Scott Wolf inside USC

There's nothing to make a Sunday night quite like a 52-comment mini-forum.
Especially when the first questions asks if I am ready for the new season. Did the last one actually end? I can't tell with recruiting, spring practice, summer workouts, passing drills, arrests, transfers, high school camps, someone getting kicked off the team, etc. Oh, and practice starts around August 6.
OK, on to the rest of the answers.

Lindys magazine has ASU rated No. 3 out of respect for Dennis Erickson and because the Sun Devils play eight home games. I think that's a bit high, however.I'll unveil my Pac-10 predictions later this week.

Mitch Mustain seems quiet and does not appear to be a player who will get into trouble. So I wouldn't predict anything. But over the years at USC, you never know who will get into trouble.

Michael Coleman has not transferred to a Division I school yet and Josh Tatum still appears to be talking to Miami.

I'm sure Chris Carlisle would be happy to share his workout regimen for anyone interested. Players workout around 7 a.m., so if you go to Howard Jones Field, let me know how it goes.

RouSean Cromwell's health seems fine in scrimmages and he will probably be a role player again this season. To expect anything more is unreasonable.

I have not watched extensive film of Mitch Mustain from last season, because I'm too busy answering all your questions abouth him.

Considering the Pac-10 supervisor of officials, Dave Cutaia, is also an arena football ref, no, I do no think Dave Baker would make a better commissioner of the Pac-10. He would be a ``bigger'' commissioner than Tom Hansen.

Quarterbacks do not appear as muscular because they require flexibility for the greatest range of motion. For instance, Matt Leinart needed to squeeze through all those VIP entrances at Hollywood clubs his senior season.

I've itnerviewed Mark Sanchez countless times the past two seasons and I'll probably post an interview on this blog during training camp.

The new schedule poster's been out since the spring.

There is no chance Will Ferrell will play Mitch Mustain in the film version of ``Mitch and Me'' although he might considered for the untitled role of ``actor who needs a new image besides being a USC suckup.''

We really need to update the videos. I suggested three new videos of nothing but Mitch Mustain, where he does nothing but answer the first 250 questions on this blog about him. Or maybe recites the team roster.

The coaches don't seem too worried about the 2008 offensive line yet. Then again, they don't seem too worried about the 2007 tailback, 2008 quarterback or 2008 defensive tackles either. But they do speak highly about Butch Lewis, Zach Heberer, etc.
Of the current class of recruits, I'd say Tyron Smith looks like he has the most upside right now.

It's hard to say the special teams coach is on the hot seat, because USC does not exactly have one person in charge of the unit. So blame Pete Carroll for that. I find that usually ends all debates. The coordinators will both under scrutiny this season. Steve Sarkisian because it's his first season calling plays and Nick Holt because he returns so much talent, people will expect near perfect defensive perfomances.

Mitch Mustain will not be allowed to leave USC after one season. It's in his contract.

The freshmen seem to be fine, hanging out quite a bit. I ran into a large group having dinner the other night and since they are all in summer school, they spend a lot of time together.

One of the biggest recruits who away was tailback Ricky Williams. Another might have been DeShaun Foster. More recently, tight end Marcedes Lewis was highly coveted but did not want to join his Poly buddies. DeSean Jackson is another, although at the time Patrick Turner was so highly rated, it did not seem as disastrous, other than the fact he'd told USC he was coming but changed his mind.

All things being equal, the quarterback with more experience in the program gets the edge in a two-way battle. But I think the decision might be delayed as long as possible to try and find that difference between the two, even though Pete Carroll prefers to designate a starter in spring.

I believe Carson Palmer could one day be in the Hall of Fame. I believe Matt Leinart will get a star on the Walk of Fame.

I once considered ranking a team on how good it really is instead of its easy schedule and was rewarded with USC's loss to UCLA.

I have a longstanding rule of only listing my top three recruiting locks. If I do the next five, then I'll be asked to do the next five and we won't have any fun in February waiting to see who actually signs a letter of intent.

Pete Arbogast was hired by USC to work on its new video projects. Essentially, many USC games in all sports will be on the Internet this year, all for a nominal fee, of course. They say it's a great idea if you're in Europe or Japan and want to watch the football game. Personally, if I were overseas, I can't think of anything I'd want more than hearing Arbogast and Paul McDonald's voices.

Felix Chevrolet has been declared a cultural landmark, so all housing projects are on hold. I can hear the teeth gritting now from some of the stodgy members of the athletic dept.

