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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.

The 2012 NFL draft begins tomorrow, Thursday.

USC has two players expected to be taken in the first round, two more players who should definitely be picked at some point over the draft's three days and three other prospects who stand a chance of being selected.

We break down those seven players' draft stock here, in order of their projected selection:

LT Matt Kalil

The two-year USC starter was looked at as a virtual lock to go No. 3 overall to the Minnesota Vikings for quite some time, but there has been recent speculation that his stock is dropping. Still, an absolute worst-case scenario would have Kalil going sixth to St. Louis or seventh to Jacksonville. There's no way he falls out of the top eight, which would make him the highest USC selection since Mark Sanchez went fifth to the Jets in 2009.

DE Nick Perry

Scouts' and experts' opinions on Perry appear varied. Some have him scratching the top half of the first round and some have him falling near the end of the bottom half. The physical specimen still seems like a great bet to be picked at some point among the top 32 picks. One of the factors that will decide how he goes is whether teams will select him as a 4-3 end or 3-4 outside linebacker, which are both possibilities considering his skill set.

DT DaJohn Harris

Harris has some work-ethic issues and medical concerns with sleep apnea and a patent foramen ovale, but he also has the potential to be a starting defensive tackle at the next level, and that should get him picked somewhere in the fourth or fifth rounds, which means he'll probably have to wait until Saturday to be selected with the draft's format. Harris never had a truly consistent long stretch with the Trojans, but he showed flashes on a number of occasions.

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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 defensive coordinator Ed Orgeron and head coach Lane Kiffin both compared a current USC defensive linemen to former Trojans defensive tackle Mike Patterson on Thursday, but they were different players.

Orgeron said sophomore J.R. Tavai resembled Patterson in his ability to play nose tackle despite his light weight; Kiffin said redshirt freshman Antwaun Woods resembled him because of his precipitous weight loss since arriving on campus last August.

The funny thing: Tavai and Woods are competing against each other this spring for the only truly open starting spot on the USC team. Every other position everywhere else has either a returning starter or a clear-cut leader. Nose guard is totally up for grabs between Tavai and Woods with Christian Tupou graduating and pursuing an NFL career.

They're totally different, too. Tavai is the over-achieving type, a 6-2, 271-pounder who doesn't show a ton of physical potential but proved enough to get on the field as a true freshman last season. Woods has been an underachiever thus far, seriously underwhelming the USC coaches in fall camp last year when he showed up weighing 340 pounds on his 6-1 frame.

More than likely, the two are going to split time at nose tackle in 2012. If both players can't be counted on to play at least 20 or 30 snaps a game this season, USC's defensive line is going to be in trouble. Former defensive end Greg Townsend Jr. has been working at tackle so far this spring and former offensive guard Cody Temple is too, but there are no other healthy defensive tackles on the roster besides George Uko, will start at three-technique.

Patterson, of course, was a stout 6-foot, 290-pound tackle who found success at nose guard at USC after coming in weighing considerably more than that. Orgeron fell in love with Patterson's potential as a high-schooler and convinced then-coach Pete Carroll he could turn into something.

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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.

USC had seven players participate in the NFL combine, which officially concluded Tuesday in Indianapolis. Some of those players helped their stock significantly and some hurt it sizably. In order of projected draft selection, let's break down the performances:

LT Matt Kalil

Kalil did absolutely nothing to hurt his status as arguably the top non-quarterback in the draft and did a good amount to help it. Scouts were impressed with the 306 pounds on his 6-foot-7 frame, and his official 4.99 40-yard dash time was among the best for offensive linemen.

Reports from Indianapolis had him as the top performer in position-specific drills, too.

DE Nick Perry

We wrote a month ago that Perry could stand to benefit more from the combine than any other player in the country. That turned out to not be too far-fetched.

The defensive end bulked up to 270 pounds on his 6-3 frame for the event and managed to keep his 40-yard dash time under 4.6 seconds, according to multiple reports. An official time of 4.64 is still darn fast, especially when considering his 38.5-inch vertical leap.

Compare those numbers to what DeMarcus Ware, a college defensive end who now plays 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL, put up in the 2005 combine: He measured in at 6-4 and 256 pounds, ran a 4.56 40 and jumped 38.5 inches.

Those are very similar. Ware beat Perry in the 20-yard shuttle and three-cone drill, but Perry comfortably beat Ware in the bench press.

Ware went 11th overall to the Cowboys in 2005. Perry's going to go in the first round too.

DT DaJohn Harris

Harris didn't do the 40 or bench press or any of the other drills because of an unspecified injury, but he did measure in at 6-3 and 306 pounds, meaning he likely lost a good five or 10 pounds from his 2011 playing weight.

