Well, what a relief. It took only one question to get back to the subject of Mitch Mustain. Thanks a lot everybody!
On to the answers:

I believe USC knew quite early that Mitch Mustain would transfer here, like around mid-January. But everyone had to play along because Mustain did not want to finish the year at Arkansas with everyone knowing for four months that he was going to USC.

The infamous LenDale White play in the Rose Bowl was designed to get a first down, not break a huge gain. The big problem, which people continually fail to realize is that the play failed because Reggie Bush was not in the game. At the very least, Bush should have been a decoy. His absence allowed Michael Huff to move up to the line of scrimmage and stuff White. Huff admitted it after the game and thanked USC for keeping Bush off the field.
In other words, people can complain all they want about USC’s defense in that game, but the truth is if Reggie Bush is ON the field, it’s almost impossible to imagine the Trojans don’t get the first down and run out the clock. And I believe Norm Chow would have had Bush on the field if he were coaching. So even with porous defense, the game still could have been won, with one smart substitution.
I haven’t thought about a pre-season All-American list. It was hard enough for me to to a post-season list.
Michael Morgan needs to be healthy. He hurt his back and missed spring practice and that down time meant he couldn’t lift weights and work out and gain weight.
Of course, he hurt his back lifting weights, so it’s a vicious circle.

Hemet offensive lineman Hamani Stevens is an intereresting case. He wasn’t exactly on the radar, commits to UCLA and suddenly becomes a crucial prospect. USC is still evaluating. I suspect his stock rose after UCLA took him and he’s being looked at closely this week to determine how good he really is. This proves once again what I’ve said about UCLA’s aggressive nature offering and securing commitments is influencing other schools.
I know Stevens was at UCLA on Tuesday, so I suspect he’ll remain a Bruin barring something unexpected.
USC likes offensive lineman Daniel Campbell of Texas quite a bit but will battle several other schools, like LSU and Florida, so they will have to be patient.
I wasn’t aware of tension between Michael Jackson and Pete Carroll. At least on Carroll’s end. I think Jackson tries to be extra tough on football players to send a message. I think there are people in the athletic dept. who are weary of Jackson on all levels. But his bigger nemesis is lawyer Carmen Trutanich, truth be told.

The biggest impediment for the running game was having an elite tailback. This should be slightly better through experience and possibly much better through recruiting (Joe McKnight). Having a healthy fullback helps but the offensive line will be more important, especially with position changes (Drew Radovich) and new starters (Matt Spanos).

The offense always seems to score about 30 points no matter who plays, so I would expect that trend to continue this season. But will it score nine points again in a game? Hmmm.

I can’t imagine the defense having a worse turnover ratio. That might have been the single biggest factor that led to close games/losses last season. I think the change to a 4-3 will force more turnovers because it will allow Brian Cushing to play a more comfortable position and he is capable of forcing turnovers.
John David Booty will have a good chance for better numbers because he will have more plays thanks to the clock changes that restore the pre-2006 rules. But he doesn’t have Dwayne Jarrett or Steve Smith, so maybe he won’t. Or maybe he’ll throw a five-yard pass to Joe McKnight and he will run 50 yards after that.
Kiffin was very aggressive so I don’t know if Sarkissian can open up the offense more.

If Mark Sanchez transferred, he would need to do it after spring practice. I believe he would only consider a major D-I school, and I can think of a couple Big 12 teams (Nebraska, Colorado) that would love to hear he was transferring. Of course, for the reading impaired, I’m answering a hypothetical question Sanchez is not thinking of transferring.

When Pete Carroll says a player will be punished internally, that means he makes them do certain things that are not visible to the public. They might have to perform community service, go to counseling or maybe they get tickets taken away, for example.
They also get a shorter leash afterward. Carroll threatened to kick Winston Justice off the team when he got into a fight at practice during spring drills following his legal woes with the pellet gun incident.
Now players get into fights all the time in practice but Carroll made his threat to Justice as a way to warn him he would not be able to get away with anything now that he was back on the team.
This might not be considered severe enough to some people, but this is way Carroll’s handled it. I’m sure there are administrators on campus who want more punishment, but they get their shot whenever a player appears before student affairs, which is traditionally very tough on athletes.

Chris Galippo has cleared the university admissions dept., but it’s still early to be officially certified by the NCAA Clearinghouse. I believe Galippo might be tried at fullback next season.
Ronald Johnson is an X-factor player. There’s a lot of buzz about him right now but I can’t say what he will do this year until we see him in training camp.
Last year, even some NFL coaches raved about Vidal Hazelton during the 7-on-7 workouts, but that did not translate into a banner freshman year. So don’t always go by the hype.

I’m not sure why there is an obsession with Mitch Mustain and Mark Sanchez right now. Or an obsession with Mitch Mustain period, judging from the comments. Maybe there’s not enough going on right now for people to worry about the important things, like who will start THIS season at tailback.

Clay Matthews, Thomas Williams and Kaluka Maiava are the current backup linebackers.

Aaron Corp is a real long shot to start in 2008. He’s got a huge experience disadvantage with Mark Sanchez with the offensive system and Mitch Mustain with game experience.

I think batted-down passes will remain an issue.

I’m not sure the kicking game will be uncertain. David Buehler has a strong leg. If Pete Carroll has confidence in Buehler, he will use him, although he still prefers to go for it if he thinks the offense is up to the task.

Vidal Hazelton and Patrick Turner are currently the starting receivers.

