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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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Former USC tight end/fullback Rhett Ellison is going to join his college teammate Matt Kalil at the next level.

Both ex-Trojans were picked by the Minnesota Vikings in this weekend's 2012 NFL draft, Kalil on Thursday as the fourth overall selection and Ellison on Saturday as the 128th overall selection, late in the fourth round.

It was right around where he was projected to go, but Ellison told Minnesota-area reporters in a conference call after his selection that it was a surprise to him.

"I wasn’t really expecting to get drafted," Ellison said. "I was pretty shocked and I’m still trying to calm everything down."

Ellison becomes USC's third selection of the 2012 draft after Kalil and defensive end Nick Perry, who went 28th overall to Green Bay. Defensive tackle DaJohn Harris is expected to be taken sometime Saturday.

USC defensive end Nick Perry was selected by the Green Bay Packers with the No. 28 overall pick in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft on Thursday.

A two-year starter for the Trojans, Perry was recruited to USC out of Detroit in 2008 as one of the nation's top-rated prospects. He never became a full-fledged star at the college level but lived up to his potential and led the Pac-12 with 9.5 sacks in 2011.

In the Packers' 3-4 defensive scheme, Perry will likely play outside linebacker across from former USC end/linebacker Clay Matthews.

Perry becomes USC's 77th first-round draft pick, the most of any school in history. He was the second ex-Trojan drafted on the draft's first day Thursday after left tackle Matt Kalil, who went fourth overall to the Minnesota Vikings.

Both players departed for the draft after their redshirt junior seasons at USC.

USC has at least two more players expected to be selected at some point during the draft's next two days in tight end Rhett Ellison and defensive tackle DaJohn Harris and three or four others have hopes of being picked.

It's likely the Trojans won't have a player taken Friday, with only rounds two and three taking place then.

As had been expected for the last few months, former USC left tackle Matt Kalil was selected by the Minnesota Vikings high in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft.

But there was a small surprise: Kalil went fourth overall, not third. The Vikings traded down one selection with the Cleveland Browns, getting the man they wanted all along and accumulating some more picks in the process.

Kalil was a two-year starter for the Trojans who declared for the draft after his redshirt junior season. At 6 feet 7 and 300-plus pounds, he has prototypical left tackle size for the next level and will be counted on to be Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder's blind-side blocker for the foreseeable future in Minnesota.

With his selection, Kalil becomes USC's 76th first-round draft pick, the most of any school in the country. He also became USC’s highest selection since Reggie Bush went second in 2006 and the highest offensive lineman since Tony Boselli went second in 1995.

The Trojans now have had 474 NFL draftees, more than any school. Kalil is also the 22nd USC offensive lineman selected in the first round since 1968.

Kalil joins tackles Ron Yary and Steve Riley as ex-USC offensive linemen selected in the first round by the Vikings. The Vikings last took a USC prospect in the first round in 2004, with defensive end Kenechi Udeze.

Kalil is the third member of his family chosen in the NFL draft. His brother, Ryan, an All-American lineman at USC, was a second-round selection in 2007 by the Carolina Panthers and is now an All-Pro center in the NFL. His father, Frank, was a 1982 draftee by the Buffalo Bills out of Arizona.

The NFL draft continues Thursday, Friday and Saturday. USC is expecting anywhere from four to seven players to be selected, with defensive end Nick Perry the next possibility at some point in the latter half of the first round.

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 already has its starting defensive ends identified in Devon Kennard and Wes Horton, and its top three tackles organized too.

But that's not enough. The Trojans need more linemen capable of logging 10-20 snaps a game to provide breathers for the starters. Who will back those five guys up against the fast-paced offenses of the Pac-12?

"That's the big question," USC defensive line coach Ed Orgeron said last week.

Orgeron has dedicated this spring to cultivating some playable backups for the 2012 season. And as of right now, he says, he has four potential players: redshirt freshman Greg Townsend Jr., junior Morgan Breslin, redshirt junior Kevin Greene and incoming freshman Leonard Williams.

Realistically, those four are competing -- or will be competing, in Williams' case -- for two slots behind Kennard and Horton.

"There's gonna be a third and a fourth end," Orgeron said on Saturday after the Trojans' scrimmage at the Coliseum. "But there is a big difference between the first team and the second team right now.

"Those guys have to rise and I have to do a better job of coaching them to get ready."

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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.

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.

Here's former USC defensive end Nick Perry talking to the media at Pro Day on USC's campus on Wednesday.

Perry, projected as a late first-rounder in next month's NFL draft, goes over his impressions of the draft process to date, what position he could play at the next level and where he sees himself being selected.

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

We’ve looked at the quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, tight ends and offensive linemen so far. Today, we analyze the defensive linemen.

Lane Kiffin always said former USC defensive end Nick Perry was a unique athlete.

Everyone else finally saw the same thing at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis last weekend. Now the tough part comes, though: The Trojans have to replace him and the pass-rush presence he provided on the defensive line the last three seasons.

There isn't another returner on the line who has proven capable and consistent as a pass-rusher. Wes Horton has been effective in stretches and George Uko has shown flashes, but that's about it. Devon Kennard has struggled to get to the quarterback and the other projected starter, nose guard J.R. Tavai, doesn't even try to get there much.

Where will the sacks come from? That's part of what this spring will help figure out.

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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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With the final days of the year approaching, we're taking a look at the five most pressing questions surrounding Lane Kiffin's Trojans in 2012. We'll unveil one each day this week, counting down from No. 5 Monday to No. 1 on Friday.

Question No. 5 covered the Associated Press preseason top 25. Question No. 4 covered NCAA-sanctioned scholarship limits, and question No. 3 went over the new Pac-12 offensive systems.

Question No. 2, then, is this: Who will replace left tackle Matt Kalil in 2012?

There are two obvious options to replace Kalil, who earlier this month officially declared for the NFL draft as one of two USC juniors to declare. The other, defensive end Nick Perry, has clear replacements in Devon Kennard and Wes Horton, who split time across from him this year.

The first option for Kalil's slot is Kevin Graf, a redshirt junior. He started all of last season at right tackle and did so with a fair amount of success. The second is sophomore Aundrey Walker. He lost out on a chance to win the starting left guard spot in fall camp but played some in reserve throughout the year.

There's a very good chance it's one of those two guys. Anyone else would be a huge wild card.

Who has the early upper hand? It depends on whom you ask.

Graf obviously has the edge in terms of experience, with 12 starts under his belt. He performed well in most of those games -- all except Arizona State, really. Walker was a quiet disappointment, as he was clearly the first-choice freshman at left guard entering into fall camp but lost out to Marcus Martin because of work-ethic issues.

He's listed at 375 pounds but said he was closer to 350 at most points of the season. Well, if he was at 350 this year, then you can bet that the Trojans' coaches would like to see him report to fall camp at about 340 next August, with the goal of getting to around 330 for games.

As offensive line coach James Cregg said many times last season, it's not that he's incredibly overweight. He's 6-6 and a big guy. But if he's going to man the left tackle spot against some of the speedy ends in the Pac-12 conference, he needs to be a bit lighter.

USC needs Walker to start next season, really. It's just a matter of whether he can handle the left side or if he'll have to play right tackle, moving Graf over. With Martin, Khaled Holmes and John Martinez entrenched in the middle of the line, those should be the only O-line changes.

Missing Kalil last season would have been devastating to USC's offense. But missing him next year shouldn't be so terribly bad if Walker fulfills his potential, and it also sets up for another year of continuity in 2013. If the line is chosen as expected, only Holmes would depart next offseason.

Check back Friday for question No. 1.

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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