Saturday, April 08, 2006

White might slip to Panthers - Charlotte Observer
The "other" Southern California running back available in the NFL draft, LenDale White, looked like a potential top 10 pick less than three months ago, but could be slipping far enough to be in serious consideration for the Carolina Panthers with the 27th overall selection.

White's stock -- at least in mock drafts -- has fallen steadily the past week after he looked out of shape and didn't run a 40-yard dash at Southern Cal's pro day Monday, saying he had a sore hamstring...
Preview 2006: USC Trojans - College Football News
...There isn't a more talented team in America with a who's who of high school all-stars brought in by Pete Carroll. It's hard to fall too far when you have the best recruiting class in the country two years in a row. But there are big things to worry about...

...The season will be a success if ... USC plays for the national title. Would just winning the Pac 10 and going to a BCS game be good enough at this point? It should be, but the bar is set ridiculously high after going 54-10 under Pete Carroll and losing two games in three years...
Preview 2006: Trojan offense - College Football News
...there's hope for the explosion to continue, albeit to a lesser degree, thanks to the nation's best receiving corps, a good foundation on the offensive line with tackle Sam Baker and center Ryan Kalil, and more high school All-America prospects than one team should have...

...Quarterbacks - So who wants to be a superstar?...

...Running Backs - Can you imagine what the running game would've been like had Reggie Bush and LenDale White stuck around for their senior years?...

...Receivers - This group will keep the NFL stocked for years to come...

...Offensive Linemen - The line has to overcome the loss of mauling guard Taitusi Lutui and all-stars Winston Justice and Fred Matua, but there are great players to rebuild around in All-Americans Sam Baker and Ryan Kalil...
Preview 2006: Trojan defense - College Football News
...What the D lacks in overall experience it makes up for in ridiculous talent and athleticism. The linebacking corps is one of the best in America with a third string that would form a killer starting trio for about 95 other teams...

...Defensive Line - This could be the Achilles' heel early on, but it should turn into a killer of a pass rushing unit as the season goes on...

...Defensive backs - Only one starter returns to the secondary, versatile corner Josh Pinkard, but last year's pass defense was a bit of a disappointment...

...Special Teams - USC plugs in talent as well as anyone, and that counts for kicker as Mario Danelo came up with a terrific season replacing all-star Ryan Killeen. Now the question becomes whether or not Taylor Odegard or Troy Van Blarcom can adequately replace punter Tom Malone...
USC student will swim to help disabled students - Daily Breeze
...Joey Pulford of Redondo Beach hasn't touched the ocean since the day he crushed his spinal cord in July 2000, leaving him confined to a wheelchair at 16 years old.

But it hasn't stopped him from getting on with his life.

Now 22, Pulford is a senior on the dean's list at USC, where he studies public policy and planning. He drives a truck, hangs out with his friends and today will take to a swimming pool, where he will help raise money so other physically challenged kids can attend college...

...In its 26th year, the annual Swim With Mike event at USC offers tuition and financial assistance for athletes who have become handicapped.

Pulford is a recipient of the scholarship and said he wouldn't have been able to attend USC without it. So he rounded up some sponsors and plans to raise more than the $750 he did last year...
Pinkard faces surgery - LA Daily News
...Josh Pinkard is the latest Trojan facing surgery this spring to repair a sports hernia that has bothered him for the past six weeks.

Pinkard said he will undergo surgery April 18 for the injury and is expected to be out about two months.

"It will affect me as far as not getting reps in the offseason and being in the flow of things but I'll still come back and play for the season," Pinkard said.

The hernia has hindered Pinkard during spring practice but he has attempted to practice anyway...
Ashley Making Strides After Late Start - LA Times
Walker Lee Ashley arrived at USC a year later than expected, but the freshman defensive lineman is beginning to make an impression.

During most of the first three weeks of spring practice, Ashley has backed up junior Chris Barrett.

On Sunday, however, Barrett must attend a class field trip, so Ashley is expected to start with the first-unit defense during the annual "Trojan Huddle" scrimmage at the Coliseum.

