A SOUR DAY FOR SOWARD.

Byline: Kevin Modesti

While other USC players sprinted to the left corner of the end zone to mob Kareem Kelly after the freshman's fourth-quarter touchdown catch Saturday, R. Jay Soward made an inconspicuous exit stage-right.

Soward, head down, walked slowly off the field, seemed to barely acknowledge teammates, and headed straight to the empty bench. Then he spiked his helmet in the Coliseum grass before taking a seat.

``There may be a little frustration there,'' Kelly said later, referring to Soward.

This was not one of the senior wide receiver's better days, no matter that the sputtering Trojans won the game over San Diego State 24-21.

Soward was credited with only two receptions for 25 yards. A third catch, which would have counted for an 8-yard touchdown, was wiped off the stat sheet by a holding penalty. Two other passes thrown in his direction were intercepted.

The first interception was correctly blamed on Soward, who broke off the intended pass route, tried to turn a square-out into a fly pattern, and made quarterback Carson Palmer look bad.

``I said, `Run the pattern,' '' Palmer said after the game, recounting their sideline conversation. ``If we want R.J. to go deep, we'll call a deep pattern.''

The second interception, too, was partially Soward's fault. He tipped an off-line Palmer pass into the hands of the Aztecs safety who returned it 62 yards for the game's final touchdown.

To make the hazy afternoon gloomier for Soward - never accused of being college football's consummate team player - all of this happened while Kelly was winning over the crowd of 53,966 as a fill-in for injured Windrell Hayes.

If you know Soward's reputation, you aren't surprised to hear he was the first Trojan to jog up the tunnel after the game, blowing off would-be interviewers as he went, and one of the first players to leave the locker room. He wasn't the star, so he wasn't his usual chatty self.

In Soward's choppy wake, teammates and USC coach Paul Hackett offered excuses for him, citing double-teaming defenses as a factor in the Rialto native's slow start, which has produced five catches for 49 yards and no touchdowns (plus a long punt return on Saturday) in two victories.

Palmer suggested that the urgency to establish the ground game took plays away from Soward, as if the Trojans couldn't do without all those 3-yard runs by Chad Morton. But they're overstating the double-teaming problem and oversimplifying the issue.

The questions - among many the Trojans face after this harder-than-needed win - are whether they can get more out of Soward's explosive talent and whether they want to go to the trouble.

Hackett has talked about getting the ball to Soward more often.

``He's that type of player, we need to get it in his hands more,'' Palmer agreed Saturday.

The assumption is that if that happens, wondrous displays of ball-carrying will ensue.

Lou Holtz is quoted calling Soward ``one of the great receivers I've seen - throw him a 4-yard hitch and he can turn it into a 70-yard gain.'' Bob Davie calls him ``a game-breaking player.''

``It's the energy he creates on the field,'' Hackett has said, ``and how that permeates the rest of the team.''

But has Soward earned the ball?

What if, while Hayes worked out with Palmer all summer, Soward worked less on football than on his rap career?

What if Soward led the team in dropped passes in preseason practice?

What if he can't be trusted to run the prescribed pattern deep in opposing territory?

What if one of its supposed stars turns his back on team celebrations?

What kind of energy permeates the team then?

Ironically, one Trojan who's a fan of Soward is Kelly, the freshman who has taken the spotlight with 11 catches and 202 yards in two games, including Saturday's crucial 13-yard touchdown.

``He's helped me out a lot as a freshman,'' Kelly said, ``telling me to stay focused.

``He's an athlete, an entertainer, one of the best in the business,'' Kelly added. ``He's going to come out in the big games, like the UCLA game. Not to say it'll take that long . . .''

And not to say it won't.

The Trojans have problems - inconsistent effort, a knack for untimely penalties, a plodding ground game, the injury that will put Hayes out for as long as two weeks. And the puzzle of R. Jay Soward, who might be a star, might be a decoy and might be a waste of talent.

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PHOTO USC wide receiver R. Jay Soward was credited with only two receptions for 25 yards.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer