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USC receiver/trackster Marqise Lee qualified for next month's NCAA championships in the long jump with a personal-record jump of 25 feet, 5 1/2 inches in Thursday's NCAA Regionals held in Austin, Texas.

His mark was second in his flight and seventh among all jumpers. He entered into the competition ranked 20th in the region, meaning he placed well above his ranking.

Lee's career best entering into the 2012 track season was 24 feet, eight inches, so the month of track-specific training he's done since football ended last month has helped him improve significantly.

In other football/track news, running back/hurdler D.J. Morgan will run the 110-meter hurdles on Friday in Austin in an attempt to qualify for the NCAA championships, and linebacker/jumper Tony Burnett will do the triple jump. Notable sprinter Bryshon Nellum easily won his heat in the 400-meter and will compete in the quarterfinals Friday.

The NCAA championships are held in Des Moines, Iowa, from June 6-9.

Three USC football players participated in the Pac-12 track and field championships over the weekend in Eugene, Ore. -- and another high-profile Trojan trackster surprised in the Pacific Northwest with a comeback win.

Receiver Marqise Lee, running back D.J. Morgan and linebacker Tony Burnett collectively competed in the relay, hurdle and jump events for the Trojans, giving USC three of its 11 points-scoring participants.

Bryshon Nellum, the former Long Beach Poly sprinter who was shot in the leg near the USC campus in October 2008, came from behind to win the 400-meter sprint with a personal-best time of 45.20 seconds. To do it, he motored past reigning conference champion Mike Berry in the final stretch and improved on his previous best by nearly two tenths of a second.

Lee ran the first leg for USC's 4x100m relay team which finished in sixth. Oregon's De'Anthony Thomas and Oregon State's Malcolm Marable, both football players, also ran the race for their respective schools. Thomas ran anchor and led the Ducks to a second-place finish; Marable ran first like Lee and finished in eighth.

Lee also finished fourth in the long jump with a mark of just over 25 feet and one inch -- eight inches behind the winner. Lee's mark was better than the 24-8 best he posted in high school, which was the second-best mark among all high schoolers in 2011.

Morgan was the top USC hurdler, finishing fifth with a time of 14.21 in the 110-meter hurdle in his second competitive hurdle race since his junior season of high school at Woodland Hils Taft. He ran a 14.48 in the preliminary heat.

Burnett, who came to USC for track and then walked on to the football team and later earned a scholarship, finished 15th in the triple jump -- second among USC jumpers.

Overall, the USC men finished seventh and the women finished fourth.

The last time USC had as few as three players selected in an NFL draft, as did they did last weekend, the Trojans were coming off a 6-6 season in Pete Carroll's first year on the job.

That was April 2002.

Cornerbacks Kris Richard and Chris Cash went in the third and sixth rounds, respectively. Thus, the common reaction would be to dismiss that year as having nothing to do with this one, when Matt Kalil and Nick Perry each went in the first round and then only tight end/fullback Rhett Ellison was taken among the remaining 231 selections.

But that would be incorrect.

The two years actually share a lot of similarities -- starting with the fact that the talent on both the 2001 and 2011 squads was overwhelmingly backloaded with underclassmen. The lack of draftable talent in 2002 -- along with the success the 2002 team would go on to have -- foreshadowed the five players who would be taken in 2003, including two in the first round.

And the lack of draftable talent in 2012 should foreshadow the many players likely to be selected in 2013, including three potential first-rounders.

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USC football players Marqise Lee, Tony Burnett and Nickell Robey are all expected to compete in Sunday's dual track & field meet between USC and UCLA, an annual affair valued highly by both programs.

All three are competing in the long jump Burnett, a backup linebacker for the football Trojans, will take part in the triple jump; Robey and Lee are each expected to run segments of the 4x100m relay.

Earlier this year, the trio and fellow football/track participant D.J. Morgan ran the 4x100m as a foursome and challenged USC's normal combination. Morgan, a running back on the football team, is not expected to participate Sunday.

