VALLEY PREVIEW : FOOTBALL ’88 : Blood & Glory : Renewed Family Ties Point White Toward USC

The balance of power in the recruiting war to win Crespi High’s Russell White might have shifted permanently last spring when a late model foreign car pulled into the school parking lot in Encino.

Out of its doors bounded a Los Angeles football hero, a running back in the National Football League and one of USC’s four Heisman Trophy winners. But, more importantly, Charles White, the NFL’s 1987 rushing leader and star of two Rose Bowl victories a decade ago, is Russell’s uncle.

“When he came out to Crespi it really shocked me,” White said. “He just popped up one day.”

The surprise was understandable. Despite the family relationship, White and his famous uncle had never been close. Charles, who played at San Fernando High, is the younger brother of Russell’s father Roosevelt. But since Roosevelt’s marriage to Helen White ended in divorce in 1980, Russell has had little contact with the Whites.

His life was shaped by Helen’s side of the family, which boasts its own famous athlete. Kermit Alexander, Helen’s cousin, starred at UCLA and later in the NFL with the Rams and 49ers. He advised Helen to send her son to Crespi, where he serves as an assistant coach.

While Alexander coached White through his first two years as the star running back on the Crespi varsity, Russell strived to divorce himself from the Charles White connection. Before he reached Crespi, he had stopped wearing No. 12, Charles’ number at USC, and he stressed to anyone who asked that he had little contact with his uncle.

As recently as a year ago, Helen said about their relationship: “There’s no calling of each other, no communication. Our biggest frustration is that people will identify him with Charles. Our biggest fear is that people will ask about that latest episode.”

That episode occurred last summer when Charles White was arrested in Brea in a drug-related incident that indicated White had hit bottom in his battle with cocaine abuse. The last thing Russell wanted was comparisons with that. Given the Alexander connection and his aversion to Charles White, Russell seemed destined to play at UCLA.

But much has changed in one year. Charles White has passed every drug test this past year. And after the Rams traded Eric Dickerson, White turned a disappointing professional career into a success story by rushing for 1,374 yards, only four fewer than he gained in his six previous NFL seasons.

White duly noted his uncle’s transformation.

“Before, I didn’t want any comparisons with him because of his problems,” White said. “But now that he’s got his life together I’m proud of him. He came to a few games last year and started calling me on the phone. Then when he came out to Crespi I really enjoyed it.”

Charles voiced similar feelings, saying family ties drew him back to the Valley.

“Our blood is the same and that’s just overwhelming,” he said. “When he’s playing I’m out there with him. Whatever mood he’s in during a game, I can picture myself in the same mood because I’ve been there.”

The bonding between the two has continued through periodic phone calls, and Charles visited White at home and watched a video of Russell’s best runs.

“I was getting fired up seeing all the natural ability he has,” Charles said. “He’s got all those things you can’t teach. I’m really proud of him.”

Those words gratify Helen’s side of the family, which has softened toward Charles. Helen has lost contact with her former husband but encourages her son’s involvement with her former in-laws.

“I feel good about it for both of them,” she said. “It was needed. Now Russell’s got two sides, not just my side.”

Alexander agreed, saying, “There were a lot of times in Pop Warner football where a pat on the head from his Uncle Charles would have helped Russell. Now that Charles has rectified his life, it’s nice to see the two of them get together.”

The reconciliation comes at a perfect time for the Trojans. As White enters his senior year, only Notre Dame rivals USC as his top college choice. And UCLA has been dropped from the picture.

White has been ranked by most recruiting services as the No. 1 high school prospect in the nation. Until he signs a letter of intent in February he will never be lonely. College recruiters keep the phone lines busy and the daily mail brings a steady stream of college literature.

Among the most persistent schools are each Pacific 10 Conference member, Notre Dame, Penn State, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas A&M;, Alabama and Florida. White said he will narrow his list to 10 schools before the Sept. 9 start of the season and prune the list to five at the conclusion of the season. Absent from both lists will be UCLA, which White says he eliminated for three reasons.

