Which freshmen have been the biggest surprises on offense and defense?
This question excludes players like Joe McKnight or Everson Griffen, who everyone knows about.
Without question, the two top candidates are tight end Rhett Ellison and linebacker Malcolm Smith. Ellison caught four passes during the team period of the first practice and continues to make plays that impress the coaches.
Smith was sort of an unknown because USC never saw him play the weakside linebacker position but every day Pete Carroll seems to rave about him.