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Here's USC coach Lane Kiffin talking to the media after the Trojans' Thursday session, with him addressing the team's injury situation, the progress of senior safety T.J. McDonald and a few other topics.

Kiffin also joked about former UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel's famous remarks about the gap between the two schools in L.A.

USC announced last week that forward Garrett Jackson was transferring away from the Trojans and we reported Tuesday that guard Alexis Moore was joining him in departing.

Well, two more 2011-2012 Trojans are also leaving the basketball team, according to multiple program sources. Forward Curtis Washington has requested his release and will receive it this week and forward Evan Smith will leave the team via a medical retirement, staying in school and on scholarship but not counting against the team's 13-scholarship limit.

Both of the moves have been expected for some time.

Washington played 11 total minutes during his freshman season in 2010-2011 and then tore the labrum in his left shoulder last August, which forced him to miss all of last season. Smith played in four games for the Trojans last season before re-injuring the shoulder that has bothered him on and off since his arrival to USC in the class of 2009.

USC now has four open scholarships, two of which will be filled by 2012 signees J.T. Terrell and Strahinja Gavrilovic upon their summer arrival. The Trojans also have Woodland Hills Taft guard Brendyn Taylor committed for the third spot and continue to recruit other players for the fourth and final slot.

The spring signing period begins April 11 and lasts until May 16.

So Aundrey Walker is going to get his chance at left tackle.

The 6-6, 320-pound sophomore worked exclusively at the position in practice on Tuesday, switching over from the right tackle spot he started at in the first week of spring practices earlier this month. And redshirt junior Kevin Graf, who worked at left tackle during the first week, took Walker's spot on the right Tuesday.

Trojans coach Lane Kiffin said it was another experimental move meant to take advantage of the spring season and give Walker a chance to prove himself at the primo position. If it doesn't work out, then both players will switch back and presumably stay there all season. If it works out great or works out some, then Walker could get additional chances later this spring and in the fall.

"It's spring and it's early," Kiffin said after Tuesday's practice. "Let's see what it looks like."

Kiffin said the decision had nothing to do with Graf's first-week performance on the left side but did note that he began to feel comfortable toward the end of the 2011 season at right tackle. The coach has expressed confidence in Walker's abilities this spring because of the 19-year-old's natural abilities and extreme weight loss.

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He said before the break he would be, but USC receiver George Farmer wasn't back on the field with the rest of the Trojans on Tuesday, and it's because the sophomore has experienced yet another setback in his attempt to stay healthy this season.

As of Tuesday, the talented Farmer estimated his strained hamstring, hurt during the second practice of the spring 12 days ago, was "60 percent" healed -- not good enough to get him cleared for practice. He admitted it felt like another step back as he tries to prove to the Trojans' coaches he's healthy and capable of being the No. 3 receiver behind Robert Woods and Marqise Lee in 2012.

"I was gonna make this the time to do everything I needed to do," he said Tuesday. "Last year I didn't come out and do what I wanted to do or what I expected, so this spring I was going to show everything I could do."

Farmer, of course, was a highly touted prospect out of Gardena Serra in the Class of 2011 who many thought could challenge for the starting spot across from Woods as a freshman. But he fell behind Lee early on and ended up moving to running back midway through the season before switching back to receiver this offseason.

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A few notes from Tuesday's practice that won't make it into our other posts from the session:

• Offensive tackles Kevin Graf and Aundrey Walker switched sides, with Walker working on the left and Graf working on the right for the first time this spring. For the first week, Graf stayed on the left and Walker stayed on the right, but Trojans coach Lane Kiffin said he felt it was time to try out the other way. We'll have more on this move Wednesday.

• Injury updates: Center Khaled Holmes (calf), tight end Xavier Grimble (toe), running back Buck Allen (hamstring) and receiver George Farmer again missed practice after all missing the Saturday session before the break. We'll have more on Farmer later Tuesday.