The Bruins signed Texas running back Kevin Williams, last year’s No. 1 running back prospect in the country. White also wants the option of competing in track and field in college and UCLA Coach Terry Donahue traditionally discourages football players from taking part in a second sport. Finally, Helen White objects to UCLA’s quarter system, saying the shorter semesters may impede her son’s academic progress.

Alexander, whose brother Kirk played for Donahue and whose son Kelton is a senior defensive back for the Bruins, feels no disappointment that White has passed over his alma mater.

“For whatever reasons he rejects a school, as long as they are sound, I support him,” he said. “In fact, I have to admire him for coming out and saying it, and he doesn’t stutter. He knows his own mind. I’m glad to see him strong and not afraid.”

Those close to White insist that the college decision will be his alone and express confidence that the pressure will be minimal. Crespi Coach Bill Redell helps monitor the number of schools contacting White, and NCAA representatives reviewed recruiting rules with him. Schools that overstep those guidelines run the risk of losing a prospect.

“It better be smooth or some colleges are in trouble,” Alexander said. “If they do get out of hand, we’ll cross them off the list. They might as well gear up because we won’t allow anyone to take advantage of us.”

Still, White faces a hectic pace this fall. Aside from college recruiters, photographers from national newspapers and magazines have hounded him. And cable network ESPN plans to film him during a Sept. 8 practice at Crespi, at home afterward and in action in the Celts’ opener against Redlands at Birmingham High the next day.

Although the recruiting process has long since lost its luster and become a tiresome inconvenience, White welcomes the photographers.

“I got my first recruiting letter from Washington when I was in the ninth grade and I was thrilled. It was the big time,” he said. “Now I don’t even like to open them. I’m just trying to see how many boxes I can fill.

“But pictures are still the fun part. Get a camera and I’m there in a minute.”

Photo sessions and recruiting worries aside, there is still the matter of 10 regular-season games to be played. Despite his remarkable credentials after two seasons, White intends to push his stock through the roof with his best year yet. Asked which records he is shooting for, he shoots back his answer.

“All of them. I want them all and I want to put them out of reach so no one can touch them,” he said.

White may well end his career as the state’s leading rusher and scorer and he could be the first California high school player to score 100 touchdowns. According to Cal-Hi Sports, White in two seasons has rushed for 4,609 yards and scored 416 points on 69 touchdowns and a two-point conversion. Ray Pallares of Valencia High in Orange County holds the state and Southern Section record with 5,397 yards.

After single-season totals of 2,339 and 2,270 yards, White is aiming at the state and Southern Section record of 2,718 set last year by Santa Monica High’s Glyn Milburn.

Tyreese Knox of Jefferson High in Daly City holds the state scoring records with 78 touchdowns and 476 points. Only five other high school players nationwide have scored 100 touchdowns. Ken Hall of Sugarland, Tex., scored 127 in a four-year career from 1950 to ’53. Hall also holds the national rushing record with 11,232 yards.

Whichever records White takes with him when he leaves Crespi, the White watch on the college front has begun. If the decision was due today, he probably would choose USC, but his mother is leaning toward Notre Dame. A trip to that school is one of only five allowed by the NCAA that White is certain to take before deciding.

“We’re curious about Notre Dame,” Helen said. “I want him to get out of California and learn to be more independent. If he gets away he can do a lot of growing up and L. A. isn’t far enough.”

White’s criteria for his choice of college describe a school other than Notre Dame. He says he wants to play in moderate weather on natural grass in an I-formation offense where the tailback plays a big role. Sound familiar? It does to Charles White.

Charles wears his USC allegiance on his sleeve and openly roots for Russell to follow in his footsteps as a Trojan.

“It’s obvious where I want him to go,” he said. “When he leaves SC, he’ll never forget that tradition. I get goose bumps just thinking about it. I keep telling him he won’t find a better school. If he goes somewhere else, he’ll break my heart. But I’m still going to love him.”