Still a potential third-rounder, USC's March 7 pro day is now an absolutely crucial event for Harris.

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Last we wrote, running back Marc Tyler and defensive tackle DaJohn Harris were the only two 2011 Trojans to receive official invitations to the NFL Combine later this month.

Now, we know, there have been three other former USC players invited to participate in the Feb. 22-Feb. 28 event: defensive tackle Christian Tupou, linebacker Chris Galippo and tight end/fullback Rhett Ellison. The three were asked later in the process than Tyler and Harris.

Left tackle Matt Kalil, a sure top-10 pick in April's NFL draft, has not yet been officially invited but is just about a guarantee to end up in Indianapolis for the festivities. Defensive end Nick Perry's situation is the same way.

Last month in Florida, Tyler and Harris played in the East-West Shrine Game, considered the second best college All-Star game played each offseason after the Senior Bowl. No Trojans were invited to that game, although Galippo and receiver Brandon Carswell did play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl Game in Carson last month as well.

The 2012 NFL draft begins April 26.

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’ve been doing a series on the Trojans’ top 10 performers in 2011 since last week, ranking the team’s best players based on their overall value to the team last season.

The first nine players, listed here in descending order and revealed day-by-day over the last two weeks on the USC Report, were T.J. McDonald, Christian Tupou, Curtis McNeal, Nick Perry, Dion Bailey, Marqise Lee, Nickell Robey, Robert Woods and Matt Kalil.

Our No. 1 performer, then, is quarterback Matt Barkley.

It's fitting that this post was scheduled all along for this day and it ended up being just 24 hours after Barkley announced he'd be returning for his senior season in 2012.

It was a special day at Heritage Hall on Thursday, one many will point to as the official kick-starter of the next 12-plus months if USC goes on to seriously chase a national championship next season.

But the Trojans' quarterback has had a truly remarkable last two months regardless, considering how he closed out USC's 2011 season with wins over Oregon and UCLA in exactly the "big-bang" style he wanted. You can make a convincing argument Barkley performed better last season than any other USC quarterback has ever performed.

And that's probably the biggest reason why he was so firmly entrenched atop this list in our minds. Kalil, Woods and the coaching staff helped make him who he was, but the truth is that a ton of the credit has to go to Barkley himself.

So, yes, he'll be back next season. And he'll be the odds-on favorite to win this honor and probably some others as well, like the Heisman Trophy.

Next season's USC team seems to have every element to be a huge part of the sports world. The charismatic Barkley will be dealing with as much buzz -- on and off campus -- as any college student-athlete in many, many years.

If anyone can handle it, he can.

And with that, we conclude our top-10 performer series and take a look at five players who just missed being ranked in the top 10.

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We’re doing a series on the Trojans’ top 10 performers in 2011, ranking the team’s best players based on their overall value to the team last season.

The first eight players, in descending order, were T.J. McDonald, Christian Tupou, Curtis McNeal, Nick Perry, Dion Bailey, Marqise Lee, Nickell Robey and Robert Woods.

No. 2, then, is left tackle Matt Kalil, one of two USC juniors to declare early for the draft and thus end his Trojans' career.

Would Matt Barkley have been able to have the year he had in 2011 without the help of Kalil?

Not a chance. Kalil did it without fanfare most of the time, but his performances at left tackle were incredibly key to USC's success last season. Imagine how things would have gone in the first few of the games of the year if there were no Kalil, if the Trojans were forced to break in five players at five new positions in one month.

It would've been ugly. And, then, once the season began, Kalil was the glue holding the rest of the line together, teaming with center Khaled Holmes to tutor freshman left guard Marcus Martin on the job and make up for the youthful mistakes of right-siders John Martinez and Kevin Graf.

It's not a coincidence, either, that just about all of running back Curtis McNeal's big rushes came on the left side, either through the hole between Martin and Kalil or to Kalil's left. The rest of the offensive line was average or above-average; Kalil was dominant.

Barkley's staying now, so it's no longer close. But if both he and Kalil had decided to leave, you could have made quite the argument that Kalil would be the harder one to replace, based on the available backups. And there was some thought on our end to put Kalil No. 1, over Barkley.

So, who takes over the left tackle spot in 2012? Graf would make sense, as would sophomore to-be Aundrey Walker, who was given a chance to start at left guard in 2011. If neither of those guys seize the job, it's really a complete unknown as to what USC would do.

But that's a topic for another day. Kalil's headed for the NFL draft next April, where he'll almost assuredly be one of the top 10 players selected and become some team's next great hope on the offensive line for the next dozen years.

