June 2007 Archives

Linebacker Josh Tatum is transferring from USC. His top choice is Miami.
The reasons for transferring appear murky and we'll address them later.

We hear defensive end-tight end Gerald Washington thinks his injured knee might not heal enough to play this season. Washington redshirted last year with a badly bruised knee.

A year ago, I said the incoming recruiting class had several question marks academically regarding the NCAA Clearinghouse and one recruit did not get accepted. It's still relatively early but I'm prepared to say this class is in much better shape and some players that were question marks in the spring appear as though they will make it academically.
That doesn't mean everything is settled, but it's an illustration that things are better than a year ago.

Reggie Bush and Peyton Manning are filming a promo here today for NBC that will be televised before the NFL's season opener between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis on Sept. 6.

Well, it's my favorite day of the week, when I try to figure out why no one cares about anything but Mitch Mustain and Mark Sanchez. At this rate, I figure I'll be sick of Mustain before the first day of training camp. At least it took almost two years to get sick of Matt Leinart.
Now on to the answers!

The Nordic country and USC produced exactly the same number of first-round picks in the NBA draft. But Finnish guard Petteri Koponen probably played in an arena last season where the soft-serve ice cream worked.
But we digress. Things clearly did not work out as planned for former USC guard Gabe Pruitt. Before the draft, the feeling was Pruitt needed to be picked in the first to justify his decision to leave school early. Only time will tell whether Pruitt made the right decision, but it looks like the off-the-record whispers from some NBA teams about Pruitt being a little soft in workouts contributed to his situation.

We hear defensive lineman Chris Barrett has an agent and is trying to sign with a Canadian Football League team. If not, Barrett will be attending classes at USC although he is ineligible to play for the Trojans.

Tailback Allen Bradford said he is still going through rehab but feels like his nagging hip pointer will be OK for training camp. The injury's prevented Bradford from doing some exercises this summer but he said it's making progress.

Peyton Manning mentioned that his brother, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, was impressed with former USC wide receiver Steve Smith in offseason workouts.
``Eli's said big things about Steve Smith,'' Manning said.

It's easy to talk about recruits everyone already offered a scholarship but last week's camp at USC did feature at least one player who raised his stock immeasurably with his actual camp performance. Drew McAllister, a safety from Monte Vista High School in Danville, Calif., opened USC's eyes enough to probably earn a scholarship offer.
He already caught Cal's attention by winning the fastest man contest at the Bears' camp. Officially, only Cal and Oregon State currently offered him a scholarship but expect the Trojans to be in the mix too now.

Lots of rumors always on draft day. One has the Charlotte Bobcats taking Nick Young with the eighth pick.
Gabe Pruitt is scheduled to be in New York today for the NBA draft. Assistant coach Gib Arnold interviewed for the New Mexico State job but will not get it, sources said. It could go to former USC assistant coach Marvin Menzies.

You expect an NFL veteran like Peyton Manning to look bigger and stronger than his college counterparts.
But what struck some well-known onlookers Tuesday was how skinny Mitch Mustain looked compared to John David Booty. And Aaron Corp looked even thinner.

Linebacker Brian Cushing said his knee and hamstring are 100 percent and he will be able to go full speed in training camp.

We hear freshman defensive tackle DaJohn Harris is already certified by the NCAA Clearinghouse and officially eligible.

Tailback Joe McKnight admitted he got homesick when he went home last week but said is OK now and never reconsidered his college choice.
``I got a little homesick but I was the only freshman out here at the time,'' McKnight said. ``I don't think I'll go back home for a while now. I'm not going to (transfer). I'm happy here.''

It might be a good idea to go back and check past Open Forums, so we won't be asked if Steve Sarkisian will emulate Norm Chow's offense for the fifth straight week. Also, neither Mitch Mustain nor Mark Sanchez transferred this week, though I did get nervous when Sanchez was not watching Peyton Manning's workout.

USC football players don’t normally work out on Tuesdays but after learning Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning needed someone to practice with, a large group of Trojans eagerly showed up at Cromwell Field.
``You dream about stuff like this,’’ said USC quarterback John David Booty, who threw with the Indianapolis Colts quarterback for about 90 minutes.

A rare treat right now as Peyton Manning is throwing to USC tailbacks and wide receivers at an informal workout. Manning and John David Booty are taking turns throwing passes.

A couple weeks ago during a USC football camp, participants ran 40-yard dashes. As it happened, people at the camp phoned UCLA because they thought it was an NCAA violation.
It turned out to be legal because you can run 40s if you teach drills on it too. But nothing happens without a reaction.

Safety D'Anton Lynn of Celina, Texas, visited UCLA and USC last week and informed the schools he narrowed his choices to the Trojans, Bruins and Penn State.

Freshman tailback Joe McKnight returned to USC after going home last week to spend a few days with his family before summer school started.

One of the first classes new USC quarterback Mitch Mustain took was ballet.

ESPNU, another network nobody watches, will stage yet another high-school all-star game on Jan. 5 in Florida. This will no doubt be an attempt to convince recruits to make their college announcement during the game.
Here's who accepted invitations to play so far.

See if you can spot all the Trojans on the Bednarik Award Watch List.

USC quarterback John David Booty is on the Maxwell Award Watch List. Here's the entire list:

Gabe Pruitt worked out for the San Antonio Spurs and is scheduled to work out for the Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz this week.

