January 2007 Archives
If you count Donovan Warren, USC has about 13 commitments right now. There's only about five players left the Trojans are recruiting, which means this could be a smaller-than-expected class, considering the number of scholarships made available in the past month through academics and transfers.
In the first week of workouts, tailback Chauncey Washington and offensive tackle Thomas Herring each lost seven pounds. Washington is under 230 pounds while Herring weighs 328.
UCLA dropped out of the running for Long Beach Poly cornerback Donovan Warren today, leaving USC and Michigan as his final two choices. Warren, who wants to go to a BCS school, is expected to commit to USC. A player USC hoped to get late, Verbum Dei defensive end Justin Edison, committed to UCLA.
USC coach Pete Carroll visits wide receiver Deonte Thompson of Belle Glade, Fla., and takes one more stab at convincing offensive guard James Wilson of Ponte Vedra, Fla., to honor his original commitment to the Trojans.
Visitors to Dedeaux Field will notice the wooden fence was torn down and replaced with a padded chain-link fence. However, in an effort to improve the atmosphere, new coach Chad Kreuter did not put padding on the fence by the parking structure or the tennis courts, to allow fans a chance to watch games from the outfield.
Freshman offensive tackle Martin Coleman, who should still be a senior at Edison High, weighs 312 pounds.
USC coach Pete Carroll is scheduled to visit with Marvin Austin, the No. 1-ranked defensive tackle in the country, today. But we also hear Carroll might visit tight end Mike Ragone, who committed to Notre Dame almost nine months ago.
Fullback Brandon Hancock is leaning against returning for a sixth season. Hancock said he does not want to jeopardize his future health and recently met with a surgeon who is a family friend but will seek one more opinion regarding his past knee injuries before making an final decision not to return.
Last week the NCAA approved a sixth year for Hancock. USC already has his scholarship for next season because Hancock was going to pay for the fall semester himself.
USC women's basketball player Brynn Cameron is shooting between 700-1,000 jump shots per day, working out with a personal trainer and fully recovered from last year's hip injury. Cameron was cleared to begin working out New Year's Day and is on track to play against next season.
It will be quite a comeback after she gave birth to Cole Cameron Leinart last October. Cameron's already attended several USC women's basketball games. Perhaps more impressively, she completed classes at USC last semester despite giving birth and could graduate on time.
Safety Kevin Ellison underwent knee surgery Jan. 2 after tests revealed a hole in the bone when he hyperextended it during the season.
Ellison is wearing a full-leg brace for two more weeks and said he is unsure if he will participate in spring practice.
It seemed odd recently when linebacker Keith Rivers held a press conference to announce he would return for his senior season when he had no intention of going pro. Apparently, Rivers was advised holding the press conference would help raise his profile for next season and increase pre-season buzz.
Over the past few years, USC's offense always featured a player that broke down a defense with one play. Reggie Bush is the perfect example, but LenDale White, Mike Williams and Dwayne Jarrett are other examples.
Perhaps the biggest question going into next season is whether USC even has a player like that anymore? Former offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said USC's losses this season weren't much different than games the previous two years, except the Trojans no longer had Bush to rescue them.
Now you can say the same about Jarrett. Click here to see who I would have to pick for the best big-play candidate next season then feel free to list your own candidate.
USC did not have any recruits in this weekend while UCLA hosted just one, Verbum Dei defensive end Justin Edison, who already committed to Oregon State.
New Orleans Saints assistant coach John Morton interviewed for the vacancy on the coaching staff following Lane Kiffin's departure to the Raiders. Morton, 37, was interviewed to be the Trojans' wide receivers coach. He is the offensive assistant/passing game assistant for the Saints and also worked for the Oakland Raiders.
A natural hire for the current opening on the coaching staff would be former USC wide receivers coach Kirby Wilson. However, Wilson was recently hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Matt Leinart at a trendy Hollywood club on Friday night minus Paris Hilton, Britney Spears or Tara Reid.
