Trojans’ Gee Can’t Get a Break : USC: Linebacker goes from Notre Dame’s Bettis to Cal’s Russell White.

From his position in the middle of the field, USC linebacker Matt Gee got a good look last Saturday at Notre Dame’s Jerome Bettis, possibly the premier fullback in college football.

This Saturday at Berkeley, he will see Russell White of California, perhaps the nation’s best tailback.

The powerful Bettis and the elusive White are dissimilar runners, and Gee is hopeful that the results of their meetings with the Trojans will be different, too.

Bettis bowled through USC for 178 yards and two touchdowns in the Irish’s 24-20 victory.

“He’s a powerful runner,” Gee said. “He’s like an Earl Campbell. His legs are thick and he weighs 250. I mean, he’s a load.

“You hit a guy like that, you just can’t knock him back. He’s going to fall forward for another yard or two. He’s one of the best runners I’ve ever played against, especially as a power runner.”

White will present the Trojans with a much different challenge.

“White’s just like Curtis Conway,” said Gee, comparing the Pac-10’s leading rusher to USC’s explosive flanker/kick returner. “He can move. He runs the field. Bettis is a north-south runner; White is one of those guys who’s going to run east, south, west, north. He runs around.”

Once caught, though, he is a little easier to bring down.

“(With) Bettis, you can keep hitting that guy, but his head’s about as hard as the cement we’re sitting on,” Gee said. “A guy like White, you can maybe intimidate.”

That would be a change for the Trojan defense, which has put fear into few opponents as USC has stumbled to a 3-4 record.

It has been a disappointing senior season for Gee, who waited three years for a chance to replace his friend, Scott Ross, as a starting inside linebacker.

Gee is USC’s defensive leader and ranks first on the team with 60 tackles, but the Trojans are out of the Rose Bowl race again and won’t play in any bowl game this year unless they win at least three of their last four games.

“It was nice to go to the Rose Bowl (as a freshman and sophomore), but I kind of took it for granted,” Gee said. “It was like, ‘We always go to the Rose Bowl,’ and then you start waking up when you go to El Paso (for the Hancock Bowl), and then this year, it’s not going so good.

“It seems like our defense will go out, stop them, look awesome, play great--then somebody will give up that big play. You just can’t do that.

“Once you blink, it’s seven points. You’ve got to play sound defense every play.”

As a freshman and sophomore, Gee played on defensive teams that ranked among the nation’s best.

One of the Trojans’ few senior starters, he was thrust into the role of leader this season, even though he was trying to adjust to simply becoming a starter.

“It was tough at first, but I’ve kind of taken over the leadership role--I think,” Gee said.

Gee came to USC from Arkansas City, Kan., where he was an all-state football player and two-time state champion in the javelin.

His prowess as a javelin thrower first brought him to Los Angeles. After posting a national high school best mark of 243 feet 1 inch as a junior, he was invited to a track and field camp at USC the next summer.

A fullback and linebacker at Arkansas City High, he was thought to be headed for Oklahoma, which is only about a 90-minute drive from his hometown. But during his time in Los Angeles, Gee was persuaded by USC coaches to make an official recruiting trip during his senior year.

He also visited Auburn, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Colorado, ultimately choosing USC and angering former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer with his decision.

“He thought I was making a mistake, going so far from home,” Gee said. “It made me have second thoughts about coming here. I was even thinking about calling here and saying I’d changed my mind, but then I sat down with my brother and we figured it out.”

Gee questioned his decision again when he found himself used mainly as a reserve for three seasons. He was a starter for two games at the beginning of last season before settling into his familiar place as a backup.

“I just went with the flow,” he said. “I knew it would be my turn sometime. Even though we’re not having a good year, it’s my turn.”

Obviously, things haven’t worked out as well as he had hoped, but Gee is still optimistic.

“All we can think about right now is Cal--and Washington (next week),” he said. “Against those teams, you could prove to people that you are still USC.

“Right now, it’s kind of disappointing, but the season’s not over. We have four more games, and two of those are (against) top-10 teams. I think we can prove some things.”