He hasn't shown any reason to make people believe he won't be able to do it.

Check back Friday for the conclusion of our series with our No. 1 performer, Barkley. We'll also reveal a five-man Honorable Mention list and explain our next list, which will span next Monday-Friday.

We're doing a series on the Trojans' top 10 performers in 2011, ranking the team's best players based on their overall value to the team last season.

The first seven players, in descending order, were T.J. McDonald, Christian Tupou, Curtis McNeal, Nick Perry, Dion Bailey, Marqise Lee and Nickell Robey. Here, now, is No. 3: receiver Robert Woods.

Woods is an incredibly valuable player, a guy who very rarely gets thrown off his game and fails to produce.

In 11 of the Trojans' 12 games this season, the sophomore receiver produced at least five catches -- and that's as he battled ankle, shoulder and elbow injuries, the first of which has already required surgery this season. His final stats were impressive, too, with 111 catches for 1,292 yards and 15 touchdowns.

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We're doing a series on the Trojans' top 10 performers in 2011, ranking the team's best players based on their overall value to the team last season.

The first six players, in descending order, were T.J. McDonald, Christian Tupou, Curtis McNeal, Nick Perry, Dion Bailey and Marqise Lee. Here's No. 4 now: cornerback Nickell Robey.

He doesn't look the part, standing a listed 5-8 and 165 pounds and actually measuring in closer to 5-6 and 160. But Nickell Robey is a dogged defender for the Trojans and arguably the most important player on the USC defense.

Thinking of the top players the Trojans faced this season, four of the top 10 or so threats USC went up against were wide receivers. Notre Dame's Michael Floyd, Arizona's Juron Criner, Cal's Keenan Allen and UCLA's Nelson Rosario all fit into that category, and Robey totally shut down both Floyd and Criner.

Allen and Rosario had good games, but that's to be expected when dealing with elite threats. They will still good games on occasion, no matter the quality of the defense. It's telling, though, that Floyd, a likely first-rounder in next April's draft, couldn't get anything going against Robey, and Criner, a guy with four 100-yard games in 2011, had his second-worst game of the season.

Consider, also, that those players are seven and eight inches taller than Robey, respectively. That gives you some context to just how dominant Robey was.

And consider what USC would have had to do at the cornerback position if he weren't there. Remember the weeks between when Torin Harris got hurt and Isiah Wiley emerged as a legitimate No. 2 guy? Tony Burnett struggled mightily.

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After concluding our series on the top 10 moments of the 2011 USC football season, we've started a new series on the Trojans' top 10 performers this year. With one player per day Monday-Friday, the list will last until Friday, Dec. 23.

Coming in the first half of the top 10 were T.J. McDonald, Christian Tupou, Curtis McNeal, Nick Perry and Dion Bailey. Here's No. 5, now: receiver Marqise Lee.

We wrote all about Lee's surprising season during our top 10 moment series, in which Lee produced one of the more memorable moments of the season with his two-touchdown performance against Colorado.

Let's, then, do two things in this space: (1) justify why he's placed in this very spot in the list, and (2) quantify just how much he produced for the Trojans in 2011.

Why is Lee fifth? The five guys before him all fit into one group, in a way, as key contributors but not flat-out stars, and the identities of the four players in front of him should now be fairly clear, although we won't get into them just yet.

It's almost like Lee is in a tier of his own -- and rightfully so, considering the season the freshman posted in 2011. He was downright dominant in the latter half of the year and put up much better numbers than Robert Woods in the final five games.

Perry and Tupou were steady presences who didn't have true big-time performances. McDonald and Bailey each had one memorable big game and several very good games, but nothing more. McNeal was good in every game he started but never ridiculously good.

Lee, on the other hand, had three absolutely gigantic performances, including in the final two games, in which he totaled more than 400 yards from scrimmage on his own and three touchdowns.

With 1,143 yards and 11 touchdowns, he was the best freshman wideout in the country, with competition coming only from Clemson's Sammy Watkins, and arguably one of the best freshmen pass-catchers in recent history. There wasn't much he couldn't do, really -- including returning kicks as well. Lee was a constant threat to the opposition.

So quarterback Matt Barkley's clearly in the top four of this list, as is Woods and left tackle Matt Kalil, you can safely assume. Who will take up the last spot, and where do the four remaining players rank?

Our final rankings may surprise you.

Check back Tuesday as we enter the final stretch of our top-10 performers list, this time with a defensive player.

After concluding our series on the top 10 moments of the 2011 USC football season, we’ve started a new series on the Trojans’ top 10 performers this year. With one player per day Monday-Friday, the list will last until Friday, Dec. 23.

