Here’s the third installment of our seemingly never-ending series.
Q. While watching the pre-game shows and the Super Bowl, I couldn’t help but notice how many SC players were playing or involved during the Super Bowl and the shows surrounding it. Besides Marcus Allen and the guys we typically see roaming the sidelines on a frequent basis, do any active Trojans that currently play/or coach in the NFL come around at all to visit with SC’s current team and players? I remember meeting Willie McGinest while he was with the Patriots and I couldn’t help but just soak up the stuff he was talking to us about. You couldn’t help it since he was wearing one of his Super Bowl rings.
A: Former players are welcome and frequently visit. Even a lot of players I covered in the past 10 years show up. A lot of times players stop by when their pro team has a bye.
Q: After Havilli, who do we have at FB? Is Pete planning on converting some of the bigger bodied tailbacks? Seems to be a shallow position that didn’t get any deeper on signing day.
A: Adam Goodman and Jordan Campbell are also fullbacks. And it’s always possible Broderick Green could be used as a situational fullback. USC actually looked for a fullback for this recruiting class but was unable to find one.
Q: Is Travis Draper still on the team?
A: No.
Q: Can you explain why some schools (Miami 33 commits) have 30 plus commits ? and does this not just inflate the math when it comes to class ranking??
A: The limit is 25, however if you bring recruits in for the spring, they do not count against the 25-man limit. Like I’ve said, Matt Meyer does not count against USC’s 25-man limit for next season because he is already enrolled. As it turned out, USC did not sign 25 recruits anyways, so it wasn’t beneficial from a recruiting standpoint.
What I don’t like about recruiting rankings is these point systems that are used. They automatically reward bigger classes over smaller but perhaps better quality classes. As recruiting expert Bobby Burton says of rankings, “It’s a beauty contest.”