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Patrick Johnson reminds me of Winston Justice during the recruiting process. A lot of teasing and interest in schools at different times. So who knows what he'll really do.

D.J. Shoemate is projected as a wide receiver or perhaps a slotback to utilize his receiving skills. The question is how much impact Shoemate will have and I'm not convinced right now that it will be immediate. I've heard mixed answers on this from college coaches and have seen Shoemate have dominating games and quiet performances. But it's clear USC needs some type of impact player, unless Joe McKnight makes a huge leap next season.

Right now, I can see a couple scenarios with the Rose Bowl. One is that USC simply dominates Illinois in typical fashion when playing a Big Ten team, especially one that didn't even win the conference title. The other is that a mobile quarterback gives the Trojans problems and the offense isn't really capable of blowing out good teams, so the game would be close. I'll decide on which makes more sense in the next couple weeks.