Agent Leigh Steinberg, who was fired by quarterback Matt Leinart and offensive tackle Winston Justice, said Tuesday he still had not spoken to Leinart regarding the change.
“I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to Matt or his father, our relationship seemed very happy,” Steinberg said. “They never complained about anything.”
Never complained? Now that might be a first.

A few years ago, USC looked at a high-school quarterback named Matt Engle during Carson Palmers senior year. Engle was an accurate passer but was only 6-feet tall.
“He looked fine, but when I see Carson and how tall he is and then look at how tall (Engle) is, theres a difference there, a USC coach said.
Palmer was about 6-feet-6 inches tall. Matt Leinart measured nearly 6-5 for NFL scouts. The next USC quarterback will be shorter: Mark Sanchez is listed at 6-4 while John David Booty is listed at 6-3.
Obviously, the height difference isnt as dramatic as between Palmer and Engle, but it does seem like the defensive line knocked down more balls this spring. When Sanchez works this summer with USC receivers on Cromwell Field, the trajectory of his passes is probably going to be one thing he needs to improve.
As for Engle, he went to UC Davis.

Martha Harris, USC’s senior vice president of university relations, said USC’s alcohol-ban for Coliseum events remains in effect and will not change next season.
The Coliseum sold beer for the first half of Sunday’s scrimmage and later took responsibility for the incident.
“I can tell you definitely that (President Steven) Sample did not authorize it and nothing’s changed,” Harris said. “We weren’t giving anybody permission (to sell beer).”

USC offensive tackle Winston Justice fired super-agent Leigh Steinberg late last week because he felt Steinberg focused all his time on his other Trojan client, quarterback Matt Leinart.
That probably did not worry Steinberg too much, until Leinart also severed ties with the genial agent.
Don’t be surprised if Leinart goes with Tom Condon, who represents NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning. Condon recently got hired by Creative Artists Agency. And who already represents Leinart’s entertainment interests? CAA!

The Coliseum is taking responsibility for Sunday’s decision to sell beer during USC’s spring scrimmage, which violated university policy.
“It was just a mistake,” Coliseum general manager Pat Lynch said. “It was no big deal. We cut it off instantly as soon as we found out.”
Beer sales occurred during the first half but ended at halftime. Still no official word from the university about the incident.

Last summer, USC president Steven Sample made a significant announcement that he would end the sale of alcohol inside the Coliseum on game days.
“I have received dozens of letters from irate Trojans who say they can’t and they won’t take their families to USC games anymore because drunken fans create a hostile and frightening environment,” Sample wrote.
Well, the ban lasted about 11 months apparently, because beer sales were alive and well at Sunday’s scrimmage at the Coliseum. Granted, this might have been a “one off” instance, but I think some of the families might have wanted advance warning, especially the way beer flowed from the concession stands.
One vendor said she ran out of beer at halftime.
I’m awaiting word from the university on this issue to see if any changes will be made to the existing policy.

With everyone thinking about the numbers from Sunday’s scrimmage, here’s some stats from some other recent spring scrimmages to illustrate just how significant (insignificant) these marks really are.

A.) 8 for 21, 102 yards
B.) 14 for 25, 222 yards, 3 TDs
C.) 3 receptions, 82 yards, 2 TDs

Click below to match the numbers with the USC players who produced them.
Continue reading “Importance of Stats” »

From the “for what it’s worth” dept., here’s where Oaks Christian’s most-recruited players are expected to end up based on comments made at Sunday’s scrimmage.

QB Jimmy Clausen — Notre Dame
RB-LB Marc Tyler — USC
WR-S Marshall Jones — Michigan-USC
LB Casey Matthews — Tennessee

Here’s the complete stats from today’s Trojan Huddle:
Continue reading “Freaks and (Stat) Geeks, Part 2” »

The most courageous athletes at USC might be the female pole vaulters. Immediately after the football team practiced on Cromwell Field because of the recent rains, the pole vaulters noticed their pit suffered damaged when it was hastily moved without care.
Two pole vaulters asked the next day if the football staff tried to move the pit and were originally told no. Unsatisfied by that answer, they created a timeline of the incident and confronted USC coach Pete Carroll in the weightroom, where he admitted responsibility for the damage.