You Ask, I Answer
Latu Heimuli, the song girls, Randall Carroll and the tailback rotation are part of this batch.
Q: 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!!
A: The last I heard, he was being evaluated. I'm not surprised USC has not gotten any recent commitments. In the past, Pete Carroll visited high schools in May but now head coaches are prohibited from going out on the road in May. This slows down the process and means the camps in June will be even more important.
Q: 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.
A: I was also at that game and it was embarrassing. It was the first time I can recall such a stark difference and usually the song girls are one of the consistent things about USC. Every time I talk to Beano Cook, he mentions the song girls. But again, I would refer you back to the selection committee, a collection of people who need to leave the 70's.
Q: 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!
A: Metcalf is being recruited as a safety while Carroll is supposed to play wide receiver.
Q: 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.
A: I'm going to waive the one-question rule, if only because this topic probably interests readers. Broderick Green will not move to defense and I expect to see him play this season because of his size and strength, which set him apart. I also don't see Stafon Johnson fading unless he gets hurt. Joe McKnight can play without taking too many carries away from others because of his versatility and the fact he might line up at wide receiver. The one wild-card is Bradford. He will get a shot, because he's paid his dues, but if he doesn't produce early, he might tumble down the depth chart.
SW, good take on the RB depth and rotation. Fight On!
No offense, but I have seen the UGLA song girls up close, and quite honestly, none of them are cute enough where I would want to date them (Of course, they would not want to date me either, but that is another issue).
It’s sort of like the situation at Stanford and Notre Dame. Perhaps as the admissions requirements have gotten tougher at USC, the pool of attractive blondes willing to be Song Girls has dwindled. Apparently there is no shortage of them at ASU.
Every new year, I look forward to the newest edition of the famous USC Song Girls. But, like many of you, I have been disappointed in the overall quality the past few years. And the decline in talent is made even more stark when you compare the latest squad with those song girls across town. I have to give credit to UCLA's squad. They're all lookers top to bottom, kind of like it used to be here.
I am afraid the last looker was ol' Natalie Nelson, though she embarrassed USC on more than one occasion.
I have seen the 'ruin dance girls, and as much as I hate to admit it, they got a pretty smokin' hot squad. They seem to have chosen quality over quantity. They have a smaller group but with a high level of attractiveness. We have a group of about 12-14 per year but the quality has not been too good the past few years. I honestly think this logic sucks. It's like distraction by numbers.
Geez, you people are harsh. Even the typically nasty "BeatSC Trojan-Hater's Club" website only had nice things to say about the Swim With Mike bikini shots of the Song Girls.