"I have a good chance to get in there and make some plays and make a name for myself," Ashley said Friday...
[Maisel] Rose Bowl loss to Texas all but forgotten by USC - ESPN
..."You gotta bounce back," offensive tackle Sam Baker said. "You can't dwell on the past. That happens in the Super Bowl, too. All the [losing] teams in the Super Bowl struggle the next year. That's not going to be us. We're going to go back and work just like we've always worked. It's really not about one game."

And that is where the mark of Pete Carroll can be seen on these Trojans, as clear as the lightning bolt on Harry Potter's forehead. The Rose Bowl, as big as it was, amounted to one game, same as the previous 34. USC did the best it could do, and for the first time in nearly three seasons, it wasn't enough.

"The way we handled that fits right hand in hand with our philosophy," Carroll said after practice the other evening. "I think our system, the way we do stuff, the way we talk, from day one, A to Z, prepares us to deal with whether you win or whether you lose that game. Not that we accept it, any of it...

Friday, April 07, 2006

[Silver] Back against the wall - CNNSI
...Perhaps White's refusal to run the 40 was not a direct reaction to his disdain for such a system, but I do know from our very brief conversation on Sunday that we share the following three-word mantra: Film doesn't lie.

In other words, many of us spent numerous Saturdays in the autumns of 2003, '04 and '05 watching White play pivotal downs for an elite team, and though success in college is not always a direct predictor of success in the pros, especially at the running back position...there is a mountain of visual evidence that suggests White has what it takes...
Can't-miss Bush makes choice easy - Houston Chronicle
...It's not about the Texans or anyone doubting Vince Young and never has been. It's about not finding so much as a hint of doubt in anything about Bush. It's about the NFL's greatest football minds studying and analyzing Bush in every way and not finding a flaw in his game or personality. Not so much as a wrinkle in his shirt. Not so much as a hair out of place or a conversation that does not include at least one, "yes sir."...

Thursday, April 06, 2006

USC's successor to Bush, White lost for season - AP via MSNBC
Southern California tailback Hershel Dennis, who entered spring practice No. 1 on the depth chart, has torn ligaments in his left knee and is expected to miss the 2006 season.

Dennis was injured in practice Tuesday, apparently trying to cut on the wet artificial turf at USC’s Cromwell Field. An MRI taken Wednesday night revealed the damage...

...Dennis was the only experienced tailback participating in spring practice. Desmond Reed and Michael Coleman, who both played as backups last season, are recovering from operations — Reed on a knee and Coleman on a hip.

Chauncy Washington, who has been academically ineligible the past two seasons and isn’t participating in spring practice, hopes to play next fall...
Carr getting up to speed in Houston - USA Today
...Carr does concede that Southern California running back Reggie Bush, a strong candidate to be Houston's top choice, would give the Texans a dynamic, immediate boost with his potential to create mismatches.

"I don't know what we're going to do with the pick, but I don't know how a guy like Reggie Bush can't help you," Carr says. "I haven't ever seen a player who turns a corner like Reggie Bush does."...

...The biggest reason Houston may decide to select Bush? Southern California runs the same zone-blocking, one-cut-and-go system last year's fifth-ranked Broncos did.

"Reggie's been around that same system," Kubiak says. "I told the players recently, 'There's no greater friend to a quarterback than a running game.'...
The Ramble - Blogcritics.org
...Who Wouldn't Want To Play Football At USC? Like the most beautiful supermodel in the world, USC picks whom they want, and not the other way around. And that's the way it should be. I could never figure out how the USC program could ever fall into disrepair. Being a New Jersey, football-obsessed football guy I always felt that USC was the place to go if you were a hot high school football recruit. Heck, if you were ANY kind of recruit. The weather, the cheerleaders, the school, the girls, Hollywood, the girls, the film school, the girls...you get the idea. Pete Carroll has the best job in all of sports and he is doing a great job at making the job even better...

...if I were Pete Carroll the only way that I'd leave this job is if I was carried out feet first...

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Tuesday Question - College Football News
Give five early Heisman favorites and one wacky choice...

[Fiutak]...3. QB Mark Sanchez, USC - The only question for the starting USC quarterback is whether or not there will be a Trojan backlash after winning three of the last four Heismans...Sanchez is a big-time talent with the nation's best receiving corps to throw to...

