WITHOUT A SAFETY NET NEW JERSEY NATIVE PEREZ ADJUSTS TO LIFE AS BALLYHOOED USC RECRUIT.

Byline: MATTHEW KREDELL Staff Writer

Antwine Perez was mingling with his new Trojans teammates at USC's combined Pro/Junior Day, watching Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and the rest of this year's group of pro prospects display their talents for NFL personnel.

Nearby, wide-eyed recruits also surveyed the proceedings. A few months ago, Perez was one of them.

If Perez followed normal procedure, he would be in Camden, N.J., enjoying his final months as big man on campus at Woodrow Wilson High School.

Instead, he was the only 17-year-old as he began spring practice with the USC football team, nearly 3,000 miles away from home and trying to fit in and learn from Rose Bowl veterans.

Being the only newcomer straight out of high school is a mentally challenging proposition. Players who come in the fall can lean on the group of other freshmen sharing the same experience.

Buffalo Bills quarterback J.P. Losman, who graduated early from Venice High to enroll at UCLA but transferred to Tulane before his first season, once said he thought things might have worked out differently had he come in with the rest of the freshmen.

None of this seems to faze Perez, whose work at spring practice has shown a maturity beyond his years.

"He seems older than me," said roommate Kaluka Maiava, preparing for his second season at USC. "It's hard to believe he's just out of high school."

With Scott Ware graduating and Darnell Bing leaving early for the NFL, the safety positions are wide open. Kevin Ellison and Will Harris, who will be sophomores, are returning with little experience.

That leaves an opportunity for Perez to get immediate playing time and perhaps even start in his first season.

"He's done a marvelous job," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "He's real quiet, but yet very studious. And he's out there playing with us. ... We're very lucky that he's here early."

Perez has long been mature for his age. He was forced to grow up quickly when, at 9 years old, his 23-year-old brother, Louis, was shot dead after falling in with the wrong crowd.

"When I'm out here, I try not to think about that much," Perez said. "But it's always going to be on my mind and make me work harder. I know that I can never take anything for granted."

Perez, ranked as one of the top prep safeties in the nation, had more than 40 scholarship offers. When he started talking about USC, his parents initially tried to steer him closer to home.

"Whoa, you're going where? That's too far," was the first reaction of his mother, Phyllis.

"I tried to fill him in on a couple of other schools," said his father, Tony. "But I'd look at his computer screen and see the Trojan emblem always popping up. He did his homework about USC."

Perez saw Trojans as the perfect choice. He wanted a warmer climate, a football team that would contend for championships, strong academics and the opportunity to play early. USC offered all of those.

After the whole family came out to California last September when the Trojans played Arkansas, his parents were sold, too. They loved Carroll, and there were two other New Jersey natives on the team - receiver Dwayne Jarrett and linebacker Brian Cushing.

"If not for them, I don't know if I'd be out here right now," Perez said. "It's hard to say. But that made my decision way easier."

Many parents from out of town worry about their sons coming out to USC, with the perception of the school being in a rough neighborhood. The Perez family became more enchanted with the idea of sending Antwine out west to get away from gangs in New Jersey.

"He does have friends in that," Tony Perez said. "Rutgers, 50miles down the road, offered his first scholarship. That's enticing. We could ride to games. But it's too close to home. It's a distraction when trying to focus on doing something and doing it well. It's a good thing that he did go away."

Of course, if Perez was going to go across the country for school, his mother wanted one thing clear - she didn't want to see him crawling back.

That hasn't happened. Always a good student, he is handling the move to college classes. On the field, he has impressed with his speed and instincts around the ball. He calls home at least once a day, but he hasn't experienced the homesickness that Jarrett and Cushing went through in their first few years.

"He's a good player with a good head on his shoulders," Cushing said. "He's doing great. He comes here a young kid, but I think he's adjusted well and he's showing what he can do out there."

When Perez returned to NewJersey for spring break last month, his parents were interested to see how he reacted to being home. They knew everything was going to be fine when all he could talk about was getting back to USC for spring practice.

The family visited Antwine at USC for the first time last Sunday for the Trojans' spring scrimmage, and stayed for his 18th birthday.

Perez's hard hits from high school caused a lot of buzz when the team watched clips of the incoming recruits.

"He was throwing knockout punches," Maiava said. "You'd see it coming, and wham! The whole room was going crazy. We wanted to watch it again."

More highly touted freshmen safeties are entering in the fall, including two five-star players in Taylor Mays and Allen Bradford. By coming to USC in the spring, Perez is getting the jump on his competition.

"This definitely puts me way at an advantage," he said. "When they come in, I think they'll be kind of lost. The season will be about to start and they'll be having to go to class, adjusting to being away from home and playing football all at the same time. I got to come in, relax, get situated with everything, and then football came."

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CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Safety Antwine Perez graduated from high school in Camden, N.J., early so he could come to Los Angeles and participate in spring practice with USC.

(2) USC freshman safety Antwine Perez relaxes during a lull at the Trojans' spring football practice Tuesday.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

(3 -- color) no caption (Antwine Perez)