Maybe you don't like your seats at the Coliseum these days but at least you have one. In this 1947 photo, workers pick up trash after a football game when the stadium featured bleachers.

Freshman tailback Broderick Green is scheduled to fly to Los Angeles this morning in time to attend summer school and workouts.

We hear tailback Allen Bradford's still feeling some discomfort from the hip flexor that caused him to miss the last part of spring practice.

There's been a bit of a backlash from USC fans to basketball coach Tim Floyd offering a scholarship to an eighth-grader and getting a commitment last week. But how many of these same people would complain if Pete Carroll got an eighth-grade quarterback to commit?
Who would be protesting if Jimmy Clausen (already well known while in junior high) committed to USC in eighth grade?

A highly touted recruit that attended the just-concluded USC football camp actually performed much poorer than expected and showed a questionable work ethic. Overall, he didn't quite match the hype.

USC concluded its two-day camp for some of the nation's best players, notably cornerback Patrick Johnson of Pompano Beach, Fla., who lived up to his billing as perhaps the No. 1 corner in the nation. Johnson committed to Miami but said he was also considering USC.
``This is the type of place I want to be,'' Johnson said. ``It's Miami and USC.''

We're more confident that one player will earn the necessary grades this summer to remain eligible after hearing he is enrolled in a jazz dance class.

Lodrick Stewart worked out for his hometown Seattle SuperSonics, which should conclude his workouts before the NBA draft.

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:

With a lot of talented recruits on campus, it's a good chance to figure out just how good some out-of-state players are. One of those is D'Anton Lynn, a safety from Celina, Texas.
We hear linebacker Lynn Fatoa, a once-hot prospect from Utah, is not attending and will most likely attend another school.

Freshman tailback Joe McKnight is expected to go home to Louisiana to spend a few days with his family before summer school starts next week.

Today is the start of the Rising Stars camp at USC (as opposed to the Sinking Stars) and we hear it could be when offensive tackle Tyron Smith of Rancho Verde High officially commits to the Trojans.
Speaking of offensive line recruits, it sounds like offensive tackle Kyle Long,, the son of former Raiders defensive lineman Howie Long, will go to Florida State.

Gabe Pruitt works out for the Houston Rockets tomorrow while Lodrick Stewart works out for the Sacramento Kings.

Here's that Pac-10 TV schedule you've all been waiting for:

Here's Matt Leinart after signing with talent agency CSMG after he fired CAA because he was jealous of the endorsements garnered by former teammate Reggie Bush. CSMG also represents Dwayne Wade and Donovan McNabb.
''Once the Cardinals reach the level of success we're shooting for, I am certain the folks at CSMG will help me be seen as valuable part of the community and great role models like Dwyane and Donovan,'' Leinart said.
I wonder if Dwayne or Donovan charged the public $20 to attend a birthday party, fired their agent and talent agency within a year of turning pro and indirectly embroiled a former teammate/roommate in an NCAA investigation involving their luxury penthouse apartment?

We hearfrom NCAA sources the Reggie Bush investigation hit a dead end recently. That doesn't mean it's over but the NCAA needs to find some fresh sources for things to progress, or someone without legal woes willing to cooperate.

In our Saturday item ``Memo To Pete Carroll,'' we predicted that we knew Carroll well enough to predict he would have figured out a way to avoid getting busted like Raiders coach Lane Kiffin for holding practices that were too physical. Remember, Kiffin got turned into to the players' union by his own players, forcing him to cancel the last week of practices.
``You're right, I would have,'' Carroll said. ``I'd have gone straight to the player or players and talked to them first.''

Like last week, one or two questions per person please. And maybe we can avoid asking if Mark Sanchez or Mitch Mustain will transfer for one week.

USC coach Pete Carroll said tailback Hershel Dennis received a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA today.

New USC tight end Jordan Cameron said he spoke to UCLA and Michigan before deciding to play for USC.
The former BYU basketball player said he will try to play both sports, if possible.

USC's basketball game with Florida might be off, but the Trojans and Tennessee agreed to a home-and-home series beginning in 2008.

Justin Wyatt and John Walker will be playing in the World Bowl for Hamburg on Saturday against Frankfurt. Wyatt (Arizona Cardinals) finished the season fourth on his team in tackles (30) and also added four passes defensed and one sack for the second ranked defense in NFL Europa. Walker (Houston Texans) added 25 tackles and led the team with seven passes defensed.
Punter Tom Malone finished the season for Berlin with a 39.4 avg on 39 punts with a long of 55.

Plans for a basketball game between USC and Florida next season were scrapped because a suitable date could not be found by Fox Sports, which wanted to televise the game, according to USC officials. Another road block occurred when Gators coach Billy Donovan quit and returned, which delayed discussions further.

We hear Raiders coach Lane Kiffin got turned in by his own players for running practices without pads that were designed for when players wore pads and for doing drills like one-on-one pass rushes, which are a no-no this time of year.
We also hear the Raiders offense is getting dominated by the defense in the practices that were allowed.

We hear it's possible all but two of the incoming freshman class could begin summer classes next week. Of course, that also means almost all the freshman can start workouts too.

The Bay Area ignores college sports as well as almost any part of the country, which might explain how the Cal-Stanford game on Dec. 1 will be televised on the dreaded Versus. Can you imagine USC-UCLA or Oregon-Oregon State, etc., putting up with that arrangement?
Since the game is at Stanford, there are only 50,000 seats available to begin with. The alumni better make sure they have satellite TV or a good cable system.