• Defensive back Josh Shaw (rib), a transfer from Florida, has not yet practiced this spring as he awaits word from the NCAA on his request for a hardship waiver to play this season, but Kiffin said the reason he's staying off the field is the rib injury, not his status with the NCAA.

• Two players also went down with injuries during practice and were due to undergo tests afterward: safety Drew McAllister and linebacker Marquis Simmons. Simmons, who has had neck issues in the past, stood on the sideline with ice on shoulder for the second half of practice; McAllister hurt his hand and did not return.

• Players who impressed Kiffin over the first week of practice after he re-watched the film over the break: defensive tackle George Uko, receivers Marqise Lee and Farmer, linebacker Hayes Pullard and cornerbacks Isiah Wiley and Brian Baucham.

• Final notes: Kiffin said the Trojans had no off-field issues over the spring break, as far as he knew. The team took a week off before returning to meetings and conditioning on Monday...Tight end Junior Pomee missed practice because of a death in the family, Kiffin said...Lee and cornerbacks Nickell Robey and Tony Burnett are expected to participate in USC's Trojan Invitational track meet on Saturday morning before going to the Coliseum for the Trojans' 11 a.m. scrimmage.

LOS ANGELES -- USC might have a fourth running back after all.

Sophomore linebacker Tre Madden has been moved to running back for at least the next week in what the Trojans are calling an experimental move designed to use the spring session to see if Madden is a good fit for the position.

The 6-foot, 226-pound played wildcat quarterback in high school for nearby Mission Viejo but was recruited by most schools as a linebacker. He started one game for the Trojans in November and starred on special teams throughout his freshman season.

But with no starting spots open at linebacker and depth at a premium at running back, Lane Kiffin called Madden into his office on Sunday to see if he was up for the move.

"We’re just trying it out for this week, seeing how it fits the team," Madden said midway through Tuesday's practice, which he left an hour early for class. "If it doesn’t work out, I’ll go back on D.

"It seems like it’s going to work. But we’re just trying it out for this week, so we don’t know."

So, how did the limited tryout go? Running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu, in a jovial mood following practice, had plenty of good things to say about Madden's first day.

"I don't want to get way ahead of myself, but it was a very good start," Polamalu said.

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Here's USC coach Lane Kiffin talking to the media after Tuesday's practice, the Trojans' first in nine days after last week's spring break.

He addresses Tre Madden's move to running back this week, the current injury situation for the Trojans and receiver Robert Woods' status going forward, among other topics.

Only one team USC played in 2011-2012 is still around in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament: second-seeded Kansas.

The Trojans played a few other eventual NCAA tourney teams this season, including No. 12-seeded Cal, No. 11-seeded Colorado, No. 5-seeded New Mexico and No. 6-seeded UNLV and San Diego State. They lost to all of them, with the closest thing to a win coming in the third game of the season against SDSU.

But enough about the tournament, which resumes Thursday. Let's take a look at where the Trojans could be next season and, more specifically, let's take a look at the makings of the next USC recruiting class.

Two players already signed in November, during the early signing period: guard J.T. Terrell and forward Strahinja Gavrilovic. Terrell is a junior-college transfer from Wake Forest who's expected to start right away next November. Gavrilovic, from the San Diego area, stands to be a non-factor in his first season with the Trojans.

The third spot is where things start to get interesting. USC had a commitment from Arizona prep point guard Dewayne Russell until a few weeks ago, when he de-committed shortly after the Trojans got another commitment from Woodland Hills Taft guard Brendyn Taylor.

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USC is out on spring break this week and not practicing, but each weekday through Friday, we’ll bring you one thing we learned from the first three days of practice last week and what it might mean for the future.

Our first item covered Marqise Lee‘s continued progress, our second the new-look Aundrey Walker and third the situation at backup QB. Fourth covered the interior of the defensive line.

Fifth is this: George Farmer's biggest challenge for the No. 3 receiver spot is probably going to be staying healthy.

You can't have a better first day of spring practice than Farmer a week ago Tuesday, the Trojans' first day of 2012 spring. He caught everything thrown in his direction, including the tough throws, and earned himself the day MVP award from Lane Kiffin afterward.

But then he got hurt. The next day, Farmer came up lame during a drill and pulled his hamstring. It kept him out of the rest of the week's proceedings and could keep him from being 100 percent for the next couple practices.

And the truth is that's the sophomore receiver's biggest battle at this point. Victor Blackwell will provide competition, but Farmer has the talent and, now, the maturity to be the Trojans' No. 3 pass-catcher. What will set him back is injuries like this one, the same sort of thing that limited him at running back last year during the experiment that moved him there.

What can he do? Obviously a hamstring injury is natural, and so is a sprained ankle, which he sustained early on last season. Things like that happen. But what he can do is learn from his own mistakes and the mistakes of Kyle Prater and even Robert Woods and not try to push himself back too early. If he has to miss two weeks in the spring, then so be it. Missing two weeks in the spring is far better than being even slightly limited for two months.

And that's what happened last year with his ankle injury. He had to exit practice at least four times over the first seven weeks of the season with an ankle issue, and then it culminated before the Stanford game when he had to get carted off the field and then missed the next three games.

We may not have realized it right away, but Farmer is the clear favorite to be the No. 3. He's the best athlete among the competitors and he has the most big-play potential, which the Trojan coaches have always emphasized over the past two years. But if this hamstring injury stays a nagging injury or something else comes along, Blackwell could be the guy too.

It looks like Farmer's job to lose. The hope is that outside forces don't cause him to lose it.

Practice coverage resumes Tuesday.

USC’s out on spring break this week and not practicing, but each weekday through Friday, we’ll bring you one thing we learned from the first three days of practice last week and what it might mean for the future.

Our first item covered Marqise Lee‘s continued progress, our second the new-look Aundrey Walker and third the situation at backup QB.

Fourth is this: All options will be explored in the interior of the defensive line.

It doesn't necessarily reflect the talent levels of the players who created them, but USC's biggest hole this offseason -- by far -- is at nose tackle.

Nick Perry had a natural replacement, as did DaJohn Harris in George Uko. Matt Kalil had a qualified candidate to replace him at left tackle, too, in Kevin Graf.

But Christian Tupou's spot? The natural person to step in would be J.R. Tavai, but it's clear he's not being looked at as an every-down option. Then there's Antwaun Woods, whose playing time seems to largely depend on his physical condition.

So what next? Ed Orgeron and the Trojans are looking every which way for potential options to fill the hole created by Tupou's departure. Defensive end Wes Horton worked out at tackle last season, but Orgeron said last week that was a failed experiment and will no longer be tried.

Now, defensive end Greg Townsend Jr. is getting time at the three-technique, which could presumably push Uko to nose if it works out. Redshirt freshman Christian Heyward is sitting out the spring after undergoing shoulder surgery, but he'll get a long look come fall camp to determine if he can contribute 20 or snaps a game.

One thing is clear: The nose tackle spot is going to be USC's biggest 2012 weakness, unless someone unexpectedly emerges. Tupou wasn't a high-profile contributor, but he rarely made mistakes and he was consistently on the field when healthy.

The Trojans could use a similar player this season, since Uko, Horton and Devon Kennard -- the other starting defensive linemen -- have the ability to produce enough quarterback pressure on their own.

Check back later Friday for the fifth and final thing we learned from the spring.

USC’s out on spring break this week and not practicing, but each weekday through Friday, we’ll bring you one thing we learned from the first three days of practice last week and what it might mean for the future.

Our first item covered Marqise Lee‘s continued progress and our second the new-look Aundrey Walker. Third is this: Cody Kessler and Max Wittek are both going to get a lot of time this spring.

It makes sense, but it's still interesting.

Lane Kiffin said last week, after the Trojans' first two practices, that he was going to significantly limit Matt Barkley's snaps this spring in order to give him fewer chances to get hurt and the other quarterbacks more chances to get better.

What is that going to mean for this spring? We're going to get a better look at both backups than last spring or fall. (Jesse Scroggins should see some snaps too, but he seems to be falling further and further down the Dillon Baxter-style spiral.) And we should have a pretty good idea of who to expect to win the job after Barkley departs next season.

Right now, it's still fairly even, as it has been since both players arrived on campus last January. Kessler continues to command the huddle like a player at least a year or two more experienced than him, and Wittek continues to show flashes of the make-every-throw ability coaches at all levels find inherently attractive.

Here's what is even more interesting about this situation going forward: How is Kiffin going to handle the process of naming the starter? He could name one at the end of next spring, like Pete Carroll did with Aaron Corp in 2009, allowing the choice to get comfortable with the new position. Or he could wait until midway through fall camp and keep the competition up all summer, which could push each player more.

The second option would also have the side-effect of making both guys stay put for the 2013 season. If, say, Kiffin named Wittek the starter next April, it wouldn't be at all surprising if Kessler announced the next month he was transferring. But if Kiffin gets both players to stick around, that gives him more options all season long, and more options are always good.

Of course, this is all speculative, and we should be able to speculate better in about a month, after we see what both players do with their increased snaps.

Check back Thursday for item No. 4.

USC's out on spring break this week and not practicing, but each weekday through Friday, we'll bring you one thing we learned from the first three days of practice last week and what it might mean for the future.

Our first item covered Marqise Lee's continued progress. Second is this: The new-look Aundrey Walker is probably going to start, and it's probably going to be at right tackle.

Walker has lost at least 50 pounds over the last 14 months, and Lane Kiffin won't let anyone within earshot forget it.

Not that it'd be easy to forget -- Walker looks like a new man. The 6-6, 320-pounder says he feels "more alive" since losing the weight, and he can stay in for a series of plays during practice without appearing fatigued by the fourth or fifth.

He's good to go now, basically. With his combination of quickness, size and technique, he's worthy of a starting spot. But the question all offseason was whether he was going to be the left tackle for the Trojans in 2012 or the right, and, judging from the first week of practice, it's now safe to assume he's going to be the right.

He didn't play a snap on the left side. All the first-string snaps there went to Kevin Graf, who started on the right last season and did well in most of USC's games.

Graf has said he feels more comfortable on the left side as opposed to the right, which might be the biggest reason for Kiffin and offensive line coach James Cregg's decision to put him there. Another potential reason: Putting Walker on the right is less stressful. He'll get a chance to develop there next season and then scoot over to the left when Graf leaves, either after the 2012 or 2013 season.

The line would now appear set, with Graf-Marcus Martin-Khaled Holmes-John Martinez-Walker the likely formulation. But here's one other thing we've learned this spring: Martin's left guard spot might not be entirely secure.

Redshirt freshman Cyrus Hobbi spent some time with the first-team there last week. He did it because Martin had class, but he looked good doing it. That'll be a storyline to keep track of in the coming weeks.

Check back Wednesday for the third thing we noticed from the first week of USC spring practice.

USC's out on spring break this week and not practicing, but we'll still have content on the ESPNLA.com USC Report. Each weekday through Friday, we'll bring you one thing we learned from the first three days of practice last week and what it might mean for the rest of spring practice and the future.

First is this: Marqise Lee is getting better already.

Lane Kiffin wasn't afraid to admit it after a practice this week.

If there were such a thing as one-and-dones in college football as there is in college basketball, Marqise Lee would already be a goner. He'd have trekked to the Combine last month, worked out at Pro Day last week and maybe visited a practice last Tuesday or Thursday to say hello and goodbye.

He's that good, that talented, that promising. But, luckily for Kiffin and the Trojans, there is no such rule -- Lee is guaranteed to be theirs for the next two seasons.

Through three practices this spring, we've seen Lee perform to a level rarely seen across the country in March. His body control, perhaps his best asset as an athlete, is already performing at its peak, as the sophomore-to-be has demonstrated multiple times with acrobatic catches.

He attributes that to track & field. He's been running and training and jumping for the last month and a half with the track team, so he skipped past the normal part of spring practice where elite athletes are usually getting back to speed.

"I don't get tired at all and I've noticed it," Lee said last week. "Last year in fall camp, I'd get tired after the first four plays.

"Now that I'm doing track I don't get tired all practice and I can run hard all day."

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Notes from Saturday's practice and scrimmage that couldn't fit into our other coverage off the session:

• USC coach Lane Kiffin said the defense dominated the day on Saturday, and it was clear. The Trojans' offense scored just two touchdowns on 56 total plays in 11-on-11 scrimmaging, with those two scores coming from Marqise Lee and De'Von Flournoy.

• Backup quarterback Jesse Scroggins spent almost the entire practice doing rollovers on the field. Kiffin said he "missed something" earlier in the week. Scroggins has made almost no progress this spring and is already falling behind Max Wittek and Cody Kessler in the race to back up Matt Barkley.

• Injury report: Receiver Robert Woods (ankle) is still out, as is fellow pass-catcher George Farmer (hamstring) and several other players who are out for the entire spring. New injuries Saturday included hamstring pulls for running back Buck Allen and linebacker Dion Bailey, as well as a calf strain for center Khaled Holmes, which pushed Abe Markowitz into the first-string lineup.

• Big hits were provided by linebacker Tre Madden on running back D.J. Morgan, cornerback Isiah Wiley on running back Curtis McNeal and fullback Soma Vainuku on defensive end Morgan Breslin. Madden's was probably the biggest of the day -- or at least the loudest. Morgan held onto the ball; McNeal didn't.

• Defensive end Wes Horton had an impressive interception on a ball that appeared to be tipped by defensive tackle George Uko. Cornerback Nickell Robey earned MVP honors from Kiffin after forcing a fumble from Morgan on the final play of 11-on-11 scrimmaging.

• Final notes: 2012 signee Jabari Ruffin (Downey, Calif./Downey) was in attendance at practice along with a number of 2013 signees. ... There were more family members, recruits and media in attendance than had been at Howard Jones Field in at least two years. ... Greg Townsend Jr. continued to work at defensive tackle and looked more comfortable Saturday than the first two practices.

When Marqise Lee first found out that USC's spring practice schedule would be split up by a week-long spring break, he wasn't pleased.

"I hated it," the talented sophomore receiver said after Saturday's scrimmage on Howard Jones Field. "I'm not gonna lie to you -- when I saw the schedule, I was hot. Practice, then spring break, I didn't get it.

"But it's the right thing to do. You come in, see where everybody's at, then you've got time to rest and get better, learn your plays too."

USC, which began practicing on Tuesday, is taking nine days off from on-field work beginning today and returning on March 20, with players reconvening for meetings earlier that week.

Lee is outspoken by nature. Most players polled didn't say they had any sort of disdain for it at any point in time. But the advantage is clear in the case of players like receiver George Farmer and running back Buck Allen, who would both probably miss the next practice or two while recovering from hamstring pulls.

More injuries tend to happen in the first week spring because of the whole get-back-to-full-speed-quickly thing, so it makes sense. Center Khaled Holmes missed the team portion of practice Saturday because of a strained calf and it threw the whole offense out of whack.

Then there's the fact that last season ended so early for the Trojans -- November 26 -- so it makes to bridge the gap a bit by starting the spring earlier.

For example, UCLA doesn't start spring practice until April 3, but the Bruins will still have a shorter offseason than the Trojans because their season didn't end until New Year's Eve.

So, why was Lee initially so angry about the early-starting spring practice? Not for selfish reasons -- he still has to be around campus the whole week for track purposes.

He just thought it would let the team enjoy the break more. But he's come around to the idea.