If you want to rent the Galen Center for an evening, say a birthday party for 10,000 of your closest friends, it will cost you $30,000. That's $15,000 for the arena and $15,000 for staff.
Recruits are being shown drawings of the new football complex to be built behind Heritage Hall. The new complex will house offices, a weight room, locker room and an outdoor plaza. I'm just wondering if it will be called the Peter C. Carroll Center.
We hear Oaks Christian cornerback Anthony Gildon still favors Oregon but USC is closing fast.
We hear the current options for the opening on the coaching staff are to either hire a veteran offensive coordinator to assist Steve Sarkisian or to hire a wide receivers coach.
The fact Reggie Bush's claimed he was being extorted does pose a certain risk for the tailback. If Bush was not completely honest with the FBI, it would be a crime. Among recent figures who faced criminal charges in similar circumstances were Martha Stewart and Scooter Libby.
There's a lot of focus on the Reggie Bush investigation right now. But what does it mean? The existence of tapes does not necessarily hurt USC because the university could challenge the veracity of them if the NCAA used it to punish the football program. Not to mention that taping conversations like that is illegal.
Even if the tapes are correct, without USC's knowledge or complicity, it would be hard to hold the university liable. That doesn't mean USC is off the hook regarding the chance of getting stripped of a national championship, but we're referring more to probation for the program.
If you heard me at the Long Beach Trojan Club last night, you already know I said that Jeff Fisher of the Tennessee Titans and Jack Del Rio of the Jacksonville Jaguars (both former USC players) were high atop a list of potential replacements if Pete Carroll accepted a job with the Miami Dolphins.
Getting either coach out of their NFL contracts might be a problem but a year from now, they might not even be coaching their current teams.
My favorite USC linebacker, Matt Grootegoed, is set to play for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League next season.
There's been several questions about who will become USC's recruiting coordinator? There's a quick two-word answer to this question: Who cares?
Recruiting coordinators fill an administrative role. Players don't come to USC because of a recruiting coordinator. Did Reggie Bush or Matt Leinart ever mention the recruiting coordinators as the key to their decisions?
Players come because USC is winning and Pete Carroll is the coach. Last time I checked, that was still the case.
Raiders coach Lane Kiffin's opening statement: ``I'll bring an explosive, powerful offense to this franchise. . . .They will play happy and they will play hard.''
Sounds like new Raiders coach Lane Kiffin's first hire from USC will probably be video assistant Yogi Roth.
Former Nebraska kicker Jordan Congdon met with USC coach Pete Carroll on Monday with the intention of walking on to the team next season and possibly earning a scholarship.
``He's deciding about transferring and giving us strong consideration,’’ Carroll said. ``He’s trying to get into school as a walk-on.’'
Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain did not contact USC or send a release form to the Trojans when it was thought he would transfer to another school. Mustain re-enrolled at Arkansas last week.
Here's some quotes on what Pete Carroll thinks of Lane Kiffin's new job:
If you have the NFL Network, at 1 p.m. you can watch Lane Kiffin's press conference as the Raiders' new coach.
There's obviously a lot of fans thrilled at the departure of Lane Kiffin, but what will be different following his departure?
New play-caller Steve Sarkisian wanted to take Kiffin to Oakland if he accepted the Raiders job and the two were always in-sync while working together the past two years. The pair spoke frequently before Sarkisian was rehired in 2005, to the dismay of former offensive coordinator Norm Chow. And Sarkisian enjoyed veto power over Kiffin's playcalling along with Pete Carroll the past two seasons.
The offense will now be a Carroll-Sarkisian effort instead of a three-headed monster. But it would be foolish to think massive changes will be enacted next season.
USC assistant head coach Steve Sarkisian will call plays for the Trojans next season with Lane Kiffin going to the Raiders.
Sarkisian will be granted complete control of the offense following the Raiders’ surprising hire of Kiffin, who is only 31-years-old and never coached in the NFL.
``(Sarkisian) is going to assume all of the responsibility,’’ USC coach Pete Carroll said. ``He will be in charge of the offense. He’s going to take over all of it.''
