Running back Silas Redd is on the cover of the USC football media guide, but you won’t see him in the season opener against the University of Hawaii on Thursday.
Or, D. J. Morgan, either.
Redd and Morgan, the Trojans’ two most experienced tailbacks, "have been ruled out (medically) for this game, so we’re not bringing them on this trip so they can stay here and rehab (injuries)," head coach Lane Kiffin said on the Pac-12 football coaches conference call Tuesday before leaving for Honolulu.
The Las Vegas betting line remained steady with the Trojans a 22 to 221⁄2-point favorite for the nationally televised game at Aloha Stadium. Kickoff is 5 p.m.
Redd, a senior, ran for 905 yards in 2012 and has a combined 2,583 career rushing yards and 18 touchdowns at Penn State and USC. Morgan, a junior, ran for 201 yards last season.
In their place, Kiffin said he will look to four younger running backs, sophomores Javorius Allen and Tre Madden, and freshmen Justin Davis and Ty Isaac.
"They don’t have much game experience, but (they are) some guys we are very excited about from what they have shown in practice," Kiffin said. "We anticipate all of them playing."
Of the four, only Allen carried the ball last season, when he had six carries for 32 yards.
Madden, 6-feet, 1-inch, and 220 pounds, moved from linebacker to running back last season, while Davis and Isaac were selected to the 2012 Prep Star All-American Dream Team.
Davis, a 6-1, 200-pounder, ran for 1,806 yards on 229 carries (7.9 avg.) with 23 TDs at Lincoln High in Stockton, Calif. Isaac, who is 6-3, 225, ran for 5,305 yards in his high school career in Illinois.
Kiffin said he hasn’t determined if both sophomore quarterbacks, Max Wittek and Cody Kessler, will play equally against UH. "I don’t know that yet," he said.
