successful. You don't have time for the outside noise and neither do they. So you provide the example of what it's supposed to look like, then they'll [respond] and they've done a nice job with it."

"Even after the Washington loss, I said, 'Hey guys, understand this, everybody in the world is going to try to separate you, especially on a bye week. But you know what gets rid of all the noise is being successful, winning the next game, focusing on the next game. That eliminates a lot of noise. That's the way we've always approached it, just one week at a time, do our job, try to win the next game."