I could easily see Joe McKnight and Ronald Johnson on the field together. I envision McKnight being thrown all over the field in different spots, a la Reggie Bush and probably a lot sooner than Bush his freshman year now that Bush proved how successful transition can be made from high school. And USC doesn't have any proven receivers, like it did when Bush arrived.

It's too early to say what John David Booty's draft status will be, but his size is probably what ``experts'' are using to base their projections on now. Not that I would ever listen to Mel Kiper, etc.

Tom Malone did exactly hold a press conference to announce his NFL decision. It was actually Matt Leinart who held one and USC tried to get other players who made similar decisions to show up too. If there was a foolish aspect, it was that Malone did not turn pro, when his stock was so high. Oh wait, that's Leinart. No, Malone. Anyways, Malone pretty much did what he was told and showed up for the press conference. I believe Lofa Tatupu was there too, but I can't remember. I've tried to block the day Leinart said he would be around even longer from my memory.

Travon Patterson could return punts but only if the coaches have more confidence in him. They prefer a safe approach, with a Greig Carlson/Desmond Reed. McKnight is an intriguing option because he seems to have great hands and probably wouldn't mind doing it. Some players don't like returning punts. Darnell Bing didn't and Sultan McCullough wasn't keen on it either.

The jury is out on Carson tight end Morrell Presley because he's not even a junior yet and USC offered him a scholarship based on a day or two of camp. That's not to say he won't be a great pickup, but we don't gush around here on anyone. That's for the recruiting services/Internet geek sites.

If any WR fits the mold of Steve Smith or Keary Colbert, it might be Patrick Turner. But then that means there's someone else on the team ready to be go-to receiver. It might be Ronald Johnson, but only camp will tell.

What, no more questions?

Comments

Perhaps we could do a list of Palmer/Leinart comparisons...

Palmer: Hall of Fame
Leinart: Walk of Fame

Palmer: Bengals
Leinart: Ten gals

Palmer: Cornhole
Leinart: ok, you know where this is going...

Feel free to add on, even if you like Matt too.

Posted by: BoscoH | July 23, 2007 07:58 AM

Great work as always, Scott.

Mustain in 2008!

Posted by: TrojanSAEinNYC | July 23, 2007 08:40 AM

Scott:

Well done on yet another wonderful forum full of very informative answers. You are always a credit to USC and the journalism community.

Posted by: Turnstiles | July 23, 2007 08:56 AM

Matt Leinart - 37 - 2 as a starter. Heisman Trophy winner. 2-time National Champion. Future College Football Hall of Famer. Future NFL star. Wolfie, too bad you have to hate (desparately love) the guy that helped make your career relevant.

Posted by: TROJANFAN | July 23, 2007 08:57 AM

Hi Scott,

Thanks for giving me the info on the O-line. I know they have other things to worry about right now besides the exact lineup of the O-line in 2008 and 2009. I was just wondering as we will be taking heavy losses. I mean, we could be looking at replacing the ENTIRE offensive line next year, if Byers stays healthy and goes pro, too. I am glad they are high on Lewis and Heberer, looks like we will need them. I think a good line would be (from L to R): Herring, Lewis, Howell, Brown and Byers.

That brings me to my second point. I have to disagree with you about Matt Leinart. True, his stock was real high after his junior year and he probably hurt himself by staying.

BUT

He had alot of experiences he wouldn't of had like the entire 2005 season and playing in one of the greatest football games ever vs. Texas.

He got more experience for the NFL and showed good charector by staying.

He also helped USC alot..remember so many USC players leave school early for the NFL or other reasons that our graduation rate is really poor. It makes us look like the "football factory" so many people accuse us of being. USC is a good school but we never do real well on those lists of Universities with big time football programs and academics because of this. And USC can be penalized by the NCAA if they don't meet the requirements for sports and grades/graduating athletes.

What happened to other people who left early? Mike Williams? Dwayne Jarrett? Heard anything from Winston Justice lately?

Posted by: USC1966 | July 23, 2007 09:18 AM

Regarding leaving college early to become eligible for the draft:
First of all, I think every player in football and basketball should be made to stay at least 3 years. I would also strongly suggest that a four year stay would greatly benefit each and every player that did so.
Should Leinart have gone left after his Jr. year? NO. He was the poster boy for staying your full time. He was a late bloomer and can never discount the experiences he gained by staying.
Lofa Tatupu: Based on his success in the NFL, it's tough to say he did anything wrong. But, he stays and we have another National Championship.
Williams, Jarrett, Bing, Justice, etc. 100% of them should have stayed. I guess they'll figure that out when they flunk out of the CFL or AFL, huh?

