“I might be out there in the same position I was (Wednesday), but could be there on the field. There’s two options.”
Monthly Archives: March 2011
Bus Stop
ESPN’s DirecTV satellite bus will originate from USC on April 25th. Someone probably forgot to tell the worldwide leader that spring practice will be over by then. I’m sure Lane Kiffin will be happy to stop by if Colin Cowherd is there since Kiffin volunteered to make weekly appearances on his show last year. Or Natalie Gulbis, whom he used to follow on twitter (picture after the jump).
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FieldTurf Woes
If I’m a USC player with NFL aspirations, I would ask the athletic dept. to move Pro Day to Howard Jones Field. Or at least the passing drills. The FieldTurf is so worn on Cromwell Field that players were slipping making cuts, which hurts their evaluation.
USC v. UCLA
It’s that time of the day and both teams are in spring-practice mode.
Another View
With 31 of the 32 NFL teams sending personnel to Pro Day, there was not just talk about USC players. There was also talk about how USC played last season.
“Did they account for the quarterback in their defensive game plans?” one NFL scout said. “It didn’t seem like it in the games I watched.”
USC-ND Rivalry
USC athletic director Pat Haden said he tried to schedule a home-and-home series in basketball with Notre Dame but the Irish declined.
In Attendance
The Baby Quarterback attended USC practices last week and there are still rumors he might transfer to Mater Dei or Oaks Christian next year.
Kiffin-Butler Standoff
Lane Kiffin might have someone else call wide receiver Brice Butler but put up a hard-line image this morning when asked about Butler possibly returning to the team.
“I think it’s a neat deal being on a $75,000 scholarship at USC,” he said. “I’m supposed to call players that don’t want to be here?”
Butler said Wednesday that neither he nor Kiffin were make-the-first-move kind of people. So we will see if anyone blinks first.
Corner Move
Lane Kiffin singled out Tony Burnett, who switched from safety to cornerback, as the leader to start opposite Nickell Robey.
Post-Practice Report
The offense probably had its best performance of the spring. One reason was Lane Kiffin called more quick-pass plays to give the defense less time to pressure the quarterbacks. Matt Barkley threw an interception to end practice. Kiffin attributed it to the lack of offensive personnel.
“He’s frustrated,” Kiffin said. “He forces the ball at times. I know he’s frustrated.”
But Barkley said he is better at not forcing passes this spring.
“I’m light years ahead,” he said. “In a normal setting, I feel in a zone and comfortable holding the ball.”