David Buehler kicked well in the scrimmage, especially with inexperienced snappers, because regular snapper Will Collins is out after knee surgery.

Lawrence Miles is finally back after missing last season. He is not in the rotation but that will be determined today when the depth chart is released.

John Morton will be in the pressbox sending information down to Steve Sarkisian, who calls the plays. Offensive coorditnators usually prefer to be in the pressbox, although an exception was Mike Riley when he was USC's offensive coordinator.

Stafon Johnson remains a question mark. Hershel Dennis jumped into the rotation on the basis of his scrimmage performance, but let's wait and see what happens in August when everyone is healthy and Joe McKnight arrives.

The 4-3 defense will be back most of the time with Brian Cushing to linebacker.

The offense will not be conservative in the first five or six games but it might take awhile for the freshmen to contribute. Remember Reggie Bush and LenDale White barely played in USC's 2003 loss to Cal.

Averill Spicer is behind Sedrick Ellis, one of the most valuable players on the team, so that limited Spicer's chances.

Stanley Havili's been the main fullback with Jordan Campbell waiting in the wings to learn the position.

Incoming recruit Ronald Johnson will play wide receiver, not cornerback, when he arrives. That is where Pete Carroll wants him. Of course, Carroll changes his mind quickly.

Luthur Brown remains hindered by injuries, including this spring.

If Pete Carroll left, Jack Del Rio and Jeff Fisher top a potential list of replacements.

Pete Carroll prefers to take the snap under center and so did Norm Chow, for that matter. Usually, it's the players who prefer it. But with John David Booty getting passes tipped, it's been installed to help him see.

It's not unusual to rotate at the safety spot (Darnell Bing and Scott Ware split time for awhile in 2004) and Mays, Ellison and Pinkard will all play. But the smart move would be to put Pinkard at cornerback, where he flourished in 2005.

Taylor Mays continues to improve in spring and is already considered a better NFL prospect by pro assistants than Bing.

Not sure why Rey Maualuga wasn't on the Lott watch list. Perhaps his off-field troubles played a role, because the award emphasizes off-the-field achievements.

Matt Spanos' ankle should not be a problem by summer.

There should be some safety blitzes but will the Trojans blitz enough next season? They didn't last year.

Allen Bradford could switch to fullback in the fall but only if there are injuries.

Vincent Joseph will be a valuable special teams player next year. Alfred Rowe is stuck at a talented position (safety) that adds Marshall Jones next year.

Hershel Dennis will apply for a sixth year after the school year. He is expected to receive it.

The coaches like Sanchez but lately it does seem like things are not as good as they once were, hence the recruitment of Mustain.

Not sure who wears 42 next season. It might be Marshall Jones.

Aaron Corp should redshirt to set up a three-way battle in 2008 with Mark Sanchez and Mitch Mustain.

Sarkisian and Morton seem to communicate OK. They became friends with the Raiders, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem, as long as Morton fully understands the offense and signals. That became an issue a few years back when Carl Smith was the quarterbacks coach.

It's too soon to say who gets dismissed, or more likely, deemed ineligible. I know of at least three players (Spanos the most visible) who are at risk.

Donovan Warren went to Michigan because he wanted to go to a BCS school and got turned off USC in part because he liked UCLA but didn't think it was big enough for him. UCLA's recruitment played a significant role in his impression of USC.

Kenny Rowe preferred to play in a defensive scheme like Oregon and USC didn't seem to mind. USC's still actively recruiting at Poly (see defensive tackle Jurrell Casey) but sometimes the hype doesn't match the performance, so it's not that big a deal.

I wouldn't say USC is losing its grip with other local schools, but it's clear the Trojans waited a little long to offer some city kids that UCLA took last month, specifically safety Aaron Hester of Dominguez. That doesn't matter if the Trojans continue to recruit well out of state, as New Jersey linebacker Brendan Beal's visit Thursday illustrates.

Rey Maualuga could go pro if he has a stellar year, but he has a long way to go to reach that point.

The offense has been aggressive in the spring throwing predominantly to wide receivers but that's brought interceptions (part of the risk). Remember under Norm Chow, throwing to the fullback and tight end was integral, and many people would not consider that aggressive football.

David Buehler's uncle is George Buehler, a legendary offensive lineman for the Raiders and Whittier High graduate (Whittier!).

Michael Coleman is trying to get healthy and escape the doghouse. That's enough for any of us to deal with.

The DE's next will be Lawrence Jackson and Kyle Moore (initially) but Pete Carroll will want Everson Griffen in there fast.