The Line on Boselli Turned Out to Be True : USC: Hard-working redshirt freshman has more than lived up to great expectations.

In the months preceding his first season as a starting offensive tackle at USC, Tony Boselli could have had a summer job at one of the 11 McDonald’s restaurants owned by his father and uncle in the Greater Denver area.

But, as Boselli knows, it’s not always profitable to work at McDonald’s when you’re 6 feet 7 and weigh 285 pounds.

“I probably lost money when I worked there (previously),” Boselli said. “I ate more than I made.”

So, he worked instead on a 150-acre farm operated by the Benedictine nuns of the Abbey of St. Walburga, a convent on the outskirts of Boulder, Colo., his hometown.

He cut, baled and stacked hay. He built and repaired fences. He cut hedges, moved cattle, mowed lawns, drove tractors.

“It was great,” he said. “Best job I ever had.”

And the most taxing.

Said his father, Don Anthony Boselli: “He’d work out there for about seven hours of really hard labor and then he would go lift weights and run for three hours after that.”

That work ethic has made Boselli a budding star as a second-year freshman.

A national magazine predicted last summer that Boselli would be the No. 1 “impact newcomer” in college football this season. Another called him the country’s fourth-best redshirt freshman.

John Matsko, USC’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, joined in the hype, calling Boselli a “dominating” player even before he had played a game.

“He’s a very special guy,” Matsko said. “They come along every so often, and we’re very fortunate to have a guy like him. I believe he will be the best redshirt freshman offensive lineman in the country.”

So, four games into what is expected to be a stellar career, has Boselli been everything Matsko expected?

“And more,” Matsko said.

“He’s our most consistent, most productive offensive lineman,” Matsko added, and the offensive line includes two seniors. “He’s been extremely consistent.”

In USC’s 21-10 victory over Penn State last month, Boselli was the Trojans’ offensive player of the game, Coach Larry Smith said.

“Some redshirt freshmen are just happy to be here,” Matsko said. “For Tony, playing well and winning are important. He is really committed to being a great player. Kids get to that point at different times in their careers; he’s gotten to it very early.”

Boselli came to USC from Fairview High in Boulder, where he carried a 3.5 grade-point average. Fairview is also the alma mater of Chris Foote, a starter at center for USC in the late 1970s, and Scott Lockwood, who was the Trojans’ starting fullback before he was sidelined by knee surgery two weeks ago.

Lockwood’s younger brother, Todd, is Boselli’s best friend and a former teammate.

Boselli’s high school coach, Sam Pagano, said that Boselli wasn’t as dominant in high school as Foote or another Fairview product, offensive tackle Kevin Call of the Indianapolis Colts, but was probably the best athlete of the three.

“He could run, jump, dunk a basketball,” Pagano said. “If we wanted yardage, we’d run behind him, but he wouldn’t dominate the line of scrimmage. But you could see him get better and better his senior year. You knew he was going to be successful.”

Boselli’s dream was to play for Notre Dame, but the Irish coaching staff showed only a passing interest, despite Pagano’s efforts.

“I couldn’t convince them,” Pagano said. “Matter of fact, I talked for an hour to Jim Strong, who was the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame, and they gave me, ‘It’s our numbers. We like him, but we don’t need offensive linemen.’ Tony sat there and said, ‘Fine. If they don’t want me, then fine.’ ”

Inside, he stewed.

The Trojans will play the Irish Oct. 26 at South Bend, Ind., and Boselli can hardly wait.

“That was the only school that recruited me and then said no,” he said. “Obviously, they thought I wasn’t good enough.”

USC and several others had a higher opinion of him.

Boselli made official visits to Michigan State and Colorado, which is only about two miles from his home, but canceled trips to Stanford and Arizona State after visiting USC.

Only a few hours after arriving in Los Angeles, he called his parents and told them he wanted to sign with USC.

“I just thought of all the great players who had gone here,” Boselli said. “This is Tailback U., but the offensive line played a big part in that.”

Boselli spent last season on the sideline, admiring the work of teammate Pat Harlow, who won the Morris Trophy as the Pac-10’s top offensive lineman and was a first-round pick of the New England Patriots in the NFL draft.

“He was so aggressive finishing blocks,” Boselli said. “He just wanted to kill people. He really had the killer instinct. I tried to work off that to alter my own style.”

Boselli and his fellow offensive linemen played with abandon in the second half of a 30-14 victory over Oregon two weeks ago.

At halftime, Smith challenged tailback Mazio Royster to break the game open, and Royster responsed by rushing for 111 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.

“When Coach Smith challenged him, it was kind of a challenge to us, too,” Boselli said. “We went out and said, ‘The offensive line is going to take control of the game.’ From that point on, I think we pretty much dominated.”

Of course, much of the credit went to Royster, but Boselli didn’t mind. One of the things he enjoys most about being an offensive lineman is the anonymity.

Even if the general public is not, Boselli is aware of an offensive lineman’s contribution.

“You’re the workhorse on the offense,” he said. “You really set the tone for the game, and I really like that--being aggressive and tough. It’s fun.”

But it usually goes unnoticed, which is why Boselli was surprised last summer to see his name listed so prominently in a pair of national magazines.

“When I read that, I put more pressure on myself,” he said. “I said, ‘I have to do better.’ I want to live up to expectations. This is what I do, and it’s really important to me to be the best at it.”