CHRIS HALE : A LONG ROUTE : Cornerback Takes Detour on Way to USC Stardom

As a cornerback, USC’s Chris Hale is accustomed to tracking wide receivers all over the field. So he’s familiar with roundabout routes.

He should be, considering the path he followed that eventually led to USC.

As a 5-foot 6-inch, 145-pound athlete from Monrovia High School, Hale wasn’t deluged with scholarship offers.

He was overlooked both literally and figuratively.

Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Long Beach and Weber State in Ogden, Utah, showed some interest in him as a football player, but that was the extent of it.

Nebraska, however, relented and offered him a scholarship--for track and field. Hale had the credentials as a two-time Southern Section 2-A long jump champion with a third-place finish in the 1984 State meet.

He still yearned, though, to play football, even at size-conscious Nebraska, where he surprisingly discovered some players of his size on the freshman team.

“We didn’t have a complete team, but we had enough guys to comprise a team,” said Hale, adding that the Cornhuskers had a full freshman schedule against such teams as Coffeyville Junior College in Kansas and William Jewell College in Missouri.

Hale also competed in indoor track as a sprinter and long jumper but concluded that he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life in Nebraska, even though he liked the people there. He was also homesick.

Moreover, his taste in clothes didn’t quite fit in with the fashions of Lincoln, Neb.

“For instance, I’m into fashion, and everybody there was very ultra-conservative,” Hale said. “I showed up in a designer-label shirt, these black leather boots and dyed jeans that were cut short. All I’d hear from people was that old joke, ‘Expecting a flood?’ ”

So it was back to California for Hale. He said he sat out the 1985-86 school year, then enrolled at Glendale Community College, where he earned acclaim as an All-State defensive back in 1986.

Suddenly, schools such as USC were interested in him.

Last year, he shared a starting cornerback job with Dwayne Garner, lost it in spring practice but regained it at the outset of this season.

Hale, as the only senior on USC’s starting defensive unit, is now an established player.

He intercepted a pass, blocked a field-goal try and made 8 tackles in USC’s 24-20 victory over Stanford on Sept. 17.

Last Saturday against Oklahoma, he intercepted 2 passes, returning one 44 yards to set up a field goal. On his first interception at the USC 14-yard line, it seemed he would have been better advised to knock the ball down, considering it was a fourth-down play from the USC 46-yard line. As it was, he was tackled on the spot.

“I didn’t see a receiver coming from the side. I only saw the one in front of me,” Hale said, smiling. “So I thought I could run it back. Any defensive back who gets a chance at an interception isn’t going to let it go.

“The game was a big steppingstone for us. During the Stanford game, we might not have said we were thinking about Oklahoma, but the guys were overlooking Stanford a little bit.”

As one of the designated USC captains for the Oklahoma game, Hale showed his sense of humor when introduced to Oklahoma quarterback Jamelle Holieway in the coin-calling ceremony before the game.

“I told him, ‘Throw me one,’ and he just laughed,” Hale said.

However, Holieway’s backup, Charles Thompson, obliged Hale twice in the fourth quarter.

As for the game, Hale said: “I think we overestimated them, and when you do, you usually play a little bit better.

“You expect any Oklahoma team to get some yards, but for some reason, they were spellbound. You could see it in their eyes. They were wondering what they had to do next and they were arguing with each other. I thought they were totally confused.”

Hale plays on the strong side of an opponent’s formation. “My responsibility was to play man-to-man on whatever wide receiver was split outside while our safeties (Cleveland Colter and Mike Carrier) played the alleys (the area between the offensive tackle and split end) for a run.”

Hale added that he was only involved in run support when the split end went downfield to block a USC safety.

Hale is listed at 5-9 and 170 pounds but he confessed that he stands only 5-8. Nobody is worrying about his size, though.

“I always thought Chris had a lot of talent, but having a year of experience at USC has really helped him,” said Bobby April, USC’s defensive backfield coach. “The biggest question I had last year about him was his tackling, but I don’t worry about that anymore. His hitting ability has really improved and he’s also playing with more confidence.”

Asked if he ever envisioned himself as a starting defensive back at USC when he was a relative squirt at Monrovia High, Hale said:

“No, not at all. You look at those guys as way up here, but I always thought I had the ability. Looking back I’m happy at all the moves I made.”

Trojan Notes

USC Coach Larry Smith confirmed Thursday that tailback Aaron Emanuel and tight end Paul Green won’t play against Arizona Saturday night in Tucson. They suffered severe ankle injuries last Saturday against Oklahoma. Green’s injury is seemingly more serious. “I’ll be back for the last four games,” he predicted. Split end Erik Affholter and fullback Leroy Holt, who were also injured against Oklahoma, have practiced some and will play, according to Smith. Tailback Scott Lockwood is doubtful with a sprained ankle. . . . Add Olympic coverage: Smith said that Jamaica’s Grace Jackson, who got a silver medal in the 200, trained at USC last summer. She was coached by Don Quarrie, a former Trojan sprinter and an Olympic gold medalist for Jamaica in the 200. . . . Smith said that USC offensive tackle Derrell Marshall, starting for the first time against Oklahoma, graded out favorably. He had replaced injured Michael Moody, who may be available against Arizona. Smith said that he plans to use seven or eight offensive linemen Saturday night because of the excessive heat in Tucson. . . . USC’s defense limited Oklahoma to 89 yards rushing, the first time the Sooners have been held to fewer than 100 yards since the Trojans restricted them to 43 yards in 1982 while winning, 12-0.