Emmanuel Moody is healthy and his status is interesting because he showed glimpses early of being a breakaway runner. He needs to demonstrate it consistently now especially with so many eyes on Joe McKnight.

I don’t know what the season tickets look like. I would imagine they look very good on Ebay.

Someone asked if I am now in good standing with John Papadakis because I went to Petros’ birthday party. I vaguely remember Papadakis being upset about the time of the Dennis Dodd story, although I only wrote a few paragraphs about it. But I have a long-standing policy of ignoring whether a Papadakis is upset with me.
Otherwise I wouldn’t have gone five years at USC without interviewing Petros.
Judging by the guest list, maybe Papadakis got back at me by inviting me to the party.

None of the USC coaches (Chow, Carroll, etc.) really liked the shotgun. Some coaches believe the shotgun is a handicap because it causes the quarterback to look down for the ball. Personally, I love the shotgun.
Whatever you read next season, the shotgun is being instituted to try to cut down on batted down passes.

I believe John David Booty has a very long leash this season. He played all last season, is considered a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy, so he would need to make a lot of mistakes to get replaced. A lot. Consider that he’s the only proven every-game performer at a skill position right now.

Training camp starts in early August. The players usually take about a week off from weight training before camp starts.

I don’t believe Mark Sanchez was told Mitch Mustain was being recruited or why he was recruited. Or Aaron Corp, for that matter. The players don’t usually expect an explanation because they know USC gets the top players and that’s part of being an elite athlete.

Patrick Turner looked like the best returning receiver in practices with David Ausberry and Travon Patterson making the biggest impression.

I don’t think Pete Carroll’s ever said he wanted to leave USC or would really consider leaving USC. There’s nothing to gain from that. He might be more adamant in his remarks now before Trojan Clubs because everyone knows about the Miami Dolphins interview and he doesn’t want to hear constant questions about it.
I’ve heard from reliable sources there was talk between the Chargers and Carroll, so I never place much stock in “never” quotes.

Brian Cushing should be fine since he always was a linebacker before last season. But the truth is, he needs to prove it for a full season, so in that sense, the jury is out. He will play strongside linebacker and should give the defense a more physical SAM linebacker than Dallas Sartz.

Jimmy Clausen was considered a high-maintenance recruit for years. Remember, he was held back a year and his family moved specifically so he could play at Oaks Christian, and his brother Rick also trasnferred colleges and if I remember correctly, high schools.

USC would argue that Stafon Johnson got some valuable experience last season in the Stanford game for future benefit though I would argue he should have redshirted. It wasn’t quite the “stupid mistake” of using Ryan Powdrell on special teams for one play against Virginia Tech and burning his redshirt year before the NCAA reinstated it (after a brief suspension).

If Taylor Mays played offense regularly, he would need to change his offense. However, players do sometimes put on jerseys for a single play when they go on special teams and there are players with the same number.

And now, a basketall question. The Trojans should be very young and talented, which means quite an adjustment. Tim Floyd remains perplexed at the high expectations and hype some are giving USC already despite losing Nick Young, Gabe Pruitt and Lodrick Stewart.

Keith Wilkinson looked like he’s gotten a great tan this summer but said he is working hard on his game and getting tutored by former UCLA Bruin (gasp!) Darren Daye. Dwight Lewis will be counted upon heavily, especially with his perimeter shooting. Actually, perimeter shooting will be a big issue. USC needs to prove it has enough shooters besides O.J. Mayo and Lewis.
Daniel Hackett’s year-end performances give the coaches hope he can contribute every game. Taj Gibson looks like someone ready to turn pro after next season. I’m also confident Marcus Simmons will contribute as the defensive stopper.
As for Davon Jefferson, even Floyd mentioned in the Galen Center last weekend that he also thought Jefferson was raw and would need an adjustment period but would contribute, essentially what I said before. But maybe I should have just said, “Fight On!” when asked how good Jefferson is to please the yahoos. In fact, that should be the official answer: Fight On!

Colleges do not have to honor a commitment if no letter of intent is signed although it can cause bad publicity and alienate a high school coach, etc. Just like a recruit can change his mind up until he signs a letter.

USC seems confident the Bush investigation amounts to nothing. My personal opinion is something or someone will emerge to make the case troublesome, but I don’t know if it will reach the NCAA’s threshold for penalties.

As I’ve said before, I don’t expect Sarkissian to copy Norm Chow. Sarkissian prefers to throw it downfield more. He may recognize the fullback, simply because Stanley Havili is more athletic than previous fullbacks at USC.

Tyron Smith looks very impressive physically and will probably be a lot bigger whenever he is expected to play in college, probably two-to-three years from now. He reminds me a little bit of Charles Brown.
From what I hear, USC likes Curtis McNeal because he could be a punt/kick returner like Desmond Reed. They also like Chris Polk’s versatility, even though he is not built like a typical receiver.

The most transcendent USC player I covered is Reggie Bush. The most transparent was Matt Leinart.

And finally, I forgot the reason Hershel Dennis is called Patch. Sometimes it’s best to say “I don’t know.” But maybe an industrious reader will answer that question.

And before I forget, I had some funny jokes from last week’s players I mentioned, Travis Claridge and Winston Justice, but I couldn’t sneak in for the family audience.

OK, it’s been a great week folks, and it only seemed like I had to answer every other question about Mark Sanchez and Mitch Mustain. Good thing this blog didn’t exist during the big John Fox-Mike Van Raaphorst era.