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USC released its annual end-of-spring depth chart last week, which we posted mostly without comment at the time. Here, now, is our position-by-position analysis of what Lane Kiffin and Co. released, with an eye on what it means for the 2012 Trojans.

Quarterback

This was exactly as expected, with Matt Barkley entrenched and Cody Kessler and Max Wittek continuing to compete behind him. It is noteworthy that Jesse Scroggins is listed a spot behind the two redshirt freshmen and not tied with them, but it'd be a little unfair for him to be anywhere else. He missed most of the spring with hip issues and is still in academic jeopardy.

Running back

Where would Tre Madden have been if he wasn't out for the 2012 season? That's the question this portion of the chart begs. Curtis McNeal would still be starting, but Madden could very well be vying with D.J. Morgan for that No. 2 spot. Javorious Allen will be the third-string back unless he gets beat out by an incoming freshman.

Fullback

Soma Vainuku is locked in as the starter with no pressing competition, but he had himself a nice conclusion to the spring anyway, giving the coaching staff more confidence in him going into the summer. Jahleel Pinner will be somewhat of an unknown.

Receiver

De'Von Flournoy jumped in front of Victor Blackwell with an impressive spring, and has now put himself into position to challenge George Farmer for third-receiver status in the fall. And if Farmer can't stay healthy (again), then Flournoy's suddenly the favorite to line up with Robert Woods and Marqise Lee.

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What did Kennedy Polamalu, USC's second-year running backs coach, think about how his players performed Thursday, the second day of 2012 spring practice?

"Hey, we got through another practice," Polamalu said. "I'm happy about that. We got through another practice and we didn't have to throw anyone back there that didn't know what they were doing, so I'm happy."

It's not that Polamalu's expectations are lowered. He just has to be very, very careful about keeping his guys healthy. Polamalu has only three scholarship tailbacks with whom to work this spring and few reinforcements are coming in the fall.

It'll be Curtis McNeal, D.J. Morgan and Buck Allen carrying the ball for the Trojans. That's it. Soma Vainuku might get a few carries, but he's a fullback, not a tailback, and incoming recruit Jahleel Pinner's much of the same. Nelson Agholor might get some time there in the fall, but no one else is even a possibility.

"Yeah, that's very scary for us," Trojans coach Lane Kiffin said this week. "We have so little experience and numbers there in general and really nothing coming to help that very much."

The good thing: Talent isn't an issue. Morgan started USC's season opener last year over McNeal, Marc Tyler, Dillon Baxter and Amir Carlisle. McNeal himself ended up surpassing 1,000 yards on the season and has inherited the starting spot. Allen's an unknown but has shown serious potential.

"I believe we have the talent," Polamalu said.

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Since last season ended, we've looked at the top 10 performers from last year, the top 10 moments and the top five questions for the new year.

And, lately, we've done previews for every position group at USC: quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, tight ends, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers, cornerbacks, safeties and special teams.

Now, with spring practice officially beginning for the Trojans on Tuesday at 4 p.m., let's take a look at five remaining questions for the month-long spring session.

1. Can Matt Barkley keep improving?

After his first two seasons at USC, there were clear areas where quarterback Matt Barkley could improve his game.

At the end of his freshman year, he had to cut down on his interceptions, among other things. At the end of his sophomore year, he had to develop a more consistent throw downfield -- again, among other things.

But this year? Barkley's stats were flat-out fantastic in 2011, easily reaching two of the three goals coach Lane Kiffin set for him and coming very close to the other.

The three: connect on 30 or more touchdowns, throw 10 or fewer interceptions and achieve a 70 percent completion percentage. He threw for 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions with a completion percentage of 69.1.

Sure, the one he didn't meet is a good carry-over goal for 2012. But what else can he even do?

We should find out this spring.

2. Will alternative ball-carrying sources emerge?

It's not as if this topic hasn't yet been broached -- on this blog and others. But it's still worthy of examination. Who is the Trojans' No. 3 ball carrier going to be behind Curtis McNeal and D.J. Morgan?

Amir Carlisle's transfer in January made this an issue. But fullback Soma Vainuku might be an option for a couple of carries a game, and so might Jahleel Pinner when he gets to USC in the summer.

One last possibility: A player from another position could always be moved -- temporarily or for good. The Trojans just fixed some depth issues at defensive tackle by moving Cody Temple there from the offensive line.

