[Maisel] Opening up the mailbag - ESPN
...From Jon in Westport, Conn.: Ivan, with so many high school All-America running backs on the roster at USC, do you you expect an exodus to other schools by some of these kids or will Pete Carroll find a way to spread the ball around enough to satisfy everybody?

Maisel: We had a guy in California write about the ACC and a guy in Connecticut write about USC. Weird. Anyway, part of what Carroll does best is treat people well. His players love to play for him. If there are any disgruntled players in the USC backfield, they have kept that unhappiness in-house...

[Gimino] Chasing the Trojans - Arizona Daily Star
...Parts of the Pac-10 are easy to pick. USC is first (brilliant!). Stanford is last.

Cal, on the basis of a great offense and great coaching, is second. UCLA, with 10 starters returning from a defense that smothered USC last season, is third...

...Now, if you could combine Cal's offense with UCLA's defense, you might really have something. Actually, you'd have USC...

Assistant coach hurt in scooter accident - LA Daily News
USC assistant coach Dave Watson was hospitalized twice last week following a motor scooter accident in Mexico.

Watson said he crashed the scooter while trying to steer through some circular speed bumps during a coaches' retreat in Cabo San Lucas. He estimated his foot dragged under the scooter for about 30 feet, and he checked into a hospital for treatment.

"My foot looked like it got bitten by a great white shark," Watson said. "The front tire got twisted, and I hit my head, but luckily I had my helmet on. My foot was pretty mashed though...

IT'S NOT TOO EARLY TO PREDICT - New Orleans Times-Picayune
...No. 1 Southern California...

...Spring storylines: Who will be the next great wide receiver coming out of the Trojans' pipeline?...The interior of the line had to be addressed with the loss of Kalil.

Star of the spring: Herschel Dennis...showed himself capable of challenging Chauncey Washington and C.J. Gable for playing time.

Keep an eye on: Center Matt Spanos...

...The skinny: As usual, USC is loaded -- ridiculously loaded...

BC, USC close to renewing football ties - Boston Globe
...According to sources at USC and BC, the Eagles are close to signing on for a two-year series with the Trojans beginning in 2011...

...For BC...playing USC would represent another step by athletic director Gene DeFilippo in upgrading the Eagles' schedule and a chance to enhance their national reputation.

The Eagles...will pick up with what has been an almost nonexistent rivalry. The schools have played only twice -- in 1987 and 1988 -- both USC victories.

Adding USC, which again has become a national championship-caliber program under former Patriots coach Pete Carroll, would enhance a nonconference schedule that has been criticized by some...

Time for a bit of grooming - Washington Times
Dallas Sartz and H.B. Blades both are rookie linebackers, but they don't have much else in common when it comes to the basics.

Strong-side hopeful Sartz is a lanky former safety from Granite Bay, Calif. Middle man candidate Blades is a squatty son of a safety from Plantation, Fla. Sartz already has gone further in football than anyone in his family. Blades' father, Bennie, and uncles Brian and Al all played in the NFL.

Sartz and Blades now seem destined to be linked, however. They roomed together at the scouting combine in Indianapolis in February and were picked in consecutive rounds -- Sartz in the fifth and Blades in the sixth -- by the Washington Redskins in last month's draft...

Also, Redskins rookies to start schooling - Washington Times
For Sartz, NFL's Sunday call better than no call at all - Granite Bay Press-Tribune

Panthers get a kick out of Kalil - Charlotte Observer
Thanks to the influence of his Grandpa Rocco, Carolina Panthers rookie center Ryan Kalil has a soothing outlet when football or life gets too hectic: He reaches for his iPod and listens to Frank Sinatra songs.

"When everything is getting clustered or my mind is going 100 mph, pop on an old tune and everything is at ease again," Kalil said during a break this weekend from the first minicamp practices of his NFL career.

The Panthers hope Kalil, widely regarded as the top center in the draft, will be a stabilizing presence on their offensive line for years to come. They were surprised he was available in the draft nine days ago...