[Cirminiello]...Wacky, off-the-wall pick – QB Mark Sanchez, USC – These days, if you’re the starting quarterback at USC, you should automatically begin the Heisman race in the Top 20. Sanchez is a monster talent, and if John David Booty’s back problems linger, those skills could be on display as early as this fall. The redshirt freshman has never thrown a collegiate pass, but then again, neither did Matt Leinart the year before he went ballistic for 38 touchdowns and more than 3,500 yards...
[Pasquarelli] Bing only defensive prospect projected as first-rounder - ESPN
...Although the Trojans could have as many as six players selected in the first round on April 29, the lone defensive player with a chance to be a No. 1 pick is safety Darnell Bing, certainly regarded as one of the lottery's premier prospects at his position. But after Bing goes off the board, likely in the second half of the first stanza, it could be a while before another Southern California defender hears his name called...

...The unusual dearth of top-shelf defensive talent in the draft for USC shouldn't be that surprising, however, to anyone who saw the Trojans play in 2005. The defense struggled throughout much of the season...
[Pasquarelli] Justice, pair of guards impress scouts - ESPN
Since 1970, Southern California has supplied 17 first-round offensive linemen to the NFL draft. But the Trojans haven't had a first-round blocker since 1996 and none of note since 1995...

...But this is the year the unusual drought ends for the Trojans. And the year in which the proud tradition of producing quality offensive linemen -- guys such as Pro Football Hall of Fame member Anthony Munoz, Bruce Matthews, Keith Van Horne, Marvin Powell, Ken Ruettgers and Don Mosebar -- is revisited.

In behemoth offensive tackle Winston Justice, clearly the prospect whose draft stock was most enhanced by Sunday afternoon's pro day workouts, the Trojans will have their first top-round offensive line pick since Green Bay selected John Michels in 1996...
The Reggie Bush Mercedes CLS - EMercedesBenz.com
Picture for a moment that you are Reggie Bush... star running back/tailback/wide reciever for the USC Trojans; soon to be top pick in this year's NFL draft.

Now picture what you would drive.

If your selection was the Mercedes CLS fitted with an ASMA-Design CLS Shark II body kit and Lowenhart wheels, then you and Reggie have something in common - you both picked the same vehicle, and you're both insane...
[Pasquarelli] High school recruits get a glimpse of future - ESPN
...If you were a potential recruit in the stands at the Cromwell Field track as players participated in the 40-yard dash, or among those who ringed the field at the Howard Jones practice facility as quarterback Matt Leinart threw passes to tight end Dominique Byrd, you couldn't help but notice familiar faces such as Casserly. Or head coaches John Fox of Carolina and Jeff Fisher of Tennessee. Or prominent player agents such as Joel Segal, David Dunn, Eugene Parker and Leigh Steinberg.

And it was hard not to catch the ever-conspicuous Carroll, schmoozing with all his old NFL buddies.

If you mused that, "Hey, this can be me at the end of my career here, with NFL scouts all wanting a piece of me," Carroll's production was a success...
[Vote] Who is the nation's top amateur athlete? - USA Today
...Ballots for the 76th annual Sullivan Award were sent out this week by the Amateur Athletic Union to AAU officials, U.S. Olympic Committee members, college sports information directors and others...

...Vince Young and two University of Southern California teammates, running back Reggie Bush and quarterback Matt Leinart, were so far ahead of the field that the Heisman Trophy Trust didn't invite a fourth nominee to the ceremony...
Plenty of players make names for themselves during USC's Pro Day - Daily Trojan
...USC linebacker Collin Ashton came through with a very respectable 25 reps of 225 pounds and ran a 4.67 in the 40-yard dash. Those numbers put him on par with Iowa's Chad Greenway, a projected first-round pick...

...Another Trojan, wide receiver William Buchanon, had the unfortunate luck of playing behind a host of current and future professional receivers, including Keary Colbert, Mike Williams, Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith.

However, a couple of 4.38s in the 40-yard will get you noticed...

...And finally, there was offensive guard Fred Matua...
Endorsement is Bush's first deal - USA Today
Reggie Bush, a favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft this month, has signed his first major endorsement deal with Subway Restaurants...