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We're doing position-by-position previews in the two weeks leading up to spring practice, breaking down the depth chart for one position group each day, paying special attention to potential things that can change in the spring.

Tuesday, we looked at the quarterbacks. Here's a take on the running backs.

Few realize just how good USC's Curtis McNeal was in 2011. The fourth-year junior averaged almost seven yards per carry last season, totaling just over 1,000 rushing yards on just 145 carries for a 6.9 yards per carry average.

How good was that? Put it this way: Only one other player in the NCAA (Missouri's Henry Josey) reached even 900 yards with that few carries. McNeal tied for 11th in the country in yards per carry among running backs, and a number of the players in front of him were backups, like Alabama's Eddie Lacy and Oklahoma State's Jeremy Smith.

If he can come close to replicating that efficiency while taking on true starter's carries in 2012, McNeal should surpass 1,500 yards with ease.

Look at this way: USC ran roughly 375 designed run plays in 12 games last season, not counting sacks. That equates to just over 31 rushes per game. If coach Lane Kiffin gives McNeal a reasonable majority of 20 of those 31 in each of the Trojans' 13 games next season, counting a bowl, he'll get 260 carries.

Multiply that by 6.9 and you get 1,794, obviously a lofty goal but not by means out of reach as long as he stays healthy.

That's where D.J. Morgan comes in. Last year, Lacy got 95 carries while backing up Trent Richardson. To help spell McNeal, USC could give Morgan the same amount and still have another 50 rushes left over to spread between quarterbacks, fullbacks and alternate sources.

And that's what this spring is about, really -- finding who those 50 will go to, or, in other words, who the No. 3 option is. McNeal's No. 1 and Morgan's No. 2, but is Buck Allen, the only other running back on the roster, the third? Or is it fullback Soma Vainuku?

And, if neither of those two emerge as capable ballcarriers, will it be incoming freshmen Jahleel Pinner and Nelson Agholor getting cracks at it once they get to USC in the fall?

Check back Thursday for the receivers.

USC brings back a lot of talent at the skill positions in 2012, with quarterback Matt Barkley, running back Curtis McNeal and receivers Robert Woods and Marqise Lee all returning.

But there's one spot still open as spring practice nears and official preparation for next season approaches: fullback.

Trojans coach Lane Kiffin says redshirt freshman Soma Vainuku will get the first crack at replacing the departed Rhett Ellison, but he'll get competition from Simione Vehikite and Jahleel Pinner over the next several months, and potentially others, too. There are a number of Trojans with some experience playing fullback, like tight end Christian Thomas and defensive end Charles Burks.

And the interesting thing about the fullback slot this year is that it might involve quite a bit of carrying the ball -- or at least more than in past years. With only three running backs on the roster and the two experienced ones both weighing under 210 pounds, the fullback might also be the big back.

Vainuku would fit that role well.

"I would definitely embrace that," he said this week, after an unofficial team throwing session. "In high school, I was a fullback. But, really, I was pretty much a running back."

"Especially with the depth at running back for us this year, I could definitely see (running backs) coach (Kennedy) Pola asking me to get a couple reps at running back and helping them get a breather, being there for them."

There's that, and there's the aspect of pass-catching. Since he got to USC, Kiffin hasn't called for it as much as expected, but the fullback position in the Trojans' offense does have the potential to be serious safety valve -- especially considering that the team's tight ends are big-play threats more than short-route options.

"You gotta be able to catch the ball," Vainuku said. "You have to run a wheel or something a lot. You gotta be good in the flat. You gotta be elusive."

Vainuku was originally a Class of 2010 signee but didn't qualify academically and had to wait for the subsequent spring to begin classes. There was a thought that he could step right in for Stanley Havili last fall, but Kiffin made the decision in fall camp to move Ellison from tight end to fullback to give Vainuku time to develop.

Ross Cumming ended up spending significant time at the spot, too. And Vainuku used his redshirt year and excelled on the scout team.

Now, with a year in the system and a new class of early enrollees joining him last month, he's been one of a few players staying late after each of the throwing sessions and practicing his timing in the passing game with some of the walk-on quarterbacks.

"I feel comfortable right now," Vainuku said. "Having the guys come in the spring finally makes me feel old."

Here are five more USC-centric observations from National Signing Day, focusing on what they will mean for the future of the Trojans. Later, we'll have a post on some news and notes Lane Kiffin revealed in his signing day press conference.

