Weekend Forum, The Sequel

You said USC might have to forfeit games for the Bush incident. What is the basis for that guess? While I agree that NCAA is unpredictable, they have set a precedent of no punishment (forfeit/vacate games, etc) in a similar case with Michigan & Woodson. Here is what NCAA Executive Director David Price said: "Charles Woodson of University of Michigan received benefits from an agent. That all became known publicly sometime after he had left the institution. We had no information that there was any institutional knowledge; therefore, we did not take any action against the institution or even bring charges."

Scott, if you see this video, you will see that Mitch Mustain used the shotgun Arkansas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTC6KKnn654

So does this mean that it will need to be used at USC as well? Was is just a one-off for that game?

It seems quite obvious that Pete is longing for one last crack in the NFL. These January vacations seem have become an annual event that could be interpreted by many recruits as a black cloud as to when he will leave.

Do you think that this has had an adverse effect on recruiting this year?

Since you never mentioned any kind of academic casualties for this past semester, including academic probation, does that mean that every single player on the football team is now in good academic standing?

HI SCOTT
You said Art Bartner became the band director in 1969--but the radio tape of the 1964 Notre Dame-USC game clearly has Tom Kelly saying, after it is over,"Art Bartner and the Trojan band", so was he at USC in 1964 in some capacity other than as band director? It would seem as tho he must have been.

I see there are a number of ucla recruits listed as "soft verbals", including Rahim Moore.

Do you see any these soft verbals ending up at SC?

I see there are a number of ucla recruits listed as "soft verbals", including Rahim Moore.

Do you see any these soft verbals ending up at SC?

What kind of job has John Morton done? Our WR's were really poor early in the season, especially considering their credentials. They seemed to improve a little bit as the season want on but I thought as a group they were still below par. Your thoughts on Morton's job as receivers coach? Thanks.

I see many of the UCLA recruits are listed as "soft verbal", including Rahim Moore.

Do you see any of these soft verbals commiting to USC?

WOLFMAN: Would you say the 2007 Trojan team had more dissension on it than usual? Thanks.

Butch takes Bakers place. ODowd comes in for Spanos. Charles Brown will probably be in there instead of Radovich. With Chilo leaving early, who do you think will take his place next season? Herring? Heberer? A freshman?

When Carroll leaves, he will eventually , who would YOU like to see hired? Del Rio, Fisher or Riley. Or maybe someone else.

Scott,
You don't seem to be too impressed with the "wow" factor of this years recruits. Are there any out there, that have that "wow" factor that USC lost out on?

Scott:

In the December scrimmage, were the plays that Mitch Mustain was involved in from the actual USC 2007 playbook or were they different plays that were scripted/improvised on the day of the scrimmage by the coaches?

Thanks for the forum!

Scott, what are the skill requirements for the nose tackle position as compared to the defensive tackle position?

Do you know where I can find yards-after-catch (YAC) statistics for the USC QBs?

Scott, what are the skill requirements for the nose tackle position as compared to the defensive tackle position?

Scott, what are the skill requirements for the nose tackle position as compared to the defensive tackle position?

Will you be publishing a story that tells your readers that Pete Carroll is officially out of the running for the Atlanta Falcons' coaching job? This seems just as newsworthy, if not more, than the rumors you were writing about Carroll for the past week or so.

January 13
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"The Falcons have agreed to hire Tom Dimitroff, New England's director of college scouting, as their new general manager. Once he signs his contract, which is expected at any point, it will end the first phase of establishing a new franchise hierarchy... One coaching candidate who is off the list is USC's Pete Carroll."

Any update on the rumor that Lane Kiffin is leaving the Raiders?

The DN’s Inside UCLA blog is capably staffed by the hard-working Brian Dohn and the lovely and equally hard-working Jill Painter, while we’re stuck with just you. Result: Duh! UCLA gets much better football and hoops coverage than USC. Why was Matt Kredell exiled to the Gulag that is the LA Kings?

Any update on the rumor that Lane Kiffin is leaving the Raiders?

Do the conference presidents really believe that Tom Hansen and the other 'good ol boys' in the Pac-10 referee oversite properly represents the Pac-10 in terms of the BCS, tv broadcasts, and making the Pac-10 the best conference in the country? The conference has strong arguments in nearly every BCS selection that they have been disrespected, and the same old refs circle the drain, never leaving no matter how bad they are, or how many articles are written about the specific refs, especially libbey.

Who do you predict will be the 11 starters on offense and defense against Virginia next season? It's only seven months away! As always, thanks for the forum.

At the time, I felt strongly that Keary Colbert was the better receiver than Mike Williams, and then again that Steve Smith was much better than Jarrett. And, while Colbert and Smith both had fantastic careers at SC, they seemed to be overshadowed in both the play calling and media hype favoring their taller colleague. Watching Smith have a huge game today against the Cowboys while Jarrett barely saw the field this season, and seeing Colbert solidly in the Panthers' rotation while Williams has not made an NFL impact, why do you think that the coaches seemed to favor Jarrett and Williams over their shorter, more talented peer? Was it simply that their height advantage was a much easier tool to use to exploit a college Def compared to the speed, route running, great hands skills? And, size is much less of an advantage in the NFL vs. the WR technical skill set?

Have querried (and waited weeks) for your assessment of Alan Bradford.
Could you please discuss the status/problems/issues that seem to keep this tremendous athletic specimem benched.
He came here as a dominating player on both sides of the ball. Is he just an immature aimless knucklehead? or are there some real problems that he cannot overcome? I've been totally baffled why he rarely sees the field regardless of his productivity when he does get to play.
Thanks

Scott, Jill Painter helps Brian with the UCLA blog, is it true Emily Nerland will start contributing to the USC blog?

Why do you think so many football players at USC who went to Long Beach Poly end up in some kind of major trouble? There are a disproportionate number of Long Beach Poly players that have been arrested, suspended, expelled, gotten in off the field trouble, etc., since coming to USC. Is it really that much of a coincidence and surprise that both players who were expelled by the university after this past semester just so happened to have been products of Long Beach Poly?

There is clearly a trend with that high school, so why do the coaches keep recruiting from there when those players rarely end up contributing in a productive manner at USC without getting in some kind of embarrassing off the field trouble?

Where would you rank Mike Garrett among past USC ADs and among current in the Pac-10? And Why?

SCOTT, Re the remaining recruits we are likely to take,
are they likely to be "impact players"? Thanx, and thanx for having the open forums too.

If Holt leaves for Oakland, who steps in a DC? Does Carroll decide to go back and assume the role and hire someone to fill another position, or does he hire another DC? Coach O maybe?

Any word yet as to the date of the spring scrimmage? Do we even know if it will be held at the Coliseum considering the current circumstances?