...The Southern California running back will be featured on the SubwayFreshBuzz.com website, which is scheduled to go online Saturday.

Aimed at younger consumers, the site will include the Heisman Trophy winner's unscripted postings on the draft and sudden fame, live chats with fans on April 10 and 27, and 15 behind-the-scenes videos of him working out with quarterback Matt Leinart, shopping for a BMW and hanging with friends...
Differences might be a matter of time - LA Daily News
...Reggie Bush and safety Darnell Bing drew cheers for their 40-yard dash times during Sunday's Pro Day workouts at USC, but those marks are not being used by NFL teams for draft preparations.

Bush ran the 40 in 4.33 seconds...while Bing ran it in 4.53 seconds...

..."The NFL is not going to go by what was said over the loudspeakers," said an NFL coach who asked not to be identified...
USC's Dennis Hurts Knee Again in Practice - LA Times
...About an hour into the practice, Dennis caught a short pass during a noncontact drill and attempted to cut to his right. His left knee gave out and he fell to the ground...

...When Dennis emerged from the locker room, he said it was not the first time the knee had given out during his recovery from January 2005 surgery for torn ligaments...

...Meanwhile, quarterback John David Booty attended meetings and part of practice for the first time since having back surgery Friday...
START OF BIG THING? - NY Post
When Brian Bannister says, "I've been preparing for this a long time," believe him.

The son of former big-league lefty Floyd Bannister has been hanging out in major-league clubhouses since he was 8, so making the Mets was no big thing.

Yes, he's only 25 years old. And yes, he only has eight career starts above Double-A heading into his major-league debut tonight against Washington.

Yet his teammates have already been astonished by his ability and his unflappability...
Boone’s all-out play drives Indians right by White Sox - Columbus Dispatch
...Boone had four hits and four RBI, stole a base, made a diving stop at third base and leveled White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski in a collision at home plate. Westbrook allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings, and relievers Rafael Betancourt and Guillermo Mota retired the final eight batters...

...Boone stole second, then scored on a single by Casey Blake. He arrived at the plate the same time as the ball, lowered his shoulder and flattened Pierzynski.

"That might be enough to get him a scholarship to play linebacker at USC," Travis Hafner joked. "He has to send (Southern California coach) Pete Carroll the tape."...
Bush still in the mix for Titans - Nashville Tennessean
...Titans officials couldn't help but take note of Bush's blistering 40-yard dash and his impressive pass-catching ability — as if his college highlight reel hadn't shown them enough. They also got a taste of his personality over dinner on Sunday night.

"He's special,''
Titans General Manager Floyd Reese said. "He opens the offense. He splits out as a receiver and is as fast as most receivers. He catches as well as most receivers. He can take the ball out of the backfield and get into the open and you have to try and tackle him. He is a tough runner, a tough guy. How can you not like him?"...
[Saraceno] Taking Bush is Texans' wise play - USA Today
Thousands of Longhorns fans and Texan season ticketholders will have a burr in their saddles over the snub of Rose Bowl MVP quarterback Vince Young, but so what? Drafting Bush not only is the safe decision. It is the logical, prudent one.

The Texans won the "Bush Sweepstakes" by nudging out the San Francisco 49ers. By trading down, or drafting a quarterback, they're tearing up a winning lottery ticket.

Reggie Bush might be the next ...

Barry Sanders.

Maybe Walter Payton.

Or a lethal combination...

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

88 Goes Long - Washington Post
...Swann, 54, doesn't so much work a room as prance through it:...He stutter-steps in and out of conversations in 15 seconds or less, but never seems in a rush. Swann has mastered the art of Being a Famous Guy...

...Swann's race is something of an X-factor against Rendell, who, like many other Democrats, has received overwhelming support from African Americans when he runs against Republicans. Roughly 85 percent of black voters supported Rendell in 2002, and political analysts posit that if Swann can shrink that margin by 10 percent, it could turn a close election in Swann's favor...
Tedford ready to unleash spread offense at Cal - CBS Sportsline
...Approximately 100 coaches, scouts and executives witnessed USC's pro day Sunday. Even for those experienced, jaded evaluators of talent, it might have been a historic day.