1. The star(s)

Most recruiting classes have one or two players who are recognizable names, often top-recruited quarterbacks or skill-position players from the area.

But the two most exciting players -- defensive end Leonard Williams and receiver Nelson Agholor, both from Florida -- in the Trojans' 2012 class don't fit either of those bills.

Williams' decision to choose USC didn't attract a ton of national attention, but it's clear the Trojans were both surprised and delighted at his choice. Kiffin credited defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron for sealing Williams' signature from out-of-state.

The 6-5, 270-pounder spent high school on the East coast of Florida, but he hails from L.A. and attended a camp at USC last summer. That's where USC's interest stemmed from.

Agholor is an interesting combination as an elite athletic prospect and a superb character guy. His high-school highlight film is prodigious; his press-conference performance Wednesday morning when he picked the Trojans earned him some positive attention.

Kiffin said Agholor will primarily play receiver at USC but could occasionally log some time at running back.

2. Depth issues at two spots

We wrote about the offensive line on signing day and how USC wanted to get one more lineman in the fold, but the truth is there were two other positions where the Trojans needed players more desperately than they did on the O-line.

Those spots? Defensive tackle and running back. The Trojans have only four scholarship tackles on the roster, and two of them have never played in a college game. The other two, J.R. Tavai and George Uko, have played but started a combined one game.

At running back, USC has three scholarship players and only two with any experience in Curtis McNeal and D.J. Morgan.

Kiffin didn't shy away from saying Wednesday that the Trojans were worried about their depth in the backfield. But, he emphasized, they chose being worried about depth over taking a prospect of questionable character or talent.

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Lane Kiffin and USC's coaching staff were a pitching a shutout for the early part of National Signing Day on Wednesday, picking up two huge out-of-state signees in receiver Nelson Agholor and defensive end Leonard Williams early in the morning and sealing the deal on all but one of their longtime commits.

Things were looking good. Then slowly but surely over the next four hours, quarterback Cyler Miles, defensive tackle Aziz Shittu and tackles Kyle Dodson, Andrus Peat and Kyle Murphy, top prospects all of them, each turned the Trojans down. USC, limited to only 15 signees because of NCAA sanctions, finished by securing an important local kid in Carson receiver Darreus Rogers, but the damage had been done.

As Kiffin put it later Wednesday in his press conference at Heritage Hall, USC's "bullpen got rocked."

Kiffin resorted to a pitching analogy to explain how well he thought USC's "starting pitcher" was performing for the first six innings of Signing Day -- getting the Floridians Agholor and Williams, among others -- and how poorly the bullpen performed afterward.

In all, it's unclear if the Trojans actually won the nine-inning game -- that'll come in a year or two or three -- but it didn't go as well as Kiffin and his staff had hoped. It also didn't go nearly as badly as some had projected around the country.

"Obviously you want to focus on the positive, but there's a reality side to it," Kiffin said Wednesday evening. "We had a rough end to the day. But it was a great start, obviously."

The start included Agholor and Williams, which "shocked a lot of people," Kiffin said, and one other "touchdown maker," as Kiffin called him, in tight end Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick. The local kids -- including key offensive linemen Max Tuerk and Jordan Simmons -- all stayed true to their commitments, and the only recruit who defected away from USC was Northern California defensive end Pio Vatuvei, who the Trojans quickly replaced with Williams.

Together, Tuerk, Simmons and Zach Banner, the recruit from the state of Washington who announced he'd picked USC on Monday, add much-needed depth to the Trojans' offensive line, although Murphy, Peat or Dodson would have solidified it even further.

"Size is what sticks out about this class," Kiffin said, recounting the biggest positives from the day, in his eyes. "Really big guys and guys that can play a number of positions.

Kiffin also admitted that he fully expected Murphy, Peat or Dodson to sign, with the Trojans believing at one point last week they were leading in the chase of both Murphy and Peat and believing Wednesday they were first or second in the chase of all three prospects.

"To go 0-for-3 there, I thought we would have at least went 1-for-3," Kiffin said, continuing with the baseball analogy. "And I certainly didn't think two of them would go to the same school."

USC stayed three players below the 15-men limit, which Kiffin said wasn't entirely by design. But it makes sense. By taking only 12 players now, the Trojans save themselves from having to cut three more players to get under the 75-man overall limit come fall camp and allow three early enrollees to come in next January.

