Linebacker Josh Tatum is transferring from USC. His top choice is Miami.
The reasons for transferring appear murky and we’ll address them later.
Monthly Archives: June 2007
Wounded Knee
We hear defensive end-tight end Gerald Washington thinks his injured knee might not heal enough to play this season. Washington redshirted last year with a badly bruised knee.
State Of Admissions
A year ago, I said the incoming recruiting class had several question marks academically regarding the NCAA Clearinghouse and one recruit did not get accepted. It’s still relatively early but I’m prepared to say this class is in much better shape and some players that were question marks in the spring appear as though they will make it academically.
That doesn’t mean everything is settled, but it’s an illustration that things are better than a year ago.
TV Time
Reggie Bush and Peyton Manning are filming a promo here today for NBC that will be televised before the NFL’s season opener between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis on Sept. 6.
Open Forum Answers
Well, it’s my favorite day of the week, when I try to figure out why no one cares about anything but Mitch Mustain and Mark Sanchez. At this rate, I figure I’ll be sick of Mustain before the first day of training camp. At least it took almost two years to get sick of Matt Leinart.
Now on to the answers!
Continue reading “Open Forum Answers” »
Finland 1, USC 1
The Nordic country and USC produced exactly the same number of first-round picks in the NBA draft. But Finnish guard Petteri Koponen probably played in an arena last season where the soft-serve ice cream worked.
But we digress. Things clearly did not work out as planned for former USC guard Gabe Pruitt. Before the draft, the feeling was Pruitt needed to be picked in the first to justify his decision to leave school early. Only time will tell whether Pruitt made the right decision, but it looks like the off-the-record whispers from some NBA teams about Pruitt being a little soft in workouts contributed to his situation.
O’Canada
We hear defensive lineman Chris Barrett has an agent and is trying to sign with a Canadian Football League team. If not, Barrett will be attending classes at USC although he is ineligible to play for the Trojans.
Hip Check
Tailback Allen Bradford said he is still going through rehab but feels like his nagging hip pointer will be OK for training camp. The injury’s prevented Bradford from doing some exercises this summer but he said it’s making progress.
Early Reviews
Peyton Manning mentioned that his brother, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, was impressed with former USC wide receiver Steve Smith in offseason workouts.
“Eli’s said big things about Steve Smith,” Manning said.
An Actual Rising Star
It’s easy to talk about recruits everyone already offered a scholarship but last week’s camp at USC did feature at least one player who raised his stock immeasurably with his actual camp performance. Drew McAllister, a safety from Monte Vista High School in Danville, Calif., opened USC’s eyes enough to probably earn a scholarship offer.
He already caught Cal’s attention by winning the fastest man contest at the Bears’ camp. Officially, only Cal and Oregon State currently offered him a scholarship but expect the Trojans to be in the mix too now.