Mini-Forum Answers

Mitch Mustain the Paris Hilton of USC football? No, I'd say Matt Leinart was the Paris Hilton of USC football. Mitch Mustain's Arkansas roots will hopefully prevent him from ``Going Hollywood'' like Leinart.
But I do admit I'm mystified by this Mustain obsession. But I just work here.

The depth of the tight ends is good. But will they get used? We'll see. Fred Davis is a proven commodity. The guy who looks like a million bucks is Anthony McCoy. In his uniform, he really turns heads. But he's been hurt a lot and never seems to get into the game. I mentioned this frequently to Pete Carroll last season, so it's not a recent issue.

The Matt Leinart-Reggie Bush (Scott Wolf) photo is available at Staples Center's Team LA shop and Ebay. I might also post it for those who want a computer copy.

I believe the hype for Mitch Mustain is the result of hoping for another Heisman Trophy-caliber QB who can deliver a national title. Mustain is tall, played a season for Arkansas and seems to have a lot going for him (if he plays).

I think Mark Sanchez is kinder to animals since Mitch Mustain probably enjoys raccoon hunting.

I agree there is a fascination with backup QBs. Don't forget some people wanted Jason Thomas to be the starter before he spent one day in training camp. And he wanted to transfer after the first day, by the way.

I did not know Liverpool owner Tom Hicks attended USC. Since he's building a new 75,000-plus stadium for Liverpool, maybe he can kick in some cash to renovate the Coliseum.

Fez is too short to ever play Mark Sanchez. I think Matt Leinart should play Mustain. He wants to act, knows the part and only needs some voice coaching. Plus, it would give him a chance to meet all the girls at USC who showed up since he left.

I'm not sure why Les Miles decided to make his comments about USC and the Pac-10. There's two things I think are true. One, the Pac-10 teams play superior nonconference schedules and should get respect for it. The second issue is that SEC teams play the toughest league schedules in the country. You don't waltz into Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Auburn, LSU or even South Carolina. Yes, you can go in to one of those places and win, but doing it on an every other week basis is daunting.
The third issue is that Les Miles might want to win a bit more at LSU before speaking.

As I said Friday, Emmanuel Moody is the X factor. I seem to run into Desmond Reed every time I go to USC and he is ready to contribute more this season.

I'm sure USC knew when it took Damian Williams that Mitch Mustain might follow him. But the Trojans would have taken either one on their own merits, so they weren't brought to play together. Remember, it's all about competition, so Pete Carroll will play both or one or neither, depending how everyone else is performing.

O.J. Mayo might make a preseason All-American team but I think that's really a bit premature. The guy needs to just play although the hype is going to be difficult to control.
Tim Floyd says USC will be his last job and I've learned he is honest when he answers questions about himself.

We have other writers to cover the Galaxy (I would never cover a team that wears Herbalife on its kit). But I'm as curious as anyone else to see how Beckham is received and what contribution he makes. He seems to get hurt a lot whenever he plays regularly and . . . oh who really cares, we're talking about the Galaxy and MLS here.

I fully expect to see David Beckham at a USC game or practice. Someone needs to provide company for Snoop Dogg.

If Alexi Lalas wined and dined David Beckham at Papadakis Taverna, there would be a picture on the wall and about 1,000 references on the radio. Not that I'm accusing anyone of self-promotion or anything.

There seems to be a genuine resistance to giving high school kickers a scholarship these days. Pete Carroll's never done it outside of Troy Van Blarcom, and boy did that turn out well. However, I do think it's important to find a good kicker or punter early.
USC's been fortunate with Greg Woidneck's development and I'm sure he'll get a scholarship in August or sooner. The Trojans evaluate a lot of kickers but never seem to find one they want to give a scholarship too.
And come to think of it, two are supposed to enroll this fall without a scholarship, so why give one? If USC loses a game on a missed field goal, we'll all know the prudence of giving a scholarship of course.

Pete Carroll's wife attends practices and games regularly and is very supportive of USC football.

Asked whether USC had an ``interesting decision'' to make on Daniel Campbell, since he committed to USC on Saturday, I guess the ``interesting decision'' was made following his camp performance.

Chauncey Washington does not currently have any eligibilty issues.

A ``preferred'' walk-on is someone who is invited to join the team but not given a scholarship. In other words, they don't have to try out for the team. I have to admit listing that in a media guide strikes me as pompous.

The portable toilets at the Coliseum will continue because the lines outside the stadium for restrooms are always long even before the game.
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Petros is neutral on Pac-10 games even though he is a USC fan/PA announcer. His bosses don't want a homer on the Pac-10 game of the week. Maybe Versus has a different policy.

The O-line has potential but let's not forget Ryan Kalil was a three-year starter at center. And Drew Radovich's transition from guard to tackle will be critical, even though he did play tackle previously.

The football media guide is at the printers and will be out in the next couple weeks. It's already online I think, but what do I know, I never use that thing.

I can't say how fast Joe McKnight really is until I see him in full pads practicing. Players often look fast in shorts and then it doesn't translate to pads. Maybe the best at keeping his pure speed in pads was R. Jay Soward, who lost nothing.

I love being on the USC rumor beat. I used to cover the Clippers after all. None of their rumors were any good. One way to describe it is that the worst USC football player is still better than dealing with Kobe Bryant (or any other Laker). And don't get me started on baseball players.
Pete Carroll's attitude makes it fun to cover USC, even if the team went 0-11. Actually, it might be more fun to cover a winless team. Imagine the calls for Mitch Mustain then!

I'll see if I can find a copy of the Todd Marinovich photo.


I think Moody, Chauncey Washington or C.J. Gable could start and Joe McKnight needs a lot of early playing time. And Marc Tyler needs a lot of reps to decide if he can play or should redshirt. Ultimately, USC's success could ride on how much McKnight plays this season. If he's good, that means a lot of playing time. If he's not as good as the hype, then maybe less.
Stafon Johnson should get a look, though I am not optimistic.

I believe USC is looking at the marquee conferences for at least one opponent and probably one cupcake in 2011.

Sarkisian is probably the one head-coaching candidate although he will be very picky especially after turning down the Raiders. He would want a big college program (Oregon, Arizona State, etc.) Oregon might even be a possibility if Mike Bellotti ever left since Phil Knight once called Sarkisian and asked him to be Oregon's offensive coordinator.

Regarding Sam Gilbert, I would say anyone who coached, played or covered college basketball in the 1960's-70's or knows coaches or players from that era could tell you how major a role he played in UCLA's success. The stories are endless and would make a great book if I covered UCLA. Somehow, it rarely gets talked about in public when discussing all those national championships.

Sometimes, there is dirty play in pileups. Even in practices. One of my favorites was in 1984, when linebacker Rex Moore grabbed a handful of mud and threw it in the face of Notre Dame tailback Allen Pinkett.

Pete Carroll will make the College Football Hall of Fame. Some of the stats are pretty unheard, especially when you look at the number of games USC scored 30 or more points since Carroll arrived and the fact he's never lost a game by more than 11 points and lost by double figures just once.

USC recruited Louis Holmes very hard. He just liked Arizona better.

Broderick Green should be a spot player, used in short-yardage situations.

The football team's motto this season is ``We all wish we were Mitch Mustain.''

Every player who comes to USC gets overanalyzed before they show up. It's the nature of the beast. And the Internet.


Tom Malone is trying to get an NFL job. It depends how well he kicks in tryouts.

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