Lane Kiffin ready to unleash Dillon Baxter on the Huskies

After being suspended for the first game of the season against Hawai’i, freshman running back Dillon Baxter, whom Lane Kiffin once referred to as “potentially our best player” is preparing to be unleashed against the unranked Washington Huskies this weekend.

“I feel like I’m getting in a little groove and starting to get used to things, the whole difference in speed,” Baxter said.

Baxter, who played quarterback, running back and receiver at Mission Bay High School in San Diego accounted for 79 touchdowns in his senior year and was touted as an instant playmaker upon enrolling at USC this spring — highlighted by his 50-yard, stop-on-a-dime touchdown run in his first scrimmage that generated more than 1.8 million YouTube views.

Washington coach Steve Sarkisian is preparing for the possibility of the Wildcat offense being utilized by the Trojans on Saturday with Baxter at the helm.

“We’ve got to continually be prepared for the unexpected,” Sarkisian said. “They ran a lot of the Wildcat stuff when he was down there [in high school].”

Against Washington State, the Trojan offense sprang to life by using fullback Stanley Havili both in the backfield and as a receiver, a trend the Trojans look to continue by getting Baxter more involved in the running and passing game.