USC Meets Hollywood: Talent Management 101

Considering its location near the entertainment capital of the world, it is only fitting that USC would have a star-studded football team.

With a roster loaded with four-and-five-star recruits, the Trojans resemble a Hollywood tentpole franchise like Pirates of the Caribbean or Oceans 11, 12 and 13.You know the kind, with five or six A-list actors vying for top billing and a sizable role.

Enter USC’s bevy of four-and-five star running backs, all vying for playing time and a serious amount of touches and you have the NCAA version of a Hollywood tentpole.

Not unlike their silver screen counterparts, a few of these Trojans are apt to vent their disenchancement to the media. Or worse, walk off the set in the middle of the production and transfer to another university.

What’s a coach to do?

Ever since USC beat Oklahoma in the BCS title game, it has been an embarrassment of riches for the Trojans.

With two national titles under his belt and the lure of competing for a starting spot from day one, Pete Carroll, a Super Talent Scout, has managed to recruit the finest high school athletes in America.

The problem, however, is what to do with all these star athletes once they arrive.

You don’t recruit a star and sign him up for four years just to play a cameo. And Jerry Bruckheimer doesn’t say to Vincent D’Onofrio, “There are no small roles, only small actors.”

But in essence that is what the staff at USC is saying to former high school stars like Allan Bradford, Broderick Green and C. J. Gable by giving Joe McKnight top billing.

Not that McKnight isn’t a special kind of running back. The staff has touted McKnight as the next Reggie Bush. And, when he is healthy, the shifty tailback from Louisana bears a certain resemblance to the former Heisman Trophy winner.

But by making certain that McKnight gets his share of touches, the staff must limit the touches of the other equally-deserving running backs.

These are guys who were used to lugging the ball 25 or 30 times a game and scoring a minimum of two touchdowns. Now they are limited to no more than a dozen carries at most. Or worse, zero touches without ever getting into the game.

Now you may ask why does USC need so many top notch tailbacks. Some have even suggested that USC allow the rest of the Pac-10 to share the wealth.

If you have to ask why, then you don’t understand Pete Carroll’s competitive nature. He is just as apt to compete off the field as on the field. It makes no difference whether he is in the Coliseum or the Rose Bowl or in some prospect’s living room.

It’s all the same to him. Competition’s the name of the game.

Of course, the various college football fansites (each major school has two or three) and Scout.com are in part responsible. All throughout the off-season and even during the season they whip diehard homers into a frenzy over the number of big name recruits their team will land on National Signing Day in February.

Signing Day is as big if not bigger than the NFL Draft. It is nearly as huge as the BCS Title Game, which proceeds it by a month. And like the BCS, it carries its own rankings.

In fact, the only thing dumber than the BCS rankings are the Scout.com recruit rankings. I’m surprised that they don’t give out a crystal trophy in the shape of a huge star to the winning university.

Speaking of stars, that brings me back to my original point. It’s not how many four-and-five-star recruits that USC has on its roster, it’s how to manage them.

Maybe the Trojans should look up the 101 Freeway to Hollywood for the answer.

Agents and talent managers are some of the most powerful executives in the film industry. Their offices occupy the penthouse suites among the towers that line Wilshire and Sunset Boulevards.

Now I know the term “agent” is not a very desirable one to use around USC. But talent managers are not agents. They don’t negotiate contracts. They don’t sign stars to deals.

Instead, they manage their careers. Often working with a number of A-list actors and directors and finding a way to keep all of them happy. Sometimes on the same project.

So, the solution could be as easy as getting a graduate student from the USC film school or the Marshall School of Business to act as a talent manager for the Trojans.

Just as a Hollywood talent manager will line up his clients with the best script writers in town, USC’s new talent manager can line up the best scribes in their film school to script the plays for their tailback clients.

Like any producer or director on an A-feature, Steve Sarkisian will have to check with the talent manager and his scripters before his game plan gets a green light.

No more tailback mutterings, no more complaints, no more airing out disenchantments to the media, and, above all, no more transfers.

Should a running back complain about the part he has been given, he can go directly to the team’s talent manager to vent his disappointment.

However, he is likely to be reminded, “There are no small running plays, only small running backs.”