The only issue: Depth is at a premium. All 12 players need to pan out and stay in the program, or USC could be in for long-term issues.

"We can't afford attrition," Kiffin said. "So we had to look at everything, from academics to character to how well they play on the field and all the other stuff too.

"We tried to take all that into account."

Here's the full class of the 12 signees:

Nelson Agholor, WR, 6-1, 180, Tampa, FL (Berkeley Prep HS, Tampa, FL)
Zach Banner, OL, 6-9, 335, Puyallup, WA (Lakes HS, Lakewood, WA)
Gerald Bowman, S, 6-1, 215, Philadelphia, PA (Pierce J.C.)
Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick, TE, 6-5, 260, Rocklin, CA (Whitney HS, Rocklin, CA)
Jahleel Pinner, RB, 5-11, 225, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA (Mission Viejo (CA) HS)
Darreus Rogers, WR, 6-2, 195, Compton, CA (Carson (CA) HS)
Jabari Ruffin, LB, 6-4, 230, Downey, CA (Downey (CA) HS)
Kevon Seymour, DB, 6-0, 170, Pasadena, CA (Muir HS, Pasadena, CA)
Devian Shelton, DB, 6-2, 185, Inglewood, CA (Inglewood (CA) HS)
Jordan Simmons, OL, 6-5, 335, Inglewood, CA (Crespi HS, Encino, CA)
Max Tuerk, OL, 6-6, 295, Trabuco Canyon, CA (Santa Margarita HS, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA)
Leonard Williams, DL, 6-5, 275, Daytona Beach, FL (Mainland HS, Daytona Beach, FL)

And the five players who have already enrolled for a total of 17

Scott Starr, LB, 6-3, 230, Norco, CA (Norco (CA) HS)
Chad Wheeler, OT, 6-6, 265, Santa Monica, CA (Santa Monica (CA) HS)
DeVante Wilson, DE, 6-4, 235, Corona, CA (Corona (CA) HS)
Morgan Breslin, DE, 6-3, 255, Walnut Creek, CA (Diablo Valley J.C.)
Josh Shaw, S, 6-2, 195 Palmdale, CA (Florida)

As of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, 11 players have officially signed their letters of intent to attend USC.

The 11, listed in alphabetical order, are receiver Nelson Agholor (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep), offensive tackle Zach Banner (Lakewood, Wa./Lakes), safety Gerald Bowman (Philadelphia, Pa./Pierce College), tight end Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick (Rocklin, Calif./Whitney)running back/fullback Jahleel Pinner (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo), defensive end Jabari Ruffin (Downey, Calif./Downey), cornerback Kevon Seymour (Pasadena, Calif./Muir), cornerback Devian Shelton (Inglewood, Calif./Inglewood), offensive guard Jordan Simmons (Encino, Calif./Crespi), offensive tackle Max Tuerk (Santa Margarita, Calif./Santa Margarita) and defensive lineman Leonard Williams (Daytona Beach, Fl./Mainland).

That is according to their respective announcements and Twitter accounts. USC has made only seven of the signings -- Banner, Cope-Fitzpatrick, Pinner, Ruffin, Seymour, Simmons and Tuerk -- official as of 10:30 a.m.

Cope-Fitzpatrick, Pinner, Ruffin, Seymour, Simmons and Tuerk had been longtime USC commits. Williams and Agholor were known to be interested in the Trojans but had never publicly committed and ended up both picking USC over Florida. Banner announced on Monday he'd be attending USC. Shelton was offered a scholarship only on Tuesday; Bowman was supposed to enroll in school in January but didn't qualify in time and pushed it back to the summer.

Two players who USC had been seriously recruiting ended up not picking USC: offensive tackle Kyle Dodson (Cleveland, Oh./Cleveland Heights) and defensive lineman Pio Vatuvei (Patterson, Calif./Patterson).

Receiver Darreus Rogers (Carson, Calif./Carson) is still committed to USC but is known to be seriously considering Arizona State. He'll make his official announcement at 3 p.m. PT Wednesday.

Other expected announcements that could affect USC are those of offensive tackle Andrus Peat (Tempe, Ariz./Corona Del Sol), quarterback Cyler Miles (Denver, Colo./Mullen), offensive tackle Kyle Murphy (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente), defensive tackle Aziz Shittu (Atwater, Calif./Buhach).

