When McNair makes pitch, USC gets catch - LA Times
Todd McNair is driving and talking and recruiting. He's always recruiting. Running backs, wide receivers, defensive backs. Even occasional doubters.

How in the world does USC, with a depth chart that wound up 10 deep — yep, that's 10 deep — at tailback, persuade high school All-American after high school All-American to sign with the school and believe, beyond a doubt, they'll play from the moment they step on the field?

"None of these guys are afraid of competition,"...

Ellis turns out to be just like Mike - Lindy's Sports
There was a feeling around USC that nobody would ever replace All-American nose tackle Mike Patterson, who now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. Patterson's quickness was his forte, confounding opposing centers and guards.

But if you ask USC coach Pete Carroll, there's been hardly any drop-off since Sedrick Ellis replaced Patterson. Ellis won the Morris Trophy last season, given to the Pac-10's top defensive lineman. The conference's offensive linemen voted on the award.

"He's simply a dominating player who gets past guys consistently with his quickness and speed," Carroll said. "He's one of the main reasons I'm so excited about this defense."...

[Dodd] McKnight's USC move leaves storm behind in Bayou - CBS Sportsline
...Joe McKnight is more than a traitor to those crazed LSU loyalists. Why John Curtis, McKnight's coach, was told he was "the most hated guy in the LSU community."

You can understand -- must understand -- because McKnight will never be Brock Berlin. Thank goodness. McKnight has more talent, more character, more of a future; the nation's best high school running back out of John Curtis Christian High School here in Jefferson Parish near New Orleans...and finally ended up signing ... with USC in February.

When McKnight went West, the reaction was swift and cruel...

...The recruiting hooks became the sunshine, USC's tradition and a desire to matriculate through the famed Annenberg School for Communication to become a broadcast journalist...

He's no mama's boy - Hamilton Spectator
Gotta pull for a linebacker who learned how not to pulverize ball carriers from his mother.

Gotta pull for a guy with the best nickname at Tiger-Cat training camp: Zeke (And Destroy) Moreno.

Gotta pull for a guy who is getting noticed as the possible answer to the Tiger-Cats' middle linebacker riddle.

That just might be Moreno, a 6-foot-2, 246-pound University of Southern California product who has played 61 NFL games...

...Moreno, 28, is also somewhat of a cultural pioneer. The Chula Vista Californian is one of the few Latinos to play pro ball...