Hurdler Johnny Dutch is hardly a household name.

The junior from the University of South Carolina surprised even himself by making the American squad bound for Berlin for the world track and field championships that begins this weekend.

“Nobody really knows me,” the 400-meter hurdler said.

Nobody really knows quite a few of these Americans.

Sure, there are the familiar names such as Sanya Richards, Allyson Felix, Bernard Lagat and Jeremy Wariner.

But America’s biggest star, Tyson Gay, is limping into his showdown with Jamaican world-record holder Usain Bolt on a bad groin.

Maybe this worlds is a passing of the torch?

Little-known sprinters like Jessica Beard, Charles Clark, Charonda Williams and Gil Roberts might use this stage to establish themselves as “Generation Next” in American track. These just may be names you read about heading into the 2012 Summer Games in London.

At least that’s the plan.

Doug Logan, the CEO of USA Track and Field, has made it his mission to develop a pipeline at the youth and collegiate level to groom rising stars. It’s part of his “Project 30” initiative, which is designed to revamp track with the goal of winning 30 medals at the London Games.

Logan is hoping that getting the newcomers’ feet wet now only helps down the road.

“While there may be some absence of buzz going into these competitions, I think you’re going to see a completely different story on the way out,” Logan said. “A lot of what we’re doing right now is taking those steps in preparation toward London. We have some kids ready to take hold of the reins … We’ve got a great group of young men and women that have a compelling story to tell.”

Stories like Mike Rodgers, who went from selling Nike Air Jordans out of the trunk of his Malibu for extra cash to winning the 100-meter finals at the U.S. championships in June.

Now, the 24-year-old sprinter is part of the wave of fresh faces popping up and performing well — ready to compete against the likes of Bolt.

Just think, it wasn’t all that long ago when Bolt was an unknown himself.

“We certainly have the talent to continue to be the best in the world,” Logan said.

The Americans had their egos badly bruised in Beijing last summer as the Jamaicans turned in a scintillating display in the Bird’s Nest. Led by Bolt, Jamaica won five of the six high-profile sprint races.

Even more, the U.S. fumbled the baton exchange in both the men’s and women’s 400-meter relay. The sight of the baton falling – the sound of it clanging on the track — can’t soon be forgotten.

It does add extra incentive.

“I know for fact we want to win and redeem ourselves,” Gay said.

Although Gay’s groin has been a hindrance, he doesn’t think it will affect him in his rematch with Bolt. Once he’s in the blocks, Gay really doesn’t think about it.

For that matter, he doesn’t think about Bolt, either.

“I’ve always felt in my mind that I could challenge him,” said Gay, who has the world’s fastest time in the 100 this season at 9.77 seconds. “It’s not like he’s always been the world-record holder or he’s always been the Olympic gold medalist. He’s always been Usain Bolt to me. I’ve beaten him before, he’s beaten me before. That’s why I’m looking forward to racing him.”

The 20-year-old Dutch is simply looking forward to stepping on the track. Dutch, a media arts major at South Carolina, doesn’t feel added pressure competing on this stage.

“I’m a rookie coming into this,” Dutch said. “I’m just going to have fun.”

The U.S. enters the meet with several reigning world champions, including Gay (100, 200), Bernard Lagat (1,500, 5,000), Allyson Felix (200), Jeremy Wariner (400), Kerron Clement (400 hurdles), Michelle Perry (100 hurdles), Reese Hoffa (shot put) and Brad Walker (pole vault).

However, one of their top performers, Olympic silver medalist Jenn Stuczynski, withdrew from the pole vault competition Tuesday due to an Achilles’ injury.

That may alter Logan’s calculations. Before a big meet, Logan likes to figure out how many medals his squad will win.

“I won’t tell you the number, but I scared myself when I added it up,” Logan said.

More than the 26-medal haul at the world championships in Osaka two summers ago?

“That’s a long stretch,” said Logan, who wasn’t yet on board when the ’07 team matched the American record for medals at a world championships. “But I think we’re going to do very, very well. And it bodes well for the future.”

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