Trojans tap two Vanderbilt faculty for Law dean and scholar - Nashville Post
On Aug. 1, Vanderbilt University Law Professor Robert Rasmussen will become dean of the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California.

Rasmussen told NashvillePost.com this morning that, despite invitations from other law schools over the years, the USC opportunity is the only one he has pursued during nearly two decades in Nashville.

Vanderbilt made no announcement of Rasmussen's departure. USC Provost C. L. Max Nikias said in a statement earlier this week that Rasmussen "is one of the most celebrated teachers in the 125-year history of the Vanderbilt Law School, having received its outstanding teaching award six times."...

Pac-10 football looking as competitive as ever - Seattle Times
...USC

Refresher: Trojans (11-2) won their fifth straight Pac-10 title and dominated Michigan in the Rose Bowl to finish fourth in national rankings.

Spring things: In a year when they were considered vulnerable, Trojans still led the league in total defense...and could be one of the all-time dominating units in '07, a prospect coach Pete Carroll isn't minimizing....USC has a ridiculously loaded backfield...QB John David Booty...will get early mention as a Heisman candidate...

On tap: Season-ticket holders are no doubt lukewarm about a home schedule of Idaho, WSU, Stanford, Arizona, OSU and UCLA...

Also, Favored Trojans will face multiple Pac-10 challenges - ESPN

USC's Jarrett hurt by separation anxiety - LA Times
...questions linger about why Jarrett, a two-time All-American, was there for the taking after seven receivers had already been selected. Those questions are especially http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.bold.gif
insert bold tagssignificant because Jarrett gambled by leaving school a year early, and now serves as a cautionary tale for other players who might consider the same path...

...his agent said Tuesday that the receiver was surprised that he'd dropped from the first round even though he had braced for the possibility.

"We knew the draft was unpredictable," Darin Morgan said of the tumble. "We knew some people were fixating on his 40 [-yard dash] times...

Panthers release Keyshawn Johnson - AP via LA Times
The Carolina Panthers released receiver Keyshawn Johnson today, three days after they selected another former USC receiver in the second round of the draft.

It was thought Johnson would help groom Dwayne Jarrett of USC, taken in the second round with the 45th pick. But apparently Johnson was deemed expendable -- he and Jarrett are both 6-foot-4 possession receivers.

Johnson, who will turn 35 in July, had 70 catches for 815 yards and four touchdowns last season, his first with Carolina...

...Johnson worked as an analyst for ESPN during the network's draft coverage last weekend...

Also, [Yasinkas] Why Panthers canned Keyshawn - Charlotte Observer

Southern Cal star to sign with Hamilton - Hamilton Spectator
Products from two American college powerhouses are the latest pigskin prospects to join the Tiger-Cat lair.

The Tabbies are expected to announce today the signing of former University of Southern California tight end Kori Dickerson.

Dickerson, 28, started his pro career in 2003 with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League before joining the Washington Redskins in 2004 and the Detroit Lions in 2006. Most recently, the 6-foot-4, 241-pounder was a member of the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europe...

Redskins' draft is a family affair - Hampton Roads Daily Press
...the Redskins drafted Southern California outside linebacker Dallas Sartz...

...Sartz, 23, who led the Trojans with seven sacks as a senior, also knows something about sporting genes. His father, Jeff, was a strong safety at Oregon State, while his grandfather, also named Dallas, was a Golden Gloves boxer at Washington State and a professional hydroplane racer.

"Back when (my grandfather) was racing them, it was basically just a jet engine on the back of a boat," Sartz said. " … I had sports all around me when I was growing up. A lot of what (my dad and grandfather) taught me, and a lot of the way they lived their lives, taught me about how I live my life and how to compete."...

Also, USC's Sartz, Lua chosen - LA Times
Redskins shake family trees for 2nd-day picks - Roanoke Times
Linebacker Situation Addressed; Two Picks Have Good Bloodlines - Washington Post

Patriots draft Indio's Lua - Desert Sun
Former Indio High School star Oscar Lua goes from the college football dynasty of this decade to the NFL's dynasty of the decade.