Peat will announce just after 10:30 a.m. PT. Miles has said he will announce at 1 p.m. Murphy will announce at 1:30 p.m. and Shittu is scheduled for a 2 p.m. announcement at his high school.

With the Monday commitment of four-star offensive tackle Zach Banner (Lakewood, Wa./Lakes), USC now has nine Class of 2012 prospects committed to sign with the school out of 14 available spots.

NCAA sanctions limited the Trojans to 15 signees. They can actually only take 14 because safety Gerald Bowman (Philadelphia, Pa./Pierce College) signed as an early enrollee but didn't finish up his junior-college requirements in time to actually enroll early. So, with barely 36 hours remaining until the faxes will begin rolling in to Heritage Hall on Wednesday morning, let's take a look at which players could potentially fill those five spots.

The following 10 prospects are the candidates. They are listed in a rough order of the likelihood they will sign with the Trojans, from most likely to least. Then we'll go over some of the other things that could still affect the final formulation of the recruiting class, like current commits defecting to other schools and last-second, under-the-radar signees.

WR/RB Nelson Agholor (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep)

Although not yet on campus, Agholor has quickly become Robert Woods' understudy at the receiver position, through social media and his official visit to the Trojans earlier this month.

He seems like a perfect fit as the next top-recruit receiver at USC after Woods and Lee. And he has gotten rave reviews on his character and attitude from all over the country. The only other school he could choose at this point is Florida, but he seems very likely to pick USC.

DE Leonard Williams (Daytona Beach, Fl./Mainland)

Williams is also down to just USC and Florida, according to a recent interview with Rivals.com. An interesting aspect of his recruitment is that he is originally from Los Angeles, which would ease the cross-country transition.

One question: Is a third (or fourth) defensive end really the Trojans' biggest need in this limited class? One could make a convincing argument that a running back would be a better use of the scholarship offer. But Williams is also big enough to make a potential transition to defensive tackle possible, and depth is needed there.

OT Andrus Peat (Tempe, Ariz./Corona Del Sol)

Peat is arguably the second most-important recruit remaining for USC, and he has the Trojans in his final three alongside Nebraska and Stanford. Now that he's gotten in at Stanford and with his brother heading into his second season at Nebraska, it's really an unknown how interested he is in USC.

But he has a ton of potential as a tall, room-to-grow player who could easily bookend USC's line with Banner for two or three seasons.

OT Kyle Murphy (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente)

Let's put it this way: If the Trojans don't get either Peat, Murphy or Kyle Dodson (more later) to go along with Banner, something went wrong in the final week of the 2012 recruiting season.

He has USC and Stanford as his final two schools, and many recruiting analysts have speculated that Peat and Murphy will pick different schools, which would obviously help USC's cause. But there's also the worst-case scenario of Murphy picking Stanford and Peat joining his brother as a Cornhusker.

An item of note on the 6-7 Murphy: His high school teammate and good friend, Christian Tober, announced over the weekend he'd be coming to USC as a preferred walk-on in the fall.

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USC can sign 15 players this year as part of its 2012 recruiting class. It's likely the Trojans will ink all 15 of those players on Signing Day, although there is a possibility they could hold off on a player or two to save space for a last-second top prospect.

Position by position, let's delve into who will make up that 15-man list, including the eight prospects already committed, with assistance from ESPN Recruiting, Rivals and Scout. We'll do the offense Saturday and the defense Sunday.

Quarterback

USC is not seriously recruiting any signal-callers. The Trojans have three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster with three or more years of eligibility remaining.

Running back

This is probably the Trojans' biggest position of need after Amir Carlisle left to Notre Dame and George Farmer switched back to receiver.

Curtis McNeal is the clear-cut No. 1 and D.J. Morgan will back him up, but Javorious Allen is the only other scholarship player on the roster. Jahleel Pinner (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) is committed and expected to sign, but he's more of a fullback than a running back.

It's a near-guarantee USC will sign another running back in the 15. Arizona prep athlete D.J. Foster, who dropped USC during his senior season but is now reconsidering, could be the player the Trojans pick up.

Fullback

Pinner is likely to start his USC career as a fullback, so he'll fill the need here. Plus, the Trojans already have redshirt freshman Soma Vainuku and Simione Vehikite also available.

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