Stafon Johnson

Stafon Johnson wore a black USC sweatshirt, a red Trojans beanie and, when the subject turned to an eventual return to football, his signature grin. The USC tailback on Wednesday made his first public appearance since suffering a season-ending throat injury in a Sept. 28 weightlifting accident. He did not speak or take questions, but he looked fit and mostly upbeat at a news conference at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Flanked by his mother, Kim Mallory, and the surgeons who operated on him, Johnson listened as the doctors mentioned speech, swallowing and breathing therapy ahead.

USC, its ranks reduced by injuries and multisport athletes with competitive commitments elsewhere, did not scrimmage as planned Saturday. But several developments unfolded during the Trojans' three-hour practice at the Coliseum that could make things interesting, especially on the jersey-number front. First, Coach Lane Kiffin made it official: Tre Madden , moved last week from linebacker, is now a tailback. "That means this week went pretty well," Madden said, "and they believe in my ability and technique.

Sometimes, late at night, her faith run ragged from trying to raise a voice from the dead, Kim Mallory sneaks away to listen to her dream. She clicks her son's old laptop to YouTube. She clicks to an old video of her son giving an interview. He is Stafon Johnson, a USC running back, speaking to a television reporter after scoring the first two touchdowns of his career. "He's stuttering, he's searching for the right words," she says. "He sounds just beautiful." Sometimes, late at night, her body weary from trying to mother a miracle, Kim Mallory sneaks away to run for help.

USC has settled a lawsuit brought by former running back Stafon Johnson, who was injured in 2009 when a bar carrying 275 pounds fell on his neck in the school's weight room. USC and Johnson released a joint statement Wednesday evening. "The University of Southern California and former student-athlete Stafon Johnson wish to jointly announce that Mr. Johnson has resolved his lawsuit against the university arising out of his September 28, 2009, weight room injury," the statement said.

Stafon Johnson's physique and fitness saved his life. The USC running back was able to survive a weightlifting accident because the muscles around his neck helped him keep open a breathing passage, Dr. Gudata Hinika, trauma director at California Hospital Medical Center, said at a news conference today. "Had that been any one of us, meaning me, I would not have survived," Hinika said. "His neck was so solid and so muscular, that actually helped maintain his airway." Johnson was injured Monday during a weightlifting session.

The Tennessee Titans waived Stafon Johnson , who dislocated his right ankle in a 20-18 exhibition loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday. Johnson, who had surgery Sunday, is a rookie running back whose career at USC was cut short after a weight-room accident last September in which his neck and larynx were crushed. Johnson was dejected but tried to remain positive. "Bouncing back from trials and tribulations, this is just a bump in the road," he said. "God has brought me back this far, and it felt good to be where I'd gotten to. This is minimum compared to what I have been through, really.

A USC strength and conditioning coach negligently caused a weightlifting bar carrying 275 pounds to fall on the neck of Stafon Johnson, the former Trojans running back alleges in a personal-injury lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Johnson seeks unspecified damages from USC and Jamie Yanchar, who worked for USC at the time of the incident and was a member of the Seattle Seahawks' staff in 2010. Johnson was injured during an on-campus training session on Sept.

Stafon Johnson is not complaining. After leading USC in yards rushing in 2008, the senior watched as juniors Joe McKnight and Allen Bradford carried the ball before he did in the season opener against San Jose State. Johnson said Wednesday he knows that could be the same scenario Saturday when third-ranked USC plays at eighth-ranked Ohio State. "At the end of the day, you want to be in the game when it's important to help your team and I think I did that," said Johnson, who scored two touchdowns in the Trojans' 56-3 victory last week.

USC tailback Allen Bradford would have preferred different circumstances. The fourth-year junior is saddened that his opportunity to be USC's No. 2 tailback is coming as a result of senior Stafon Johnson's misfortune. However, Bradford said this week that he would have no problem focusing tonight when the seventh-ranked Trojans play No. 24 California in a Pacific 10 Conference game at Memorial Stadium. The former Colton High star has been waiting for a chance to play a significant role for the Trojans.

