Answer Tuesday! (Part 2)

You know the drill: twitter.com/InsideUSC.

Q: uscmike said:
A few NFL draft questions: Who among USC’s four LBs will have the best pro career and why? How do you think Sanchez will do as a pro and why? Thanks for the forum, Scott.

A: If he can learn the assignments and is placed in the right defense, Rey Maualuga still has the physical talent to be a potentially dominating player despite falling to the second round. He also needs to demonstrate he can play on third down, which was a concern for some NFL teams. But the raw talent is there for him to have a successful career. I think Mark Sanchez will succeed because he is completely dedicated to being an NFL quarterback. I think he’ll work harder than the quarterbacks who preceeded him at USC and do whatever it takes because he’s been focused on this harder than anyone expected. He’ll go through a difficult adjustment period but once he gets used to the speed of the NFL and can read the defenses, he should be a good quarterback.

Q: HANDICAPPED PARKING said:
Scott, my final thought on the chats: Why not keep the old way, and whenever you need a break, just announce that no questions will be answered that are asked while you are gone: that should hold the number down, and if anyone gets mad at that, remember that they are in the 10 percent minority that want the new style. At any rate, almost all of us here on the board realize and appreciate that you are giving us your time freely and whatever you decide on the chats is ok. I’m just trying to be a voice for the 90 percent who are shut out, and can’t even go back and read the chat if you use the new way.
My question is: If it were entirely left up to you, what changes would you make on the depth chart, based on what you saw during the spring? Just going two deep, and only considering those spots, would be more than fine. Again, thank you very much for your time and effort you put in on the blog.

A: I wouldn’t make any massive changes, I’d probably just eliminate some of the “or” designation that avoid naming starters at some positions. Also, I think it’s unlikely you’ll see Butch Lewis spend the season as the backup left tackle. He’ll probably flip over to right tackle and share time with Tyron Smith. I also was surprised that the center position listed Jeff Byers “or” Kris O’Dowd when O’Dowd will start. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Christian Tupou and Jurrell Casey are both in games on interior linemen even though they currently are listed at nose tackle.

Q: superlaker24 said:
Are you surprised that Rey Maualuga dropped to the second round, this was highly unexpected? Why did he drop and do you think he will play great being reunited with Keith Rivers? Thank you.

A: Someone always seems to drop on draft day although I did not think Maualuga would fall to the second round just because of his physical talent. I think he dropped because of his NFL combine performance, which raised questions with some teams. The NFL loves to nitpick players to death and when he hurt his hamstring, it lowered his stock even though he ran at USC’s Pro Day. He would guess he would be a second rounder and Rivers a top 10 pick? Like I said above, if he learns the system and can handle the assignments, he can potentially be a very successful NFL player.