USC football: Stafon Johnson recovering well

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‘God has a plan. Run, Stafon. Run.’

USC running back Stafon Johnson whispered those words, which were said to him by his late grandfather, when he met with the media before today’s game against Stanford.

Johnson had emergency throat surgery after a weightlifting accident in late September and has had three procedures since.

But ‘due to a gladiator mentality,’ Dr. Ryan F. Osborne said Johnson is making tremendous progress. He no longer requires a breathing or feeding tube and is eating solid foods.

‘Anyone looking at him today or heard the story would say it’s miraculous,’ Dr. Jason S. Hamilton said. ‘He’s an athlete. He’s determined. He’s never believed he’s the underdog, and you can see the results.’

We’ll have more later at latimes.com/sports.

-- Gary Klein