Among football players also competing in track & field events, Lee (long jump) and Burnett (triple jump) have each posted the top marks in their events among all divisions of the NCAA, according to stats compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Sunday's meet will be held at UCLA.

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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LOS ANGELES -- Tre Madden is no longer the story of spring practice for the USC Trojans. The linebacker-turned-running-back who caught fire after moving to offense last month tore his left knee on Thursday and is out for the 2012 season.

Now, the story is who's going to replace him.

Redshirt freshman Buck Allen, one of the most unknown quantities on the Trojans' roster, started to make his case in Saturday's scrimmage at the Coliseum with the most extended time he has experienced this spring while bothered by a right hamstring pull. USC coach Lane Kiffin indicated he has been giving a lot of thought to other options to fill the big-back role Madden had quickly assumed behind starter Curtis McNeal.

And, it's a bit crazy, but Kiffin also called Madden "one of the most valuable guys on the team" because the Trojans "don't have anybody else like him."

It really was a fast rise and fall for Madden this spring. It still has been only 20 days since he found out from the coaching staff he was being moved to running back for experimental purposes and less than two weeks since Kiffin confirmed he was staying there long-term.

Madden has 226 pounds on his 6-foot frame. Allen, his natural replacement, is listed at 215 pounds -- so there's ground to make up there. And he also has been bothered by injuries on-and-off since his arrival on campus last August. But he's really the Trojans' best hope behind McNeal and speedy No. 2 back D.J. Morgan.

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Notes off Thursday's practice that won't make into our other coverage off the session:

• USC coach Lane Kiffin seems pleased with his offensive line, which has taken shape this spring with Aundrey Walker manning the left tackle spot and Marcus Martin, Khaled Holmes, John Martinez and Kevin Graf slotting next to him in order. We'll have more on Walker's status later Thursday.

• Injury report: Tight end Randall Telfer (hamstring) returned to practice before re-aggravating the hamstring. Safety Drew McAllister (hip), running back Buck Allen (hamstring) and tight end Junior Pomee (foot) missed practice with their respective injuries. Linebacker Marquis Simmons (undisclosed) exited practice early and receiver De'Von Flournoy (undisclosed) was limited. Quarterback Max Wittek (foot) didn't participate in the 11-on-11 drills but is expected to be ready to go for Saturday's scrimmage.

• In more positive news, tight end Xavier Grimble returned to practice for the first time in a month. He hurt his toe during the Trojans' first Tuesday practice of the spring and had been rehabbing it since. His presence gave the Trojans their first healthy tight end for a full practice in weeks.

• Receiver Marqise Lee got into a bit of a shoving match with some of his defensive teammates following a route. He minimized the incident after the practice, saying he did it to raise the energy level of the practice. "You know how teams are," Lee said. "We were going after it and got a little bit too hyped and started pushing each other."

• Quarterback Cody Kessler threw his first interception of the spring to linebacker Tony Burnett. We'll have more on this Friday, including Kessler's reaction to breaking up his no-hitter, as the Trojans' coaches were calling it.

• Final notes: Saturday's 11 a.m. scrimmage at the Coliseum is open to the public, as previously reported. ...Matt Barkley was picked off by cornerback Isiah Wiley for his eighth interception of the spring. ...Several Marines from the Wounded Warriors West Battalion at Camp Pendleton visited practice and spoke to Kiffin, Barkley and Holmes afterward.

Notes from Saturday's scrimmage at the Coliseum that won't make it into our other coverage off the session:

• Quarterback Matt Barkley did not participate in the scrimmage portion of practice, giving way to backups Cody Kessler and Max Wittek. Wittek started off as the No. 1 signal-caller before the two switched at the half. We'll have more on the race to back up Barkley on Sunday.