We hear Lane Kiffin disappeared after Sunday's recruiting lunch and was not at USC today, thus the opportunity to go meet the Raiders.
Add another talent to Pete Carroll's arsenal: Foresight.
A year ago, Carroll advised DeWayne Walker to take a job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and turn down the UCLA defensive coordinator's job. If Walker took the Bucs job, USC likely defeats UCLA and goes to the national championship. And he might be out of a job. USC assistant Greg Burns took the Tampa Bay job instead and got fired after one season.
We forgot to mention that Florida promised James Wilson he would start, a promise not offered by USC.
Losing James Wilson does not necessarily mean USC will have less offensive linemen as part of its recruiting class. Although he is a defensive end, Michael Reardon of Orange Lutheran might switch to offense for college football.
Why did offensive lineman James Wilson decommit and go to Florida? We hear Wilson became disenchanted at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl when all the USC recruits were on the West team while he played on the East team with the Florida recruits (the Gators had five commits playing).
Another influential person was Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who also considered USC a year ago. Tebow helped convince Wilson to change his mind and the rest is history.
With heralded recruit O.J. Mayo on his way, ESPN wants USC to headline an eight-team, three-game tournament in Anaheim next season. The Trojans would play the prime-time game each night. The tournament field is not set yet.
The twin towers from Stoneridge Prep -- 6-10 Mamadou Diarra and 7-0 Boubacar Sylla -- attended the USC-Arizona State basketball game. Diarra said in June he would come to USC but still has not officially committed. Sylla also likes USC.
There is one problem, however. Even though they are close friends, they are not expected to attend the same school.
Former USC defensive line coach Jethro Franklin was hired by the Houston Texans, a week after being fired by Tampa Bay.
USC received a scare near the end of tonight's basketball game against Arizona State when Gabe Pruitt sprained his ankle.
Pruitt said he "tweaked'' and did not think it was serious but more will be known Monday.
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Another recruiting weekend for USC, but the traditional Saturday night stop to Papadakis Taverna restaurant in San Pedro no longer is part of the official visit.
Following last year’s controversy right before the 2005 Rose Bowl, when a Texas newspaper wrote about a potential NCAA violation, the athletic dept. decided to no longer schedule recruiting dinners at the restaurant. No violation was reported but USC made the policy change anyways.
``He decided to stay in college and become a college head coach,’’ USC coach Pete Carroll said. ``It’s in his best interest to stay in the college game. Next time around he might think differently, but right now he loves ’SC and wants to stay with it. It wasn’t the right time to (leave).’’
Steve Sarkisian was offered the Raiders job and turned it down despite the club sending two reps down to convince him otherwise today.
So what happened, considering Sarkisian said recently he wanted the job. Sources said the Raiders owner Al Davis was pleased with the offensive personnel and Sarkisian wanted to make wholesale changes.
And we also hear former Raiders coach Norv Turner advised his former assistant not to take the job.
USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian claims he was never offered the Raiders job.
"I was presented with a tremendous opportunity and experience of
interviewing with Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders for their head
coach position. I thank them for their interest in me. While the
job was never offered to me, at this time in my career I've told them
I want to stay at USC. I strongly believe that the Raiders job is a
great opportunity for whomever their next head coach is going to be.
"My goal is to be a head football coach in college and USC is the
best place for me to attain that goal. I'm extremely fortunate to
work at such a great university for a head coach in Pete Carroll who
allows me to strive and achieve at the highest level."
Dwayne Jarrett selects ``representation,'' as they say in sports these days.
USC will play at Arizona State on Thanksgiving. In a twist, the Pac-10 will have every school will play its archrival on Dec. 1, except for Washington-Washington State, which is Nov. 24.
The ASU game will kickoff at 5 p.m. (Los Angeles time) and be on ESPN. The USC-UCLA game kicks off at 1:30 p.m. The USC-Notre Dame game kicks off at 12:30 (PDT).