The USC middle linebacker, who won two national titles during his time in Los Angeles, was the first pick of the seventh round by the three-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots on Sunday.

"How gnarly was that?" said Lua, who had 26 unanswered messages on his cell phone an hour after his selection at approximately 1 p.m. "It's a good deal. My family's happy. My mom is a little sad because I'll be on the other side of the map."...

Also, Lua's life set to change as NFL draft begins - Desert Sun
Indio's Lua elated to be Patriot - Inland Empire Press-Enteprise

SMITH FILLS GIANTS' PASSING FANCY - New York Post
...Eli Manning looked downfield and no one was able to emerge as a target.

This coming season, the Giants envision Steve Smith filling that role, which is why last night they used their second-round pick in the NFL Draft on the productive receiver from USC.

"If they're going to take away 17 [Burress] and they're going to take away 80 [Shockey] you got to have somebody else," general manager Jerry Reese said. "Quarterbacks like these kind of guys."...

USC's Jarrett going to Carolina - OC Register
Dwayne Jarrett left USC after just three seasons, but as the all-time leader in the Pac-10 with 41 touchdown receptions. He declared himself eligible for the NFL draft, joining a deep class of receivers, but confident he would receive a call at some point in the first round.

But on Saturday six wideouts were selected in the first round, matching the second-highest total since the 1982 draft, and the 6-foot-4 Jarrett was not one of them.

The Trojans' career receptions leader was not selected until the second round, going 45th overall to the Carolina Panthers, where he will join an offense that includes former USC receivers Keyshawn Johnson and Keary Colbert. Though there had been speculation that he would slide in the draft, Jarrett said that it still was something of a surprise...

Also, Three square-peg players put Trojans in first-round hole - LA Times
Round 2 | USC receiver Dwayne Jarrett - Charlotte Observer
Panthers welcome top picks - Charlotte Observer
WAITING GAME - East Brunswick Home News Tribune

USC's Kalil first center taken in NFL draft - Inland Empire Press-Enterprise
...What more could USC offensive lineman Ryan Kalil have wanted? Well, um, a phone call would have been nice.

For what seemed like an eternity, Kalil sat on the leather couch in the living room of his family's Corona home watching Saturday's NFL draft and clutching a portable phone that would not seem to ring. Only after the Carolina Panthers finally called to tell him they were taking him with the 27th pick of the second round (59th overall) could Kalil relax and enjoy what he'd accomplished...

Also, Round 2 | Center Ryan Kalil - Charlotte Observer
Panthers get young copies of their stars - Charlotte Observer
[Yasinkas] Kalil really was 'best available' - Charlotte Observer

[Dienhart] Ranking the BCS coaches - Sporting News
You've checked out my conference-by-conference BCS coach rankings, now check out my overall ranking of the 66 BCS coaches.

1. Pete Carroll, Southern California
9. Dennis Erickson, Arizona State
17. Mike Bellotti, Oregon
22. Jeff Tedford, Cal
25. Mike Riley, Oregon State
42. Charlie Weis, Notre Dame
48. Karl Dorrell, UCLA
51. Mike Stoops, Arizona
53. Bill Doba, Washington State
54. Ty Willingham, Washington
61. Jim Harbaugh, Stanford

SEE HOW RYAN KALIL PREPARED FOR NFL DRAFT - Official USC Website
USC All-American center Ryan Kalil is projected as a possible first round draft pick in this weekend's NFL draft, thanks in large part to the recent off-season training workouts he conducted with legendary strength and conditioning coach "Chuck Barry."...
Also, Ryan Kalil at the 2007 combine - YouTube
USC Song Girls Boot Camp - YouTube

USC's Kalil is making his move - LA Times
Some people light up a room. Ryan Kalil rearranges one...

...Impossible-to-ignore performances at the Senior Bowl and NFL scouting combine have boosted him from a likely first-day pick — which encompasses the first three rounds — to a possible first-rounder. He is considered by many experts to be the most technically sound offensive lineman in the draft.

The last time NFL teams went the first two rounds without picking a center was 10 years ago...

Also, USC’s Kalil has strong bloodlines - KC Star