So far this week we've had T.J. McDonald at No. 10, Christian Tupou at No. 9, Curtis McNeal at No. 8 and Nick Perry at No. 7. Here's No. 6: linebacker Dion Bailey.

You can't over-credit Lane Kiffin and his staff for the foresight to move Bailey from safety to linebacker last offseason after he redshirted his freshman year. It was one of the smartest position changes in the country in 2011, and it had a gigantic effect on USC's overall success last season.

That said, even Kiffin and Co. didn't quite realize what they had on their hands with Bailey. The 6-foot, 200-pounder was incredibly instinctual as USC's strongside linebacker, starting 11 of 12 games and missing the other only after a concussion.

He led the team in solo tackles and tied with Hayes Pullard in total tackles, adding two sacks, two interceptions and a fumble forced. He rarely missed open-field tackles and showed a rare ability to size up to bigger players to bring them down.

If he could add 10 or 15 points to his frame and keep the same speed, Bailey's a future first-rounder. If he stays the same, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him move back to safety -- in the NFL, certainly, but even potentially at USC next year. If T.J. McDonald ends up leaving early this offseason, the Trojans will need someone to fill his spot,

Bailey could be that guy.

Why do we say Kiffin and the USC coaching staff didn't know how good Bailey could be right away? Pay attention to how Kiffin approached the move early on. In spring practice, the Trojans' coach referred to the Lakewood as a sort of nickel-backer, a guy who would come in on third-down situations as a hybrid defensive back/linebacker and allow USC to match up better against Pac-12 offenses.

They didn't know right away he'd be able to handle the job full-time. And it didn't really seem like Bailey would be the guy until the Trojans' first scrimmage at the Coliseum in fall camp, when he picked off back-to-back passes from quarterbacks Matt Barkley and Cody Kessler, taking one back for a pick six.

That got him going. Four weeks later, he got the season-opening start against Minnesota, and, a month after that, he broke out in a big way against Cal with two interceptions and a forced fumble in a road win over the Bears.

Perhaps the most interesting, most telling thing about Bailey: He doesn't get complacent. The 19-year-old said over and over this season that he wasn't happy with his performance, believing he could play a lot better than he had.

It looks like he will later.

Check back Saturday for performer No. 5,

After concluding our series on the top 10 moments of the 2011 USC football season, we've started a new series on the Trojans' top 10 performers this year. With one player per day Monday-Friday, the list will last until Friday, Dec. 23.

Coming in at No. 10 Monday was safety T.J. McDonald, at No. 9 on Tuesday was defensive tackle Christian Tupou and No. 8 on Wednesday was running back Curtis McNeal. Here's No. 7: defensive end Nick Perry.

If Tupou was, as we wrote Tuesday, the key to the USC run defense's rapid improvement from 2010 to 2011, then Perry was the catalyst to the pass defense's development over the course of the 2011 season.

It was still a weakness, no doubt. But Perry and his conference-leading 9.5 sacks and three forced fumbles were a big part of the unit's emergence as the season progressed. He didn't reach his stated goal of 15-plus sacks, but 9.5 is a worthy sum in itself, and the fact that he led the entire conference says quite a bit about what that number means.

And it wasn't just the sacks -- it was the pressure, and even the threat of pressure. Ask the conference's coaches who they think was the most dominating defensive player in the conference in 2011, and half of them will mention Perry's name. Offensive linemen sweated their meetings with him all year long.

Where does Perry stand now? He hasn't publicly announced a decision whether to stay for his senior season or head to next April's NFL draft, but he has a great shot to go high in the draft if he does indeed declare. He has everything an NFL team would want: enough production, incredible measures, and a solid work ethic and just-do-it mentality.

He won't win any personality awards, sure. He never looked comfortable talking to the media in his four years at USC. But that really doesn't matter.

Perry, 21, quietly went about his business. He had some shining moments, too, demonstrating a knack for knocking the ball out of quarterback's hands.

The next question: How will USC replace him, if he does indeed declare? Luckily, the Trojans had a three-man rotation at end all season, so there won't be any new players taking the majority of the snaps. Seniors-to-be Devon Kennard and Wes Horton will handle that. Where will the third and fourth ends come from?

Well, if Armond Armstead comes back and is cleared to compete, there's an easy answer. Greg Townsend Jr. seems like a likely candidate -- and junior-to-be Kevin Greene is going to get some snaps, too. But none of those players will replace the true dynamic pass-rushing ability Perry offers.

Check back Friday for performer No. 6, another defensive player.