Michael Ventre

LOS ANGELES - Reggie Bush. Gone.

LenDale White. Gone.

No more Thunder and Lightning.

The USC backfield is barren. Tumbleweeds are blowing through it. Wander around it and you might find a cow skull and an empty canteen. Without Bush and White, it is not a place fit for man or beast. They might as well conduct nuclear testing on it.

But Mother Nature has remarkable recuperative powers. And so does Pete Carroll.

The proud tradition of USC tailbacks was in jeopardy until signing day, Wednesday, Feb. 1, which is another Christmas Day for recruitniks across the college football landscape. When the final tally had been taken, the Trojans had one of the top two classes (along with Florida) in the country, depending on which recruiting service you put your faith in. And their backfield is suddenly verdant and fertile again.

The Trojans locked up the services of a bevy of five- and four-star recruits, and also a few others less luminous in current stature but perhaps just as promising. Yet it was the presence of names like Stafon Johnson, Emmanuel Moody, Stanley Havili and Kenny Ashley, plus two-way standouts C.J. Gable and Allen Bradford, on the list that caused smiles among traditionalists determined to keep the backfield factory purring.

And there was an outside chance the crop could be even be more bountiful if a big back named Keiland Williams chooses USC over LSU. His decision is believed to be tied into what Vidal Hazelton, the No. 2 rated wide receiver in the nation and his buddy at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., chooses to do. Hazelton wants to come to USC but his dad wants him at Penn State. Lawyers and family counselors might get involved in this one before its over.

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But even without Williams, USC’s corps of running backs has been stocked impressively with one rich recruiting class. It’s difficult to say any of the incoming freshmen will pick up where Thunder and Lightning left off. But remember, White and Bush had to start somewhere.

Before signing day, the Trojans had some prospects on the team already, but there were questions about each one. Herschel Dennis, the designated starter at tailback before the 2004 season, is coming off a knee injury. The same is true of speedster Desmond Reed, who will miss spring practice. Another candidate, Michael Coleman, had hip surgery and also won’t be available until fall. One kid who has Heisman-caliber talent, bruiser Chauncey Washington, has struggled with academic eligibility issues since he arrived for the 2003 season and remains iffy for fall 2006.

College football How does Bush rank with other 'SC stars?

With all that uncertainty, Carroll and his staff were determined to make running back a priority on the recruiting trail. The signing of Johnson, a 6-foot, 200-pound all-purpose rusher out of Dorsey High in L.A. was considered the crown jewel of the group. Moody, who spurned Texas for USC, is another multi-faceted runner. Havili is a 6-1, 215-pound power runner from Utah who might wind up at fullback. Gable and Bradford, both from the L.A. area, are projected to play cornerback and safety, respectively, yet both also were superb running backs in high school. And Ashley is a 5-8, 200-pound terror in the Barry Sanders mold.

While Carroll managed to fill that particular area of need, he also brought in new talent to roam elsewhere. USC added to their stable of gifted wide receivers with newcomers David Ausberry, Travon Patterson and Jamere Holland. Ausberry, at 6-4, is big and strong, whereas Patterson and especially Holland (4.4 in the 40) rely more on their speed.

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To top off the offense, the Trojans added a quarterback, Garrett Green of Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks, Calif., even though they already have two prized signal callers on their roster in John David Booty and Mark Sanchez.