CS Northridge Gains New Direction : College football: Team bids to rebound from 3-7 season with four more assistants and top tailback transfer in Farmer.

As the Cal State Northridge football team went through its stretching routine on the first day of spring drills this week, 10 assistant coaches walked among the rows of players.

The scene contrasted sharply with practice last season when Coach Bob Burt made do with only six assistants.

The larger staff that includes former Ram defensive back LeRoy Irvin is one of several changes in the program since last fall when the Matadors stumbled to a 3-7 record, 1-4 in Western Football Conference play.

The makeup of the team is dramatically different, starting at tailback where the Division II Matadors have a Division I player, Jamal Farmer.

Farmer, a former Granada Hills High standout and a three-year starter at Hawaii, transferred to Northridge in January after quitting the Rainbows’ team five games into the 1991 season.

Farmer, an imposing 5-feet-11, 235 pounds, set an NCAA Division I freshman record with 18 touchdowns in 1989.

“Jamal is for real,” Burt said. “He is learning the system very quickly.”

In Hawaii’s triple option, Farmer’s role was effective but one-dimensional--he ran up the middle, inside either guard.

At Northridge, he will run up the middle and around end, take pitchouts and catch the ball out of the backfield.

“He will make people notice him in a big way,” Burt said. “He has exceptional hands.”

Farmer’s assessment of Burt and his new teammates is equally complimentary.

“I feel the guys here work harder than the guys in Hawaii,” he said. “Hawaii, being a tourist spot, everybody likes to kick back. Here, on the mainland, everybody likes to compete. The linemen work really hard in the weight room and you find more players staying after practice.”

Farmer attributes some of the dedication to the Matadors’ desire to rebound from last season.

“I can tell by what Coach Burt says in the speeches that there is going to be a different attitude on the football field this year,” he said. “I think the players want it more, plus, they are saying that we are a better team than we were last fall. But I don’t know because I wasn’t here.”

Although Farmer’s eligibility is limited to one season, he is determined to have a major impact.

“I want to be a leader,” he said. “I am a senior and a lot of guys expect a lot out of me. I have to fulfill that and be a role model.”

While Farmer is learning the plays, the offensive linemen are learning one another’s names.

Three transferred in from junior colleges in January, and a fourth, Charlie Williams (6-4, 285), is a transfer from the University of Houston.

One position where there will be no change is at quarterback.

For the second consecutive season, seniors Marty Fisher and Damone Scott and junior Coley Kyman, who is also a member of the Northridge volleyball team, will vie for the starting job. Fisher held the job last season until the final 2 1/2 games when he was sidelined because of a broken leg.

Scott, who alternated some possessions with Fisher during the middle portion of the season, finished as the starter. Kyman was limited to one game because of a broken collarbone.

Although Kyman asked the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility under hardship rules, his appeal was denied. A 1989 redshirt, Kyman has two remaining seasons of football eligibility.

Despite Kyman’s inexperience and his lack of preparation because of volleyball, Burt considers him a factor. “He’s a great athlete,” Burt said. “His timing is off, that will take time, but he’s the kind of athlete that can make that transition. . . . He is a Bo Kyman.”

Fisher, offensive lineman Jack Montes, linebacker O.J. Ojomoh, cornerback Vincent Johnson and punter Albert Razo are the Matadors’ only returning starters.

Starting safety Eric Treibatch, a WFC second-team selection last season, and offensive lineman Scott Norman are not allowed to participate in spring drills because Division II rules limit participation in athletics to 10 semesters.

Both players plan to use their final semester of eligibility in the fall, however.

Also missing from spring drills are Ron McKinney, the Matadors’ top defensive lineman, tailback Akil Mahasin and linebacker Danny Abraham. Those players are barred from the three-week spring session because of academic problems they hope to overcome in time for the fall semester.

Two starters who were juniors last season did not return.

Leading receiver and return specialist Paul Peters forfeited his eligibility when he attended a tryout for the now-defunct Professional Spring Football League. Tailback Bill Harris, the team’s leading rusher with 591 yards in 132 carries, quit the team. Harris did not inform Burt of his plans and was unavailable for comment, but it is believed his decision is tied to Farmer’s arrival.