They were not disappointed
with the group of all-stars headed for the NFL later this year...

...With so much interest and so much pro influence hanging around, coach Pete Carroll issued a warning to the congregation -- aimed mostly at agents in attendance -- to stay away from his underclassmen...
Fan Q&A: Keary Colbert - Official Panthers Website
...Is there anything in particular you listen to to get you hyped up for games? Ray, Mt. Airy, NC

I listen to different things before the game. All types of music. What I listen to depends on the mood I'm in. The one thing I always listen to before I go out on the field is the USC marching band. I have it on CD...
49ers keeping an eye on USC safety Bing - Sac Bee
...Now the 49ers must turn to the draft for an upgrade to their secondary, and many believe they are looking to land Bing with their second-round selection, the 37th pick overall.

The question is whether Bing will be available at that spot.

With the exception of offensive tackle Winston Justice, perhaps no other Trojan boosted his stock as much as Bing on Sunday...

...Bing met with 49ers coach Mike Nolan at the scouting combine in February and chatted briefly with McCloughan and his brother, David, the team's director of college scouting, before Sunday's sessions. He said he planned to fly to Santa Clara next week to meet with Nolan again...
[King] USC has plenty of players - Arkansas News
Drowning in e-mails about cheap interest rates, international lotteries, and working from home, the tangible material on the desk was a welcome respite.

On top of the pile was a large white envelope containing USC's spring football prospectus, a between-the-eyes reminder that the Trojans are not going to concede the 2006 season just because Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and LenDale White will be in the NFL...
Bush is better RB candidate - Daily Trojan
...White has gotten huge, too, but not in a good way. White weighed in at 244 pounds, which is six pounds heavier than he was at the NFL combine about a month ago. It wasn't quite as big as he was at the Rose Bowl when he admitted he was over 250 pounds because of poor eating habits over winter break.

I'm not knocking White's ability on the football field - he scored more touchdowns than anybody in the history of Tailback U and had a great performance in the Rose Bowl - but didn't have the right mentality on Pro Day...

...There is the theory that White possibly already has a deal in place with a team, which is why he didn't run, but that seems highly unlikely. The draft can be very unpredictable...
[Cole] Lazy LenDale turning into Clarett - MSNBC
As the 2005 college football season was winding down, there were some outside observers of the USC team who believed a good case could be made that LenDale White was actually a better NFL prospect than teammate Reggie Bush, Heisman Trophy aside.

On Sunday, any such argument disappeared as Bush put on a fine performance during the school’s annual pro day for NFL scouts. The only thing fine that White did was dining with the Denver Broncos on Saturday night...

...“The guy can play, but he just gets by,” said a former USC offensive player who was teammates with White. “He coasted in practice and he coasted in the offseason. He came in thinking he just had to put in his time and that’s what you see now. People think he’s great and the talent is there … but the stuff he did was just because he played next to Reggie and with all those other guys around him. If he had really worked at it, he would have been amazing.”...

Monday, April 03, 2006

Bush, Justice impress - Daily Trojan
With Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak and general manager Charley Casserly in attendance, Trojan tailback Reggie Bush took one step closer to becoming the No. 1 overall draft pick during USC Pro Day Sunday.

The spectacle, divided between Loker Stadium and Howard Jones Field, drew more two thousand members of the public in addition to a throng of media and NFL personnel.

Had Casserly ever seen such a wild atmosphere for a workout?

"No, but it's LA," he said...
Bush believes he's locked in as No. 1 pick - LA Daily News
...Although a crowd of nearly 3,000 (including about 200 recruits USC coach Pete Carroll brought in Sunday) cheered Bush running the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds, it was slightly slower than he hoped.

"Just a little bit. I thought I could push the 4.29 barrier or 4.3 flat," Bush said. "But by the end of the day, I'm still happy...

...One area Bush excelled was in the bench press, as he lifted 225 pounds 24 times and reached 40.5 inches in the vertical leap, the highest mark of any Trojan on Sunday...
Trojans present their pro-ficiency - LA Daily News
...USC coach Pete Carroll made a point of all but broadcasting this one. He held the event on a weekend, encouraged fans to attend and had it coincide with Junior Day, the football program's open house for high school recruits.