• Defensive line coach Ed Orgeron said there are four players battling to be the third and fourth ends behind Devon Kennard and Wes Horton this season, and none of them have stepped up considerably ahead thus far. He also said Greg Townsend Jr. will no longer practice inside at tackle after he spent the first couple weeks of practice learning the new position. We'll have more on this Monday, along with an update on the running back situation with Curtis McNeal and Tre Madden.

• Injury report: Safety Drew McAllister (leg) returned after missing the latter half of Thursday's practice. Aside from that, nothing changed from Thursday's injury situation, although Kiffin did say center Khaled Holmes (calf) and fullback Soma Vainuku (back) could return Tuesday. Receiver George Farmer (hamstring) did mostly special-teams work, marking the eighth straight practice he has now missed because of the hamstring pull. Running back Buck Allen (hamstring) ran on the sideline for most of practice.

• The lone new injury: Receiver Victor Blackwell hurt his hand and his knee during practice and sat out for some of the day. Kiffin said both were "nothing big." Blackwell's absence meant walk-ons had to take on an even bigger role with only one scholarship pass-catcher available in De'Von Flournoy.

• Cornerback Torin Harris (shoulder) continues to miss practice while rehabbing and working out on the sideline. He has been out since the middle of last season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in the shoulder,"It was positive that he was getting better," Kiffin said. "He should be ready by camp."

• Freshman defensive end DeVante Wilson and redshirt freshman tight end Junior Pomee spent the scrimmage doing rollovers and sit-ups on the sidelines after arriving late to a 9 a.m. morning meeting, Kiffin said.

• Final notes: Receiver Marqise Lee missed the scrimmage to participate in the long jump at the Texas Relays in Austin. He finished 10th. ... An estimated 800 or 900 fans were in attendance at the Coliseum for the open scrimmage, with a couple hundred leaving once it started to rain two-thirds of the way through. ... A number of top recruits were also at the Coliseum, which we'll have more on later.

Most every other member of the USC track & field team is already in Austin, Texas for the Texas Relays, which go from Wednesday-Saturday this week.

Marqise Lee stayed back to participate in the football Trojans' Thursday practice. He's flying out to Texas today (Friday) and will compete in the long jump on Saturday in Austin, missing the Trojans' scrimmage that day to do it.

USC head coach Lane Kiffin said it was a decision he and Lee came to on their own, to allow him to participate and come up with the specific schedule. Cornerback Tony Burnett, the other football player who participated in last weekend's Trojan Invitational, is already in Austin to participate in the triple jump today. He'll fly back later in the day.

"[Lee] really wanted to do it," Kiffin said. "He's a good kid. He does really well in school. And so actually the majority of the track team already left and so he stayed so that he could practice and he's going to leave before the meet and then come back.

"Tony, on the other hand, his event is earlier, so he's already gone and he'll fly back after the event on Friday and hopefully be here for Saturday. So both of them just really really wanted to go and they both work pretty hard at it."

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USC couldn't scrimmage last Saturday because of a lack of healthy skill-position players, and it looks as if the Trojans might be in the same boat again this week.

None of the injured offensive players' statuses have improved, and, to make matters worse, redshirt freshman tight end Junior Pomee went down because of an injured right foot midway through Thursday's practice. He was carted off the field before returning later on to watch practice from the sideline.

With Pomee and fellow tight ends Xavier Grimble, Randall Telfer and Christian Thomas all out last weekend, the Trojans were forced to use walk-on fullback Hunter Simmons as their only tight end and avoid a full-on scrimmage. If Pomee's not able to suit up Saturday, that'll be the same approach again.

"Unfortunately we can't seem to keep a tight end healthy," USC coach Lane Kiffin said after Thursday's practice. "The problem right now is the offensive skill players (being out) aren't allowing us to practice the way we'd like, but we're making the best of it."

Receiver George Farmer (hamstring) is also out, and Robert Woods (ankle) is out for all of the spring. With Marqise Lee set to be in Texas for a track meet, USC could have only two scholarship receivers available again in De'Von Flournoy and Victor Blackwell.

Asked if the Trojans will scrimmage at the Coliseum on Saturday, Kiffin said he didn't know.

"There are so many guys in question, we may just practice like we did last Saturday instead of doing a scrimmage," he said.

Lane Kiffin made an unintentionally funny comment after Tuesday's practice, a rarity for him.

See, when the Trojans' third-year coach tries to be funny in speaking to the media, which hasn't been particularly often since he arrived at USC, he usually is. And when he tries to be serious, which is almost always, he usually is too.

But this time he was trying to highlight receiver Marqise Lee's unbelievable athleticism and include cornerback Nickell Robey in the discussion. And so he said something unintentionally funny.

"He's a really unique individual," Kiffin said in response to a question about Lee. "For whatever reason, there's two of them that are like that -- him and Nickell.

"They can just go forever. It doesn't matter how long the practice is or what it is."

Is what Kiffin said correct? Pretty much. But it's also ironic -- the very definition of unique stipulates that there must be only one of something that is unique. So to call Lee unique and then say Robey is too isn't exactly staying true to the word.

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Here are notes from Tuesday's practice that won't make it into our other posts off the session:

• It was USC's shortest session yet of the spring, with most players off the field before 6 p.m. after starting up a bit before 4. Coach Lane Kiffin complimented receiver De'Von Flournoy for the second straight day, saying the junior receiver has stepped up his play in the absence of receivers Robert Woods and George Farmer.

• Another receiver who has stepped up is Marqise Lee. Kiffin showered the sophomore with praise Tuesday after he had another good day, saying again that Lee has the chance to be the best receiver to ever play at USC. And both the head coach and his quarterback, Matt Barkley, pointed out that Lee had just won the long jump in USC's track meet on Tuesday and was still recovering from that.

• Injury report: cornerback Ryan Henderson (concussion), center Khaled Holmes (calf), running back Buck Allen (hamstring), fullback Soma Vainuku (back) and tight ends Xavier Grimble (toe) and Randall Telfer (hamstring) all sat out of practice. Holmes, Allen and Grimble have sat out since before the spring break; Henderson and Telfer got hurt Thursday and missed Saturday's scrimmage. Vainuku hurt himself early in the scrimmage. Linebacker Dion Bailey (hamstring) returned after missing most of last week.

• Farmer (hamstring) was cleared to come back to practice earlier Tuesday by team doctors and participated fully in the first half of the session before pulling up with what he described as tightness in the muscle. He walked off the field gingerly but said he could see himself participating in Thursday's practice. Farmer has now taken part in just two of the seven spring sessions, counting two halves as one whole.

• Final notes: Tight end Junior Pomee was back on the field after missing all of last week because of a death in his family. ... USC president Max Nikias visited practice for the first time this spring. ... Newly minted running back Tre Madden fumbled for the second consecutive session, with the drop coming on a standard run without a big hit. Kiffin called it "normal."

Here are some notes that didn't make it into our other coverage from Saturday's scrimmage, the Trojans' first visit to the Coliseum since last November's 50-0 win over UCLA:

• USC had only two scholarship receivers and tight ends available on the field Saturday because of injuries, so De'Von Flournoy and Victor Blackwell got plenty of chances to show off to the coaching staff. Coach Lane Kiffin indicated that Flournoy, now a redshirt junior, was more impressive than Blackwell. Walk-on fullback Hunter Simmons took most of the snaps at tight end with everyone else out.

• So the track Trojans got mixed up a little bit. Nickell Robey, Marqise Lee and Tony Burnett had all planned to participate in the Trojan Invitational track meet on campus, but only Lee and Burnett ended up doing it. Kiffin convinced Robey that he needed to practice special-teams skills, so the junior cornerback skipped his long-jumping event, which Lee actually won. Burnett did the long jump on campus and then tried to golf-cart over to the Coliseum so he could participate in the latter half of practice but was turned down because of NCAA regulations governing two-sport athletes.

• Defensive tackle George Uko was "dominant" on Saturday, according to Kiffin, wrapping up a big week for the redshirt sophomore. He found out two weeks ago Saturday that he had been demoted to the second team and since then he has been the best player in USC's front seven and arguably the best player on the Trojans' entire defense.

• Injury report: Tight ends Xavier Grimble (toe) and Randall Telfer (hamstring), quarterback Jesse Scroggins (hip), running back Buck Allen (hamstring), center Khaled Holmes (calf) and receiver George Farmer (hamstring) all missed practice, and linebacker Dion Bailey (hamstring) missed almost all of it. Fullback Soma Vainuku hurt his back in individual drills and missed all of the scrimmage portion of the day.

• Final notes: USC resumes practice on Tuesday at Howard Jones Field. ... As Kiffin said he would, Matt Barkley did limited work and backups Cody Kessler and Max Wittek took the majority of snaps. ... Robey, D.J. Morgan and Curtis McNeal all practiced punt returning during individual drills.

When you get drafted, are your track skills going to get you a contract or your football skills?

Lane Kiffin asked cornerback Nickell Robey that very question this week, when the junior Robey was presented with a decision between track and football for his Saturday afternoon whereabouts. The Trojans' first big track meet of the season, taking place Saturday on campus, coincides with the USC's first scrimmage of the spring.

Robey, Marqise Lee, Tony Burnett and D.J. Morgan -- the football team's four track participants -- can only do one of the two events because of NCAA rules restricting student-athlete hours in a given week. Everybody but Morgan will do track.

Of course, Robey says Kiffin was joking about the football-track thing. And the head coach supported Robey, Lee and Burnett's decision to do track instead of football, even though the parties involved said it was tough to pick.

Burnett didn't realize until this week that he wouldn't be able to do both. Robey said it was a tough decision to make once he was given the choice of only one or the other.

"Should I ditch the track meet and do the scrimmage?" he said Thursday. "It was a thought that popped into my head."

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A few notes that won't make it into our other coverage from Thursday's session:

• USC coach Lane Kiffin spotlighted safety T.J. McDonald for his improved play in the second week of the spring and also said defensive tackle George Uko has practiced well aside from an effort slip-up during the Trojans' first scrimmage. We'll have more on Uko's situation on Friday.

• Cornerback Nickell Robey, receiver Marqise Lee and defensive back Tony Burnett will participate in Saturday's Trojan Invitational track meet instead of scrimmaging with the USC team at the Coliseum. Running back D.J. Morgan, the other football-track participant this spring, will scrimmage instead of sprint. We'll have more on the foursome and their decisions on Friday.

• Defensive back Josh Shaw, a Florida transfer, said he will not practice for the rest of spring with a rib injury he suffered with the Gators. He participated in winter workouts for the Trojans earlier this year but had the situation flare up over the last few weeks, he said. Shaw also still awaits ruling from the NCAA on whether or not he'll be able to play this season with a hardship waiver.

• Injury report: Outside of the four Trojans sidelined with hamstring injuries, tight end Xavier Grimble (toe) and center Khaled Holmes (calf) also sat out of practice. Linebacker Marquis Simmons (shoulder) was very limited and quarterback Jesse Scroggins was limited with a hip injury. Safety Drew McAllister, who left Tuesday's practice early with a hand injury, practiced with a cast on his hand.

• Final notes: USC will scrimmage at 11 a.m. on Saturday in the Coliseum, the first time the Trojans will go back to the stadium as a team since November's 50-0 season-ending win over UCLA...Kiffin said quarterback Matt Barkley "won't play a lot" in the scrimmage, giving way primarily to backup candidates Cody Kessler and Max Wittek...Tight end Junior Pomee missed his second consecutive practice with a death in the family but could be back for Saturday's scrimmage.