USC HASN'T CORNERED THE MARKET LIKELY NO. 1 TEAM NEXT YEAR HAS DEPTH ISSUES AT DEFENSIVE BACK.

Byline: Scott Wolf  Staff Writer

USC football coach Pete Carroll was jogging out to practice one day last week when he made an abrupt detour straight for the track stadium.

Carroll inquired about the possibility of adding sprinter DeSean Cunningham to next year's team as a cornerback.

``We're concerned about depth,'' Carroll said. ``We don't have any upperclassmen. And he's real fast.''

Bringing a sprinter onto the football team doesn't quite sound like a normal move for a team that's expected to be unanimously ranked No. 1 in next season's preseason polls, but the Trojans' secondary is going through a mini-crisis this spring.

The lack of cornerbacks currently forces Carroll to start a walk-on (Alex Gomez) and use twin brothers Jerry and Jamel Williams, who went to Highland High of Palmdale, with the second-team defense, although the twins joined the team just last month.

``Yeah, I can see why someone would think (there's a problem), but we know what's going on,'' secondary coach Greg Burns said. ``I wouldn't call it a challenge. I'm going to coach them like they should be starters.''

USC's numbers crunch began after last season, when starter Justin Wyatt, heading into his senior season, underwent hernia surgery. A week into spring practice, the other starter, sophomore Eric Wright, was arrested on suspicion of rape.

Wright has been suspended indefinitely from the team, and many around the program doubt he'll be back next season.

That left sophomore Terrell Thomas, expected to be a reserve, as the only cornerback on scholarship for spring workouts.

``We just have to get through it,'' Thomas said. ``We have a lot of people out.''

Carroll, who wants USC to be known as Cornerback U., knows the situation improves in August with the arrivals of highly regarded cornerbacks Kevin Thomas (Rio Mesa High of Oxnard) and Cary Harris (Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks). Additionally, incoming safety Will Harris, from Charter Oak of Covina, can play cornerback in an emergency.

``The whole complexion of things is going to change in the fall,'' Carroll said.

It also means a freshman likely will be forced to play nickel back or perhaps start next season, something that hasn't happened in Carroll's first four seasons at USC.

Burns is optimistic the freshmen will emerge and relieve worries about the lack of scholarship cornerbacks.

``Who's to say we can't use a freshman?'' Burns said. ``I truly believe the freshmen will show me something.''

Part of the depth woes stem directly from recruiting decisions. USC recruited only one cornerback, Ted Ginn, in 2003, but he went to Ohio State. The class before that featured Thomas, Wright, Desmond Reed and Will Poole. But Reed switched to tailback, and Poole had only one year of eligibility.

That's why Carroll might add Cunningham, who participated in training camp last season before returning to track. And it's why walk-ons are getting an unprecedented opportunity to impress the coaches.

``I came here thinking I had a chance to play,'' Jerry Williams said. ``Maybe the first day I didn't know what to expect, but I got used to it.''

Jerry Williams said he received scholarship offers from Boise State and Washington State but preferred walking on at USC.

``My brother and I grew up with Justin Wyatt and wanted to play with him,'' Williams said. ``It's kind of strange, the last month. I was pretty much a nobody, and now people ask me for autographs.''

Although the Williams twins are walk-ons, their mother works at the university, which means they can attend tuition-free. Jerry Williams drew notice in USC's scrimmage at the Coliseum last Sunday, with eight tackles and three deflected passes.

``The Williams brothers and Gomez are competing and getting a lot of work,'' Carroll said. ``It will help us depth-wise. They might be shocked by the reps they are getting.''

Wyatt, who played two years at Highland before transferring to Dominguez of Compton, said he's been mildly surprised by the Williams' progress.

``We played a couple years together up in Palmdale, but they were more into basketball,'' Wyatt said. ``I've seen Jerry make some plays. I didn't know he made that many plays. They look like they weigh 160 pounds, but they'll get in the weight room and be OK.''

Even the safety position is shorthanded, at least for spring. Starters Darnell Bing (shoulder) and Scott Ware (knee) are out, meaning freshman Kevin Ellison, who graduated from Redondo of Redondo Beach in midyear, is working with the first-team defense.

Burns even believes Gomez could play nickel back next season if Thomas or Harris don't seize the spot.

``I like Gomez,'' Burns said. ``We put him in a position where he's doing a lot of things and knows the nickel spot.''

Before anyone gets carried away, Carroll is nowhere near ready to proclaim any walk-on a starter or even game ready.

``They're a long ways from playing in regular season,'' he said.

Scott Wolf, [phone]

scott.wolf(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) The arrest of Eric Wright, on suspicion of rape, is one of the problems resulting in a situation in which USC is shorthanded at cornerback.

Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News

(2) Not only is USC thin at the cornerback position, but safety also has depth problems, so freshman Kevin Ellison (4) has been working with the first-team defense - at least for the spring.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

Box:

CORNER CRUNCH