Weekend Forum Answers

Mitch Mustain told me he considered Tulsa but it was too small. Let's say he decided to go to USC in December, then his high school coach (and Arkansas assistant) Gus Malzahn, got hired in mid-January at Tulsa, so maybe Mustain felt he should take a visit just to make sure he wasn't missing anything.
USC was always his destination but Tulsa probably got a courtesy visit.

Damian Williams is able to run and do some conditioning but it's unlikely he'll do much contact stuff until later in the season, especially following two shoulder operations.

John Morton's hiring is not expected to alter the offensive scheme but it should allow for easy flow of communication between him and Steve Sarkisian, since they were close with the Raiders.

I didn't post the height and weight of Mitch Mustain to show he was overweight or underweight. I did it to provide more information to the readers because he is such a popular figure.

Pete Carroll does not run to his car from Heritage Hall unless he sees me nearby. Or else he just pretends to be on his cell phone.

Jamere Holland is still recovering from his hamstring injury. He should be ready for training camp. John David Booty should be fine with his receivers, especially since they throw 2-3 times per week in the summer.

The statue of Tommy Trojan is scheduled to be replaced by a statue of Pete Carroll, not Mitch Mustain. Everyone knows the Mustain statue will be placed in the atrium of the new football complex.

I'm not an expert on ticket questions, I usually just assume you will get gouged as much as possible during this ``Golden Era'' of football. I wouldn't be surprised if personal seat licenses are implemented at some point but that would be a double tariff for all of those who already donate to support groups.
Geez, what a great idea. It should happen any day now.

The commitment of Lil Romeo brings several benefits. He is a very good friend of Demar Derozan, so maybe it cements that commitment. He will also be a charming recruiter for the program and will bring publicity to USC basketball from sources that usually don't care about USC basketball. And if you're going to have a rapper hanging around, better to have an 18-year-old than Snoop Dogg.
Bottom line, it doesn't really have any downside.

I believe Greg Monroe will probably choose LSU or Duke but USC does have a chance and Coach Tim Floyd was in Augusta, Ga. over the weekend watching Monroe play.

The game plan for UCLA should be quite different or less predictable this year. Stafon Johnson's shoulders are fine. USC players enjoy being ranked No. 1 and for public consumption, don't care. If Sarkisian leaves, the new offensive coordinator will call the plays. And remember the two question rule.

Three players on USC's wish list: Arthur Brown, Patrick Johnson, Deion Walker.

I don't anticipate USC switching to a 3-4 because if things got really bad on the interior, Brian Cushing would probably move back to last year's position since Pete Carroll prefers the 4-3.

Mustain seems focused right now. He will probably be forced to deal with media questions than he prefers, because USC is more open about media access than Arkansas (except for Matt Leinart). But I'm sure he can handle it (if he is the starter).

What does Dale Thompson think? He thinks you ask too many questions about Mitch Mustain.

The Mustain installments are the length they are because I didn't have time to post one file with the whole interview.

There are people in the athletic dept. who worry every day about APR issues. It's been improving recently but whenever players leave like Michael Coleman and Josh Tatum, it does affect the APR.

Pete Carroll does say every job is open. However, I'm not sure how that translates to Hershel Dennis deserving to be the No. 1 tailback until the job is taken from him. Dennis had a good spring. Many players, like Emmanuel Moody, barely practiced while Joe McKnight was still in high school. So I think maybe opening the job in training camp is the smart move.
By the way, every job is not open to competition. Like quarterback, or left tackle or nose guard.

Of the current coaches, Pat Ruel is the most entertaining and upfront. Remember the infamous day he kicked agents out of the lobby of Heritage Hall. He's a real pro and is secure enough in his ability as a coach to avoid being a con artist (a common problem among coaches). Speaking of con artists, Pete Carroll gives me the best insight. God, I love my job.

I wouldn't say any collapses were due to the condition of the team. I would attribute it more to players who were in their first year playing in crunch time and turnovers.

The fact the L.A. Times and this blog each interviewed Mustain last week was a complete coincidence, believe it or not. It was probably an attempt by the Times to make up for the fact it has a UCLA blog and no USC blog. And I was the one asking questions about ballet classes.

If USC does have blowouts, I anticipate Mark Sanchez getting many opportunities, just like Booty two years ago.

USC occasionally tries to control what its athletes say and usually preps athletes on how to deal with the media. They rarely prevent interviews. I can remember an instance where an ESPN reporter was banned for leaking a play before a game but that's unusual. In general, USC cooperates more than other colleges and maybe that's one reason it gets so much exposure.

I wasn't aware I had a beef with Pete Arbogast but I'm open to suggestions. He will be working on the new USC website that will charge all of you to watch videos of games this season in nearly every sport. So pay up. I think you have me confused with my Daily News colleague, Tom Hoffarth.

Speaking of Hoffarth, he wrote a book on Tom Kelly. A reader asked about Kelly getting the shaft from USC. Hopefully, the book will go into details on this subject. If it does, I might even buy it. Personally, I'd have rather read a book on Mike ``Super Dave'' Walden with a chapter on Jim Hefner's days as analyst for ON Tv.