Welcome To The Friday USC Notes Column Supplement
First things first.
Who is this?
It’s tailback Deon Strother making a catch in the 1993 USC-UCLA game.
Strother came to USC from Skyline High School in Oakland and rushed for 1,127 yards in his Trojan career. But he was also a talented receiver out of the backfield and had 1,799 yards receiving in his career. In 1993, he had 923 yards receiving.
Here’s another underrated player on that 1993 team: Wide receiver Ken Grace.
Gtace caught 36 passes for 458 yards and two TDs in 1993 and was a reliable performer for two seasons after transferring from Contra Costa Community College. He was the No. 2 WR behind Johnnie Morton.
In those days, who went from campus all the way to Beverly Hills or Marina Del Rey to visit Larry Parker’s Diner?
When my son was graduating from Hillcrest Middle School in Oakland I asked the Head football Coach of Skyline (who was a great guy) if he could send a speaker for the ceremony. He sent Deon. The graduates and their parents were treated to one of the most sincere and heartfelt speeches I've ever heard. Dion talked about his NFL dreams and how important it was to always give everything you've got...and "if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out....but you can walk away knowing you've done your best."
After the ceremony ended, Dion stuck around to shake hands and encourage kids to "always do your best no matter the odds." [Before he left, I got a chance to thank him for scoring a 90 yard TD against one of those great Snyder-coached Cal teams in what was otherwise a dreary day for USC ---he smiled and said, "thanks ---wish I coulda done it 3 or 4 more times"].