Posted by: Keith15 | July 23, 2007 10:00 AM

I really don't get Scott's constant comparisons of Matt and Carson. They were 2 USC QBs caught in completely opposite situations. Of course they turned out to be different people.

Carson was always a mega-talent and should have been an all timer at USC but he got screwed by having to be the poster boy for the worst era in USC history. (Petros would like to have you think that he's the one people associate with that title but no one does. Carson is that guy).

He struggled through injuries, horrible seasons and an apathetic USC fanbase to emerge victorious on the other side(I was a student at USC in the 90's when the Coliseum barely saw 40K fans most Saturdays). In the end Carson became the guy who restored USC to it's previous glory highlighted by his "from completely off the radar" Heisman trophy and Orange Bowl season. The guy saw the darkest of times and as a result came out a grounded very humble product because of it. No one knows how Carson would have responded had he been a hit from year one. It wasn't meant to be.

Matt on the other hand inherited a team that was on the rise. USC was starting to regain some of it's lustre and all the USC fans asked of Matt was that he not screw it up. Not only did he not screw it up but he went on to lead USC to it's first NC in 20+ years in his first season as QB. Then the following season he repeated the feat, won a Heisman trophy and became the most visible college football player in the country. The pretty boy, golden armed (accuracy not strength) QB, with the coke bottle glasses (I must admit that I hated that cross-eyed story).

With that recognition came opportunities and attention no other QB in the history of college football had to deal with. (I dare you to name one other player that had to deal with the media adoration Matt did in his 3 seasons at USC).

How can you really blame Matt for "going Hollywood"? What other college player even came close to having that opportunity? Most NFL players don't even have the media following Matt did in that last season. Was Matt as grounded as Carson? No. But could you really blame the guy? A 20 year old with the power of the LA media in the palm of his hands. I'm surprised the guy didn't completely lose it altogether.

I've met Matt a couple times and to tell you the truth he's still the nicest guy. (He certainly came across as nicer than Reggie or Dwayne.) He just happens to be a nice guy with celebrity friends. The perks of being the best college QB of all time in the media capital of the world.

He's no Carson, but Carson didn't have to face what Matt did either.

Posted by: Tyler | July 23, 2007 11:36 AM

Tyler, THAT was one beautifully written piece. Thanks for sharing it with us. Fight On!!

Goliathtrojan

Posted by: goliathtrojan | July 23, 2007 12:22 PM

Matt Leinart-Super Daddy!

From Sunday's Ventura Star. Article on former Newbury Park (and usc) basketball player Brynn Cameron.

"...It's kind of hard for me as the mom-I'm with Cole probably 99.9 percent of the time-to open a magazine or read a newspaper article with Matt saying, 'Oh, I love being a dad. I love changing diapers.' I'm like, 'Wait, what?'" said Cameron, who added, "I don't know how to word how he is about this, but it's been hard when I'm doing all the work, but he gets all the credit for it...."

Also, she says Leinart; "comes and goes whenever he wants."

Posted by: ReelBruin | July 23, 2007 06:59 PM

Hi Scott: Thanx for having the mini-forum again--must be a lot of extra work for you. You said you read the comments after any forum--so I am wondering what time you read them--I usually post mine the next day, tho I am posting a little earlier this time-I would hate to have you miss them ha ha.

Since every Chinese lady in Peking knows that Holmes, Ayles, and Casey are near locks for us, I was hoping you could go a little deeper on our recruits, but I can see your point--if you name 5, then someone will ask for the next 5, ad infinitum-but if any of the three listed above committ early, then hopefully, you, as the confidant of coaches and recruiters, might share another one or two with us, ha ha--then again, I'll probably be dead by next Feb., and I'd like to die happy knowing that we have some good players as locks, heh heh.

Guess no one here ever heard of Frank Bull, but that's not surprising since I'm pushing 100 and will soon be pushing up daisies, as I've said before.

Seriously, great job again, Scott--hope you can keep up the forums--it gives us an active means of participating on the blog,more than just making comments to your posts.

Posted by: TIREBITER1 | July 23, 2007 11:29 PM

Good work. Keep it up!

Posted by: 28th Street | July 24, 2007 12:39 AM

Hey Scott, could you tell us where we can find out more about the video that usc will have for the games? Will it include the entire game on the web? Thanks!!

Posted by: san5543 | July 24, 2007 10:59 PM

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