Open Forum Answers

Here’s answers to this week’s questions. I tried to answer most questions in the order they were asked in the Open Forum entry, in case of confusion over the question.

ASU is the wild-card this year. Pac-10 coaches have a lot of respect for Dennis Erickson and he will probably upset a couple teams. This will be one of USC’s bigger games, especially coming right before the UCLA game on Dec. 1.

ESPN will do about six games this season, so the move isn’t that significant, although I don’t know many people thrilled about moving the ASU game to Thanksgiving.

Don’t expect a freshman tailback to earn the starting job soon. It will take a few games displaying the ability to make plays at the college level before anyone displaces Chauncey Washington or C.J. Gable. Again, remember Reggie Bush and LenDale White’s freshmen year and how long Hershel Dennis started.

Pete Carroll will probably not publically admit any grudes, but he is human. Remember the verbal outburst against Oregon. That stemmed all the way back to his first year against the Ducks and some things that happened in Eugene.

Chris Barrett is able to play defensive end and defensive tackle, so he is listed at both spots.

Jamere Holland is expected to play and is the fastest receiver.

Michael Morgan missed spring with a back injury and has been unable to show much so far.

Sam Keller faced USC in the thrilling 2005 contest at Tempe and will worry the coaching staff if he starts.

USC will play a 4-3 defense next season.

Josh Tatum got his first action in the spring although he still was not 100 percent. Will Harris remained limited in his comeback from torn knee ligaments.

Nick Howell had a good spring but Matt Spanos’ experience took over in the latter half of spring practice.

So far, the coaching staff has not mentioned mass substitions at wide receivers although they already rotate liberally during games.

It will take time for Jordan Campbell to learn the offense and fullback spot. But that transition might be eased if Jody Adewale returns. Above all, Stanley Havili needs to stay healthy.

At least in the spring, there was not a great variation in formations/play calling. There was an emphasis to get the ball to the receivers, sometimes at the expense of the tight end. But the fullback will get more touches if Havili.

I think someone like Joe McKnight can contribute early if he is anywhere close to as good as he looked on film. That’s always the rub with recruits (see Whitney Lewis). Broderick Green could also contribute early but he would be a power back which is a limited role that can quickly be utilized.

Stafon Johnson was impressive in scrimmages last fall but his shoulder injury hindered his play, though few knew it.

I’d say Chauncey Washington-C.J. Gable should be co-No. 1 on the depth chart, but something must be done to stretch a defense, whether it’s McKnight or Emmanuel Moody that provides some explosiveness. Otherwise, a lot of teams will remember what UCLA did to the Trojans last season.

The coaches are not even sure yet how the clock changes will affect games. Expect the training camp scrimmages to be used to test the new system and determine if any changes are necessary.

I don’t have a pre-season No. 1 yet. But maybe I’ll take West Virginia again!

USC’s running game is still a question mark.

Gabe Pruitt would probably be a second-round pick at best and would be wise to return for his senior season.

Luthur Brown remains an enigma. He injured his shoulder in spring and continues to battle injuries that stunt his growth.

Steve Sarkissian will probably try to make his own mark on the offense. The shotgun is a good example, as he adjust to one of John David Booty’s weaknesses. And he threw more to the fullback in spring practices than Lane Kiffin. But he and Kiffin both like throwing deep more than Norm Chow. That leads to more interceptions.

Aaron Corp is expected to redshirt.

There are issues with a few incoming freshmen, which I will monitor through the summer.

UCLA made inroads against USC in recruiting because it hired the controversial Eric Scott as an assistant. But more importantly, UCLA made bold decisions on some city players that USC continued to evaluate and the players committed early because of the hard sell. The Bruins are confident those players will develop but that question will not be answered for a few years, so we won’t know yet who made the wiser decision.

How to score a date with a song girl? Ask Ryan Kalil.

Chris Galippo should see time at middle linebacker backing up Rey Maualuga and play special teams.

USC’s offense deploys three wide receiver spots: X, Y and Z. They are all different and take time to learn. It’s more about learning the routes of each spots than where they line up. Steve Smith could easily play any spot but some receivers have difficulties running a variety of routes.

I wouldn’t worry about what scout.com or any other service has as its top 100 players. Remember Troy Polamalu. Besides, USC”s national recruiting this year will be bigger than ever, in my opinion, and the Trojans will impress every recruiting service with the likes of linebacker Brendan Beal, etc.

Moody’s hamstring injury is not considered serious. Desmond Reed’s size is considered his biggest question mark for a pro career.

The Reggie Bush case continues to be a cloud and no one knows what will happen. Everyone is speculating right now.

That’s all folks!