LOS ANGELES — It wasn’t the most memorable highlight, historic play or the winning score in USC’s season-opening rout of San Jose at the Coliseum on Saturday.

But it was the full-speed, pain-free run that meant everything to Allen Bradford.
In the second quarter, with the Trojans facing second-and-9 at the Spartans 43, Bradford, a fourth-year junior, got the ball from quarterback Matt Barkley, went right, bumped off a defender, cut inside and bolted for the end zone.
“As soon as I got in,” Bradford recalled, “my head was spinning. I wanted to keep the ball but forgot to give it the referee. I was just so happy to get that run after everything I’ve been through.”
For him, confetti should have rained down and fireworks should have gone off. Because this wasn’t just a 43-yard touchdown, it was the longest run of his career, a homecoming and a reunion.
Unfortunately, Bradford’s bruising and cruising run was the third of eight touchdowns for the high-powered Trojans. And it wasn’t even the longest run for a score. That belonged to tailback Joe McKnight, who broke loose for a 54-yard run at the start of the third quarter.
But it was something.
“I’m happy to contribute again,” said Bradford, accepting that he has returned to having a place in the running game for USC, which next plays at Ohio State on Saturday.
His fellow tailbacks mobbed Bradford along the sideline, celebrating that he had overcome all that waiting, healing and rehabbing from a nagging hip injury that cost him last season.
That hip — Bradford stared at it after the game like a rude, unwelcomed house guest — began bothering him in 2007. He aggravated it in the third game of the 2008 season against Oregon State, forcing him to have season-ending surgery and acquire a medical redshirt to return as a junior for 2009.
“It’s so good to finally be healthy,” Bradford said. “You never know how much you appreciate football and playing until you can’t.”
Bradford’s body is a chiseled 5 feet, 11 inches and 235 pounds, and he has so much force he could probably shed his No. 21 cardinal and gold jersey for the yellow and black of a Caterpillar earthmover.
Bradford is the heaviest power tool in the Trojans’ well-stocked shed devoted to the ground game. He even moves the scales five pounds higher than fullback Stanley Havili.
Bradford didn’t know how much he would be used considering he was stuck in park most of 2008 and was used sparingly during the spring because of the bum hip. His power and size make him more of a situational back than the shifty speedsters who get most of the carries.
Bradford’s 43-yard touchdown run was the one he and his supporters have been awaiting since Coach
Pete Carroll moved the one-time freshman safety to tailback in 2006 fall camp.
He has endured the challenging life of a running back at Tailback U, always being ready to start but never knowing which among all the able legs will get the coach’s nod.
For the Trojans, a tailback committee is a good problem. For Bradford, who has been itching to make up for a lost season, the tailback SigAlert has been unnerving.
On the depth chart before the San Jose State game were four names, in bold type, listed as potential starters: Joe McKnight or Stafon Johnson or C.J. Gable or Allen Bradford.
“We know A.B.’s frustrated at times because we all have to wait to get in,” said fourth-year junior C.J. Gable, who had seven carries for 37 yards on Saturday. “We keep telling him, ’Man, you’ll get your turn.”’
And Bradford has listened to his fellow tailbacks stuck in the gridlock, conditioning his patience as much as his body.
Bradford finished the game as the third-leading rusher, carrying the ball four times for 53 yards. He was not got caught in the backfield for a loss.
He averaged a second-best 13.2 yards per carry, while his roommate and Coliseum locker mate Marc Tyler averaged 14.4 yards on his five carries that came after the game had been decided.
“I’ve really learned a lot from Bradford as far as how to keep working hard, keep the faith and wait for your chance,” said Tyler, a redshirt sophomore. “This is competition and A.B. has the right mindset to be a part of this team.”
This was a productive day for Bradford, considering he had just 42 carries for 123 yards and three touchdowns in his three previous seasons. He spent his first two seasons wanting more and his last season wanting to care less.
Then, after Saturday and the start to a new season, Bradford felt as though he had returned.