Also, an electric timing company was brought in to time players, something few scouts recalled ever seeing.

"Pete said that he was going to do his pro day bigger and better than anyone else has every done it, and he succeeded in that," Houston general manager Charley Casserly said...
Leinart's Broadway audition - NY Daily News
...After four hours under the hot sun, not to mention the white-hot glare from prospective employers (including the Jets), Leinart seemed confident he had debunked the notion that he's a touch-and-timing passer with limited mobility...

...More than 200 NFL types were in attendance, including two members of the Jets' personnel department, former GM Terry Bradway and JoJo Wooden.

That the new head honchos, GM Mike Tannenbaum and coach Eric Mangini, didn't attend the workout might seem revealing, but know this: An entire Jets entourage, including the bosses, will be in Los Angeles on April 17 to huddle with Leinart...
Showcase Is a Mixed Bag at USC - LA Times
...It was an afternoon for Winston Justice's scrapbook — and one for LenDale White's scrap heap.

While Justice seemed to solidify a spot in the top half of the first round, White didn't run because of hamstring soreness, and, as a result, might see his stock take a big dip.

"I hope this young man realizes before the draft that he needs to run," said Charley Casserly, general manager of the Houston Texans. "Or I hope he's made a deal with a team that's going to take him in the first round."...
USC strong safety Bing packs a powerful punch - Official Bears Website
..."I had been watching 'SC since I was a child and when I went on my recruiting trip I felt like that was the place I really needed to be," Bing said.

"Just the way the whole team was like one big family and everybody was sticking together throughout the whole time I was on my trip, that's one of the main reasons I went to 'SC."...

...Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. lists Bing in a five-way tie as the fifth best safety in the draft...
Bush has powerful showing - Houston Chronicle
...The biggest surprise to the more than 150 scouts and NFL personnel watching, however, was Bush's ability to complete 24 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press. That beat the majority of his teammates, many of whom are bigger than him...

...It was an image that definitely left an impression on Texans coach Gary Kubiak and general manager Charley Casserly, who watched every move Bush made.

"That was my biggest surprise," Kubiak said. "I knew he was what he was. But to bench-press what he did at his size was pretty impressive."...
Leinart answers scouts' questions - Nashville City Paper
...“I think a lot of people were worried about arm strength. I think he answered that question,” said Chow, who spent three years at USC with Leinart before jumping to the Titans last year.

The Leinart-Chow connection and the fact that the Southern Cal left-hander may be the most polished and pro ready of the three signal-callers has Leinart headed to Tennessee in many a mock draft. That’s a prospect that is fine with the Trojans’ star.

“It would be fun to be reunited with [Chow]. We’ve had a great relationship....But it's out of my hands. It definitely would be a good thing if I was back with him,” Leinart said...

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Van Blarcom could be punting - LA Daily News
Sophomore Troy Van Blarcom arrived at USC as the heir apparent to kicker Ryan Killeen but it appears more likely he will replace All-American punter Tom Malone.

Van Blarcom is competing for the starting punting job and if he beats out walk-on Taylor Odegard, would punt and handle kickoffs for the Trojans. It's expected last year's kicker, Mario Danelo, would continue to kick field goals...

...USC adds former Arizona State punter Greg Woidneck in the fall. Woidneck, who spent last year at Mt. San Antonio Community College in Walnut, will walk-on to the team...
[Glauber] USC day could have scouts drooling - NY Newsday
There may not be an NFL team in Los Angeles, but the league certainly will have a major presence there Sunday, when USC holds its pro-day workouts...

"That pro-scouting day will be like Star Wars," said agent Leigh Steinberg, who represents Leinart. "It's going to be crazy."...
USC pro day is highly anticipated - LA Daily News
... When USC holds its pro day today on campus, it will be - like most things that involve the Trojans these days - an event.

The number of NFL general managers, coaches and scouts expected at USC to watch Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and perhaps as many as six first-round picks may reach triple digits.

"I hope I don't get stuck in traffic," said Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher...