Open Forum

Has Taylor Mays had the same off-season weight issues/concerns that were publicized last year?

In regards to your statement regarding Mark Sanchez's arrest for sexual assault, you wrote, "if he weren't a football player, student conduct might not even be aware of the arrest." Are you even being serious about that comment? Considering the arrest took place at Cardinal Gardens, which is university-owned property, and included a dozen LAPD police cars, several DPS units and, even the LAPD helicopter surrounding the building, do you honestly think that student conduct or anyone else at the university would not have been aware of the arrest had Sanchez not been a football player? What about the fact that the alleged sexual assault took place on university property? So do you really think that if a regular student, rather than a football player had been arrested, student conduct would not have been aware of the situation?

What's going on with the USC beat writers having nothing to do with all the recent major scandals breaking in the media? The Reggie Bush scandal was broken by Yahoo, while the OJ Mayo scandal was broken by ESPN. Are the local papers simply not conducting any kind of investigative journalism? Are they afraid of being sued if they run these stories, while the national media are not? Were any of these stories known to the local beat writers prior to breaking in the media but they chose to sit on them? Is there simply fear on the part of the beat writers that they will be banished by those within the USC athletic department if they reveal too much, so they decide to run more apathetic pieces?

Is Guillory banned from campus yet or is he still a fixture in the basketball office? Would banning him be tantamount to admitting they were wrong? And why would they allow a convicted drug dealer (Johnson) into the locker room? Are you worried that perhaps there are more things the coaching staff is (rather conveniently) unaware of?

How come the NCAA is conducting the investigation into the OJ Mayo/Rodeny Guillory relationship rather than the USC compliance office? It's standard practice for an institution to conduct an investigation then turn over its findings to the NCAA, but not in this case? Does the NCAA not trust or have faith in the USC compliance office to do an unbiased and thorough job?

If you had to guess, how is the OJ Mayo debacle going to affect future recruits (ie Demar, Renardo Sidney, Jeremy Tyler, Stephenson, etc)??? Any updates on any of these 5 star guys showing interest in the next few HS classes???

Is Drew Radovich related to William Radovich, the former USC football player who eventually sued the NFL (and won) on anti-trust grounds?

Is the NFL holding a grudge against William Radovich by not drafting Drew Radovich?

Does USC have any chance to land UNC transfer Alex Stepheson or is he going to UCLA? Sonny Vacarro said on the Loose Cannons show that since the Tar Heels gave him his release he could play in the 2008-2009 season without sitting a year. Is this true?
Or does the sit out rule only apply to D1 football?

The description of Mitch Mustain as "the biggest playmaker" among the QBs is quite vague. Just what does that mean? That he can make a new play on his feet when the scripted play has failed? That he can make complicated plays while other QBs may have difficulty over anything that is not simple? Any clarification is appreciated.

Are you surprised that whenever an NFL or Division I college head coaching position has opened up these past five or so years, no team has ever interviewed the genius that is Brennan Carroll for those jobs? Could it really be a mere coincidence that he only has a job at USC because his father is the head coach?

With Stepheson and DeRozan plus Gibson and Hackett, Floyd would have a very decent shot at making the tournament. At fUCLA, Stepheson will have to ride the pine for months learning Howland’s brand of no-offense choke ball -something he said no to previously. If he actually wants to play, it’s pretty clear where he should go.
Doesn't it all boil down to the cloud hovering over the Galen Center?

After the NCAA violation with Jeff Trepagnier in 2000, how did the compliance office staff allow Rodney Guillory near the program again? Was he not officially disassociated by the university then? If not, why not? Where were the red flags when he reappeared?

In your post entitled "Mystery Role" you state that you knew Johnson, and questionned whether he was a runner. He replied that he was just a friend of Guillory. That opens a bunch of questions, Scott: Did you see Guillory on campus or at Galen? Did you question Guillory in a similar fashion as Johnson? If you did see (or were made aware of) Guillory, did you ask the coaches or administration why he was around the program? Did you ever convey your suspicions to anyone at USC? If you did, what did they say? If you didn't, why not?

I realize you don't have a duty to report your suspicions to USC, but as a journalist, you sure had the opportunity to question USC personnel about those suspicions and/or Guillory or Johnson's presence on campus. Any info you provide is greatly appreciated.

SW, when you see a story/article written like the one that ESPN’s Pat Forde wrote, in regards to the Mayo situation (blaming USC and wanting to tear USC down), how does that make you feel (being both a member of the journalism community and a USC alumnus)? Fight On!

Hey Scott: I have a recruiting question to ask: Do you know if the Trojans are actively recruiting the DT out of Utah Latu Heimuli and when will USC get some more commitments. I know it's early in the process but they have been stuck on 10 commitments for some time now, in addition to Carroll and Presley who don't appear to be 100% committed!! THANKS

Ok, I know you've addressed this before, but I'm still very much angry at the current state of the Song Girls. I was at the Paclife Pac 10 Tournament this year for the UCLA game and I was VERY embarassed, to say the LEAST! Not only were the Song Girls not that attractive (I'm really trying to hold my tongue here), but to make matters worse, the UCLA Dancers were GORGEOUS and HOT! It was a complete contrast to our squad.

My question is, have you seen the UCLA Dancers and would you agree with my assessment? Where would you rank the Song Girls vs other Pac 10 Squad? I know this seems petty, but my frustration (and all my friends as well) has been growing for the past 5 years. It's just become embarassing now.

Is USC recruiting Chris Metcalf to play S or LB and is Randall Carroll being recruited to play WR or CB (even though I'm convinced he will never play for USC)? THANKS AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

SW, sorry I'm going to jump in with a second question. I just found this story out on SI.com (Stewart Mandel's mailbag) and wanted your response to it: Hi Stewart, what do you think about USC's tailback situation? Last year, Emmanuel Moody left before the season. Do you see such a thing happening again this year given that any of their tailbacks could be a starter for another team?
-- Pralesh, San Jose

I will be very interested to see how this plays out. The stable has cleared out a bit since last season with not only Moody's transfer to Florida but the graduation of Chauncey Washington, Hershel Dennis and Desmond Reed. However, if you figure the most they can reasonably expect to rotate (barring injuries) is three -- about what LSU has done the past several seasons -- there's going to be at least one unhappy camper. And that's without including freshmen Marc Tyler and Broderick Green, both of whom redshirted last season with injuries and are unlikely to see the field anytime soon (at least on offense).

When healthy, Stafon Johnson showed last season he can be a No. 1 tailback. And I fully expect Joe McKnight to have a breakout sophomore season, provided he keeps his grades up (no sure thing), a la Reggie Bush in 2004. You could see that in the Rose Bowl. C.J. Gable, who took a medical redshirt last season, never wowed me as a freshman starter in 2006, but the coaches love him, and in a spring practice I attended he looked much more explosive than before. And then you've got Allen Bradford, who, with the glut of tailbacks, would seem liable to move to defense (he came to USC as a safety) but kept making long runs throughout the spring.

My best guess is that McKnight and Gable will see lots of carries. If Johnson plays like he did against Nebraska and Illinois, he'll also figure into the mix, but I could also see him fading to the back of the pack, especially if Bradford starts getting more action. Either Johnson or Bradford would be the best bets to depart if they get lost in the shuffle, but I'm guessing that would not come until after the season.

SW, Fight On!

Sports Illustrated is reporting that Nicholas Montana, the son of Joe Montana, is going to be walking on as a quarterback at USC, while his older brother, Nate, is heading to Notre Dame next season (also walking on as a quarterback). So what have you heard about the younger Montana son coming to USC?

O K, I am sure this is an off-the-wall question. I have been reading about who was there and/or who wasn't there at pick-up games Mayo played at the Galen Center over the summer. What exactly does "pick-up games" at the Galen Center mean? Can I just walk off the street and play in these games? Or at a minimum, could I just walk in and watch any of these pick-up games? I would think there must be some restrictions, for the safety of the players if nothing else, and I'm sure coaches aren't allowed to be there, but curious how this works.

With no USC teams competing this summer, which camp are you more excited about covering: USC Caesar fantasy camp or Matt Leinart "football" camp?

With spring practice over and depth charts becoming clearer are there any Trojans thinking about transfering to other schools and also are there any rumors of players from other schools coming to USC?

You mentioned that some scouts considered John David Booty a "system" quarterback. I had always thought a system QB was one who was in an offense that did nothing but throw the ball such as Hawaii. What exactly is the common definition of the term and do you think it applies to USC QB's?

How come no coverage of Oxford Eights Week. Will Jesus College win?

How come no coverage of the Oxford Eights Race? Will Jesus win?