Pete Carroll 's announcement Tuesday that tailback Joe McKnight would start Saturday's opener against San Jose State did not come as a shock. But the timing spoke volumes. In three previous seasons with the current stable of running backs, Carroll never made a declaration so early in the week before the opener. It is a clear sign that Carroll and new play-caller Jeremy Bates plan to give McKnight an opportunity to earn a larger share of the carries and touches this season.

A USC strength and conditioning coach negligently caused a weightlifting bar carrying 275 pounds to fall on the neck of Stafon Johnson, the former Trojans running back alleges in a personal-injury lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Johnson seeks unspecified damages from USC and Jamie Yanchar, who worked for USC at the time of the incident and was a member of the Seattle Seahawks' staff in 2010. Johnson was injured during an on-campus training session on Sept.

The Tennessee Titans waived Stafon Johnson , who dislocated his right ankle in a 20-18 exhibition loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday. Johnson, who had surgery Sunday, is a rookie running back whose career at USC was cut short after a weight-room accident last September in which his neck and larynx were crushed. Johnson was dejected but tried to remain positive. "Bouncing back from trials and tribulations, this is just a bump in the road," he said. "God has brought me back this far, and it felt good to be where I'd gotten to. This is minimum compared to what I have been through, really.

Stafon Johnson has a game ball from his NFL debut. He also had his dislocated right ankle repaired, and Tennessee Titans Coach Jeff Fisher isn't ready to say that the running back's season is over. On Sunday, Johnson posted on his Twitter account that he was fresh out of surgery. The former USC running back, whose senior season was ended last September when a barbell crushed his neck and larynx, leaving him to learn how to talk again and trying to play his way into the NFL as an undrafted free agent, had promised before surgery that he would be back better than before.

In 25 years of coaching football at Los Angeles Dorsey, Paul Knox has produced his share of outstanding running backs, from Stafon Johnson to Beno Bryant , but Knox has entered uncharted territory after switching to a spread offense to take advantage of the passing skills of senior Joseph Gray . Gray is in position to become the best quarterback with whom Knox has worked, and that says a lot. He passed for nearly 2,000 yards a...

Cincinnati's Mardy Gilyard had 103 yards receiving and caught a 32-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to help the North race to a 31-13 victory over the South in Saturday's Senior Bowl at Mobile, Ala. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow , meanwhile, had a shaky outing running a pro-style offense against a sturdy defense. Tebow fumbled twice and completed eight of 12 passes for 50 yards in the showcase for senior NFL prospects. His longest completion was 11 yards and he netted four yards in four rushes but was never turned loose as a power runner as he often was with the Gators.

USC's new coaching staff continues to take on a Tennessee flavor. Coach Lane Kiffin announced Wednesday that he has hired assistant James Cregg , Tennessee's offensive line coach last season. Cregg, 36, is the third coach from Kiffin's Tennessee staff to move to USC, joining Ed Orgeron , the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, and Monte Kiffin , the defensive coordinator. Before coaching at Tennessee, Cregg was an offensive line assistant for the Oakland Raiders during Kiffin's brief tenure with the NFL team.

The story was dead. The story came alive. After USC's final practice before flying to Ohio State on Thursday, Pete Carroll suddenly announced that his plane-catching players didn't have time to talk to the media. I had come to talk to Stafon Johnson. He jogged away quietly. It was perfect. For four years, attention has sought him, controversy has nagged him, bitterness has chased him. He has jogged away quietly. In the last two seasons here, among USC's running backs, he has been the most consistent, and consistently ignored.

USC tailback Stafon Johnson , who suffered season-ending throat injuries in a September weightlifting accident, has accepted an invitation to participate in the Jan. 30 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Johnson could have opted to petition the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility, but he has been expected to make himself available for the NFL draft. The Senior Bowl includes a week of practices in front of NFL coaches and scouting personnel. "He's grateful to the Senior Bowl for giving him this chance," USC Coach Pete Carroll said in a statement.