THE REAL HORSE FOR USC DILIGENT POLAMALU SEEKS PERFECTION AS STRONG SAFETY.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

Dusk settles over USC's Howard Jones Field and coach Paul Hackett encourages the few players hanging around after practice to head back to the locker room. But there's one player Hackett doesn't even bother to look at.

Over in one corner of the field, which is now almost completely empty, Troy Polamalu kneels for a moment of quiet contemplation, then rises and runs. He does wind sprints - at least 10, or at least until he feels he has done enough work for the day.

``I believe that God has blessed me with a gift, an ability, and that it's something I need to keep working on,'' said Polamalu, a sophomore who is the Trojans' starting strong safety. ``I never walk away when I can still push myself and try to improve.''

If you've played team sports, you know Polamalu, or at least his type. He's the one who makes 10 good plays in a game, then harps on the one mistake he made. The one who wants more than anything to be better than you are; not because he's cocky, but because anything less than a 100 percent effort would be selling himself short.

That's why Polamalu is, without fail, the last player off the practice field - not to earn brownie points with his coaches but simply to satisfy his own work ethic.

``Sometimes I burn myself out during practice and I know that's not good,'' Polamalu said. ``But I believe that you get everything you work for, so I always want to work hard.''

Which is not to say that Polamalu's efforts escape the notice of the USC coaching staff.

``Look at him out there,'' said Kennedy Pola, USC's running-backs coach and Polamalu's uncle, as he watched Polamalu's post-practice routine one afternoon. ``I could tell that kid to come over and play fullback and he'd do it without blinking an eye.''

Pola is correct for two reasons. First, because the 5-foot-10, 210-pound Polamalu was an All-State tailback in Winston, Ore., but more important, because of his dedication to Pola, a fiery coach and former USC fullback who commands respect from his players.

Polamalu moved to Oregon from Garden Grove at age 9 and spent his formative years away from Pola, but the two had a strong family bond that transcended the distance between them.

``When (Pola) was (coaching) at Colorado, I wanted to go there,'' Polamalu said. ``I think he gave coach Hackett a call and said, `Check out my nephew.'

``So I came down here on a trip and fell in love with it. At that time, he was down at San Diego State and he was telling me, 'I'll be there with you one of these days.' ''

Polamalu played in six games as a freshman last year - he missed four games after suffering a concussion in practice. He played mostly at linebacker, since David Gibson was already a fixture at strong safety, Polamalu's favorite position.

This spring, everything fell into place for Polamalu. Gibson's graduation left a void at safety and Polamalu beat out Ifeanyi Ohalete in the spring for the starting job. By that time, Pola was already on board as running-backs coach, giving Polamalu a comfort level most athletes don't have.

``There's absolutely nothing I don't like about having him on the coaching staff,'' Polamalu said. ``He helps me out so much, just being there to talk to him. I'd hate to see what it would be like without him.''

Polamalu smiles coyly and adds, ``Plus, I can hit him up for money whenever I need it.''

More important, Pola is there to provide emotional support to his nephew. There's not much Pola can do to assist Polamalu with his on-field assignments, but off the field he is both a sounding board and a dispenser of advice. The two men speak three of four times a week away from the field.

``We were driving home from the Coliseum after the Colorado game,'' Pola said, referring to the Trojans' 17-14 comeback victory last month, ``and he was crying the whole way. I told him that sometimes you just have to take a win and be happy.''

No matter. Polamalu was back on the practice field on Monday, trying to correct whatever flaws led to whatever mistakes he made against the Buffaloes. In Polamalu's mind, satisfaction is difficult - perhaps impossible - to achieve.

``There are so many things you can do to get better,'' Polamalu said. ``A lot of people take things for granted. They just want to get through practice. I just want to do whatever I can to become the best. But, of course, I am a long, long way from that.''

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Photo: Hard-working USC sophomore Troy Polamalu starts at strong safety.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer