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Six 2011 USC Trojans have latched on to NFL teams via the undrafted free-agent wire as of Sunday morning.

Those include defensive tackle DaJohn Harris, who signed with the Tennessee Titans, and linebacker Chris Galippo, who agreed to terms with the Indianapolis Colts. Harris had been projected as a potential mid-round pick in the 2012 NFL draft but slipped because of health concerns, and Galippo had an outside shot of being selected entering the weekend.

The four others: receiver Brandon Carswell, who signed with the Oakland Raiders, long snapper Chris Pousson (Tampa Bay), defensive tackle Christian Tupou (San Diego) and running back Marc Tyler (Green Bay).

Nine players from the 2011 USC squad will have the opportunity to play in the NFL next season, with the six undrafted signees plus first-round draft selections Matt Kalil and Nick Perry and fourth-round pick Nick Perry.

The Trojans could have close to that many drafted next season, led by potential first-round selections Matt Barkley, T.J. McDonald and Robert Woods.

Here are notes and quotes from USC's annual Pro Day event held on campus Wednesday that didn't fit into the rest of our coverage from the day:

• The stars of the day were left tackle Matt Kalil and defensive end Nick Perry, by far. Both players dominated the only thing in which they participated -- position-specific drills. Perry's agility showed up in his drills, when he looked twice as fast as the other defensive linemen in changing directions in small areas. Kalil went one-on-one against Rhett Ellison and Martin Coleman in line/tight end drills and consistently controlled each situation.

• Ellison looked good in pass-catching drills, far more fluid than he did last season. With a respectable time of 4.83 in the 40 and height/weight of 6 feet 5 and 250 pounds, Ellison might be drafted higher than initially projected. Worst-case scenario, he could probably be a usable special-teamer in the NFL. And he has the bloodlines and work ethic to give him the benefit of the doubt.

• Christian Tupou again didn't test well, running 5.50 and 5.40 in the 40-yard dash and struggling some in the defensive-line drills. He's really not a workout-type player and this setting hurts his stock. Running back Marc Tyler said scouts had him in between a 4.64 and 4.70 40, but his official time was in the 4.8-range. He joked that he wasn't going to be running for any 70-yard touchdowns regardless, unless the defender chasing him slipped.

• The fastest 40-yard dash time from a 2011 Trojan was Brandon Carswell's 4.56. Former USC defensive back Cary Harris ran the overall fastest time with a 4.53. The slowest went to Coleman who was timed at 5.95 and 6.03 (gulp). Of the prospects with a legitimate hope of being drafted, Carswell's time helped him the most.

• A general theme from those who went to the NFL combine: It's a little bit scary. Tyler said the time change messed him up and an injured hamstring contributed to his poor running in the 40-yard dash. Linebacker Chris Galippo said he was happy with his performance, not only on the field but in the interview room, where he said he hoped he showed teams he was a "fast-twitch brain" kind of player.

• Among the walk-ons who worked out for USC were tackle Peter Yobo and cornerbacks Boomer Roepke, James Harbin and Allen Noble. Former players included Cary Harris, safety Kevin Ellison, linebacker Nick Garratt and defensive back Josh Pinkard. 2011 Trojans who worked out but aren't expected to be drafted included linebacker Shane Horton, safety Marshall Jones and long-snapper Chris Pousson.

We’re doing position previews leading up to spring practice, breaking down one group’s depth chart each day, paying special attention to things that can change in the spring.

We’ve looked at the quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, tight ends, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers, cornerbacks and safeties so far. Today, we finish things up with the special teams.

USC lost a four-year starter to graduation this winter in long snapper Chris Pousson, but the Trojans already had his replacement ready in Peter McBride, a 2011 signee who redshirted last season.

McBride was one of the top snappers available in that class. He's small -- at a listed 205 pounds, he's 45 less than Pousson -- but he's proven to be technically proficient. The transition shouldn't be terribly difficult.

And the Trojans also have returning starters at kicker and punter in Andre Heidari and Kyle Negrete. Heidari was downright awesome last season, one of the best kickers in the country; Negrete was efficient, downing roughly half his punts inside the 20-yard line and hitting zero touchbacks the entire year.

One interesting thing: Negrete, now a senior to-be, wasn't supposed to win the job last year. That was supposed to be freshman Kris Albarado, another scholarship player in the Class of 2011. But it made some sense for Negrete to punt last season, since Albarado had his redshirt year available.

But what about now? What about now that USC has one scholarship punter and one walk-on both using up years of eligibility? Will the walk-on -- Negrete -- continue to punt over the guy getting a free education?

For what the Trojans needed last season, Negrete was the perfect punter. The offense didn't fail a ton, but when it did, he could consistently pin the opponents back deep in their own territory.

It seems like they'll need the same sort of thing in 2012, which means Negrete is likely to keep the job for another year and Albarado is likely to take over the job as a third-year sophomore in 2013.

If anything's going to change on this front, we'll likely see the start of it this spring.

One other thing: The returner spots are also interesting openings this year, because it's likely USC won't want to use Curtis McNeal or Robert Woods there often to preserve the skill position players' health. So who could emerge there?

Freshman Nelson Agholor will be a prime candidate, but he won't arrive until the summer. We'll see who else shortly.

Check back later today for five final questions before spring practice begins Tuesday at 4 p.m. for USC.

USC has seven players who stand at least a decent chance of being selected in April's NFL draft. With none of them participating in this week's Senior Bowl and the four who played in all-star games already done with their commitments, we figured it's time to delve into where they could be selected and what kind of players they could be at the next level -- starting with the clear-cut top prospect.

LT Matt Kalil

Kalil is going to be a top-10 pick, no doubt about it. The only question with him is how high he'll go. Some draft prognosticators have him firmly entrenched in the No. 2 overall spot of the St. Louis Rams, where new coach and USC alum Jeff Fisher would use him to protect quarterback Sam Bradford, who is said to be the reason he picked the Rams job over other options.

He could also go third, sixth, ninth or 10th -- the teams picking in those spots all need offensive tackles. And potential pick trades could leave him going at any of the other slots, too.

DE Nick Perry

All season long, Perry was projected as a second- or third-round selection. Now that draft analysts are seeing his film, though, Perry has moved right up into the thick of the first-round mix. It's gotten to the point now where it'd be a surprise if he wasn't selected in the first round -- especially after next month's NFL Combine.

Is there anyone who stands to benefit more from next month's festivities than Perry? It's doubtful. He could run a sub-4.5 40-yard dash, based on what he's run in college testing. And he'll put up superb bench-press and weight-room numbers for his 6-3, 250-pound frame.

There are only two questions, then: (1) Can he play defensive end in the NFL or is he better suited to a 3-4 outside linebacker spot? (2) How come he didn't produce a bit more with the Trojans? He never had the monster year he and others predicted he would have.

DT DaJohn Harris

It looks like Harris is going to be taken fairly high, which is interesting, because the 6-4, 310-pounder never produced on a consistent basis until his senior season at USC -- and, even then, he wasn't all that consistent in 2011.

But he is exactly the type of player who could emerge into a starting-caliber defensive tackle in the league. And, based on what he did over the weekend in the East-West Shrine Game, it appears likely he'll be a third- or fourth-round selection in April's draft.

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We’re doing an ongoing series of the top 10 moments of the 2011 USC football season. No. 10 was Robert Woods’ four-yard touchdown grab against Oregon. No. 9 was Curtis McNeal‘s 79-yard touchdown run against Washington. No. 8 was Woods‘ 14-yard catch in the fourth quarter of the Notre Dame game in October. Moment No. 7 was three Matt Barkley record-breaking moments in one.

Here, then, is moment No. 6: Barkley's three-yard fourth-down touchdown pass to Rhett Ellison against UCLA.

Let's get this out of the way: There are a ton of plays that can represent the Trojans' 50-0 victory over the Bruins.

But there's only one that best shows the extent to which USC really dominated UCLA, eliminating them from game contention minutes past kickoff and even toying with the Bruins at times. That was this one.

Already up 22-0 halfway through the second quarter at the Coliseum, Lane Kiffin and the Trojans faced a fourth-and-goal at the UCLA 3-yard line after back-to-back Barkley passes fell incomplete for the only time the entire game.

It was assumed, then, that the Trojans would call on Andre Heidari to convert the chip-shot 20-yard field goal and take the points and the 25-0 lead. But they didn't.

They called, instead, on Barkley and Co. to run the infamous swinging-gate play that mostly failed throughout the year on two-point conversion attempts. From the 3, Barkley took the snap from Chris Pousson and took off to the right, looking at either Heidari on a swing pass of sorts or tight end Xavier Grimble on a short fade.

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LOS ANGELES -- Kyle Negrete came to the line of scrimmage knowing he might get his first-ever chance to execute a fake punt for the Trojans, but whether he'd punt or run for it all depended on what one of his teammates yelled out once they lined up.

It was midway through the second quarter, with the Trojans facing a 4th-and-9 at their own 45-yard line. USC was up 7-3.

Then fullback Ross Cumming, playing the right guard spot on the Trojans' punt team, picked up the Huskies' front and called for the fake when he saw a ton of potential open area where Negrete would be running.

So Negrete got the snap from Chris Pousson and took off running, sprinting down the left side of the field for a 35-yard gain. He was supposed to slide after he secured the first down, but the former linebacker flattened a Washington defender and ran over to the USC sideline to celebrate with his teammates after the big gain.

Five plays later, USC scored its second touchdown of the game and the rout was on. Negrete's run ended up being the game-changer in an eventual 40-17 Trojans win at the Coliseum.

"It took our energy level from here," said cornerback Nickell Robey, holding his hand in front of his face, "to here," reaching up as far as he could. "As a team, it took us all the way to the top. Our momentum was great."

Here's how it happened: As soon as Matt Barkley's third-down pass to Robert Woods went incomplete, USC head coach Lane Kiffin started thinking about how he was in an ideal situation to call one of the fake punts the Trojans practiced so frequently leading up to this game.

He consulted with special teams coach John Baxter, found he agreed with him, and told the punt team to go for it if they saw Washington not lined up in a punt-block formation.

Cumming's the quarterback of the punt unit, so, a few seconds before the snap, he looked up and saw what he was hoping to see. He got just that and told the other 10 members -- in code, of course -- to prepare for the fake. Tight ends Xavier Grimble, Randall Telfer and Rhett Ellison led the way for Negrete's block by taking out the three Huskies who did rush the line upon the snap, and Negrete wasn't touched until he was halfway down the field.

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There is just one Monday left -- tomorrow -- until spring practice officially kicks off for USC on Tuesday, March 22. On each of those Mondays, we've been previewing one-sixth of the Trojans' depth chart and eyeing potential risers and fallers during the monthlong springtime. We began five weeks ago with quarterbacks and running backs and continued four weeks ago with receivers and tight ends, three weeks ago with offensive linemen, two weeks ago with defensive linemen and last week with linebackers and defensive backs. This week, we close up shop with a quick look at the special-teams units before our full spring practice preview tomorrow:

Kicker

1. Andre Heidari, freshman
2. Craig McMahon, redshirt freshman

Heidari is a great kicking prospect, one with a leg already capable of hitting field goals from 50-plus yards out. He, like many young kickers, needs to work on some consistency issues, but it's very likely he'll win the job over the walk-on McMahon straight away in spring as an early enrollee out of Bakersfield Stockdale High.

McMahon's a quality backup, too, though. At times last fall his kicking looked comparable to that of Joe Houston and Jacob Harfman, the two seniors who were competing throughout the season for opportunities to kick.

Punter

1. Kris Albarado, freshman (won't enroll until fall)
2. Kyle Negrete, redshirt junior

Albarado's not enrolling early like his fellow kicking-recruit-mate Heidari, but he's still the projected starter at his position come the fall. In turn, Negrete, a walk-on who transferred from the University of San Diego, will probably do a lot of the punting in spring practice.

Albarado is another strong-legged type, although associate head coach John Baxter was apparently quite enamored with the hang time on his punts in high school.

Kick returner/Punt returner

1. Robert Woods, sophomore
2. Nickell Robey, sophomore
3. D.J. Morgan, redshirt freshman

First, to be fair: this position's chart is a straight guess and could be completely opposite from the what the coaches choose to do, with the return spots often exhibiting a lot of turnover from year to year in a program. But these three players make plenty of sense as returners: Woods returned kicks last season and did so with considerable success -- although not quite the same amount of success as he experienced at the receiver position in his Freshman All-American season. The only question with him as far as returning goes is whether the USC coaching staff wants to add extra snaps and hitting onto his weekly workload during the season.

The same is true for another return candidate and a player who impressed coaches with his return skills last fall camp -- Robey. He'll be USC's top corner and one of two tried-and-true playmakers in the back seven for the Trojans, along with safety T.J. McDonald. He's also small, and, while tough, probably not the most durable player on the team simply because of his 5-8, 165-pound frame.

Morgan's another option and one of the fastest players on the team. Other possible candidates include receivers Brandon Carswell and De'Von Flournoy and running back Curtis McNeal.

Long snapper

1. Chris Pousson, senior
2. Peter McBride, freshman

Pousson has done three years of snapping for the Trojans and will be entering into his fourth year in 2011. He had handled only short snapping prior to 2010 but took on both duties last season, picking up for the departed Cooper Stephenson in that area.

McBride was one of the top long-snapping recruits in the nation this year and is already enrolled in school, giving USC a quality backup at this spot and a snapper-in-training for 2012.

That's it for the for the position-by-position outlook leading into spring practice. Check back tomorrow for five questions that USC hopes spring practice will answer.

Three more recruits have agreed to come on board at USC and enroll in January, the school announced Tuesday.

The three: linebacker Dallas Kelley (Norco, Calif./Chaffey JC), offensive lineman Jeremy Galten (San Mateo, Calif./San Mateo JC) and long snapper Peter McBride (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral).

Kelley and Galten are both junior-college products who will enter USC as juniors with three years to play two. McBride will enter as a freshman and will likely prepare to take over the long-snapping duties from senior to-be Chris Pousson the season after next.

Kelley committed last week, while McBride committed over the summer. Galten had not been publicly known to be a commitment until Tuesday.

USC now has nine early enrollees, including four junior-college players and five high school seniors. The Trojans are believed to have had either nine or 10 openings for early enrollees, so this may have been the last batch of the winter.

Notes, quotes and video from Saturday's morning practice:

• USC coach Lane Kiffin has instituted a new policy for reporting injuries. Only three descriptions will be provided for each injured player -- full, limited, or out -- and there will be no expanding on the extent of the injury from player or coach. It went into effect Saturday.

• Left guard Butch Lewis was the only player characterized as "full" -- Kiffin expects him to start Thursday's season opener against Hawaii. Safety Drew McAllister was "limited," as were right guard Khaled Holmes, defensive end Nick Perry, quarterback Mitch Mustain, cornerback T.J. Bryant, defensive back Patrick Hall, and freshman running back D.J. Morgan. Freshman tight end Xavier Grimble was out, as were linebackers Marquis Simmons and Hayes Pullard. Kiffin indicated that both Pullard (knee) and Simmons (appendectomy) could return to the field within five or so weeks.

• Freshman safety Demetrius Wright was cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center late Friday, per Kiffin, and returned to the practice field Saturday. Quarterback Jesse Scroggins -- the other player sent home by the NCAA -- was cleared Thursday and is listed as the third-string quarterback for the Hawaii game.

• On-field highlight: Robert Woods, who has struggled some since Kiffin declared him the leader to start at split end a week or so ago, had a very solid practice. The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder pulled in about a 35-yard touchdown pass from Matt Barkley in the back end of the end zone and made it look fairly easy.

• Woods beat out Brice Butler -- among others -- to start opposite Ronald Johnson in a race Kiffin described Saturday as close. The coach similarly described the battle at middle linebacker, where true sophomore Devon Kennard beat out redshirt junior Chris Galippo to be the quarterback of the defense.

• Galippo will be the primary backup at all three linebacker spots, Kiffin said Saturday, and will also play on special teams. "It's not like Chris isn't gonna play or anything," senior Michael Morgan, the starter at strongside linebacker, said Saturday. "Chris is a smart guy. He understands the scheme, our defense. He can do 'em all." Morgan added that Galippo was down upon first learning the news but soon realized that he will stilll be counted on to play and contribute in multiple spots on the field.

• There are five days until the first game, making Saturday akin to a typical Monday during the season. Barkley said it felt like game week: "It definitely does. With what we're practicing, the plays we're doing, and the meetings we're having, it definitely feels like game week. I like it -- I love it. You can definitely tell that a game's coming up."

• Final notes: The Trojans practice Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and Monday at 4 p.m. They'll then practice at 2 p.m. on Tuesday before departing for Hawaii later that evening. ...One surprise on the depth chart released Friday evening: walk-on quarterback John Manoogian -- just 6-foot and 205 pounds, will be the backup to scholarship long snapper Chris Pousson.

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Kiffin spoke to the media after Saturday's practice and gave his new briefing on the injury situation. The coach also addressed the process for making decisions for the position battles and a variety of other topics.

Hear what he had to say:

Marc Tyler will start at running back for the Trojans against Hawaii, a remarkable climb for the redshirt junior who opened up fall camp earlier this month as the back with the fewest practice reps -- far behind projected starter Allen Bradford. The always candid Tyler spoke at length Saturday about his thought process upon learning his status with the team at the start of fall, how he felt , and what he thinks he needs to do from here on out:

Hear what Tyler had to say:

Spring practice begins tomorrow for USC. Let's examine what we can expect from the 15-practice schedule, going position by position through USC's defense and expectations for each. Alphabetically, we dive into the significant players at each spot.

K: Jake Harfman, Joe Houston

Harfman and Houston competed with former kicker Jordan Congdonfor the kicking spot last year, but both lost out to the uber-accurate former Nebraska kicker. Now that Congdon has graduated, the two will compete once again. Harfman, a senior, kicked off and punted (in 10 games) last year while Houston backed him up. Harfman attempted one 50-yard field goal and missed; Houston attempted one PAT and converted. Harfman has to be the favorite over Houston, also a senior, but the competition will likely stretch all spring long. Said new special teams coordinator John Baxteron the USCRipsIt special teams preview: "Right now, they're literally names on a piece of paper. They don't compete against each other -- they compete against themselves."

P: Jake Harfman, Boomer Roepke

If Houston were to win the kicking job, a big reason would be to not wear out Harfman's leg, since he will likely be punting and kicking off as well. Roepke, a redshirt sophomore, is a former USC swimmer and walk-on cornerback.

SNP: Chris Pousson, Cooper Stepheson

Look for it to be Pousson on field goal and point-after snaps, and Stepheson on punts. Stepheson, a senior who's a tight end by trade, might have the inside track on the holder spot — although Baxter has said he prefers quarterbacks and punters to do the job. Departing punter Billy O'Malley and quarterback Garrett Green fulfilled the holding duties last season.

KR/PR: Brandon Carswell, C.J. Gable, Ronald Johnson, Curtis McNeal, Travon Patterson

All five of these guys are dynamic athletes, but look for Baxter to primarily utilize a player who will not be a key offensive option (i.e., Johnson could stick to offense instead of continuing at kick returner, especially considering his injury history). Patterson, at just 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, reminds some of a speedy returner under Baxter at Fresno State who had great success in college and in the NFL, Clifton Smith. Gable, a senior, and McNeal, a redshirt sophomore, have experience taking back kicks. Carswell, a fourth-year junior, and Patterson, a senior, could return punts.