ESPN

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.

(Read full post)

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.

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.

(Read full post)

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.

(Read full post)

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.

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

Quick: Who started more games at tight end for the USC Trojans last season, Randall Telfer or Xavier Grimble?

Most would say Telfer because of the way he came on strong at the end of the year and finished with five touchdowns and 26 total receptions. But Grimble actually officially started seven of USC's 12 games in 2011, including most of the first half of the season. He's a better blocker than Telfer -- so, while his speed and hands might be a touch worse, he does have that going for him.

USC's tight ends, in general, have plenty going for them. The question with the unit isn't at all if someone will step up and fill a role -- it's, will there be enough roles for capable players to fill?

Behind Telfer and Grimble, the 1a and 1b of the USC tight end corps, are redshirt sophomore Christian Thomas and redshirt freshman Junior Pomee, both intriguing prospects themselves. Pomee, in particular, is about as enticing a player as you get, a 6-3, 235-pounder with the speed of a receiver and the size of a tight end.

Thomas has had recent injury issues of late was deemed ready enough as a tight end to play over both Grimble and Telfer as a first-year freshman in 2010.

The four will likely be coached by grad assistant Justin Mesa in 2012 and will certainly be without Rhett Ellison for the first time since the 2006 season. But there is new talent enrolling in Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick, although he won't be at USC until the fall. So the spring will be about determining who the third tight end is and how much he will be used.

Especially with uncertainty at fullback for the fall, it wouldn't be too surprising if the Trojans took a page out of rival Stanford's playbook and resorted to a lot of two-tight-end sets. If that's the case, then Thomas and Pomee suddenly become very valuable as passing-game threats and injury insurance.

This one's a good one to watch.

Check back Monday for the offensive linemen.

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."

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.

(Read full post)

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.

(Read full post)

USC quarterback Matt Barkley led a group of Trojan honorees from the school's annual awards banquet Monday night, as he was named the team's 2011 MVP. Other top award-winners included Christian Tupou as most inspirational player, fullback/tight end Rhett Ellison as the winner of the leadership award and offensive tackle Matt Kalil and defensive end Nick Perry as the offensive and defensive linemen of the year.

Here are the rest of the winners:
Perimeter Players of the Year: wide receiver Robert Woods (offense), safety T.J. McDonald (defense)
Special Teams Player of the Year: fullback Ross Cumming
Service Team Players of the Year: offensive guard Cyrus Hobbi (offense), linebacker Anthony Sarao (defense)
Player of the Game vs. Notre Dame: cornerback Nickell Robey
Player of the Game vs. UCLA: wide receiver Marqise Lee
Jack Oakie “Rise and Shine” Award (year’s longest run): running back Curtis McNeal (79 yards vs. Washington)
Howard Jones/Football Alumni Club Academic Award (overall academic achievement): linebacker Augusto Alonso
Bob Chandler Award (underclassman with outstanding athletic ability, academic achievement and character): linebacker Hayes Pullard
John McKay Award (underclassman with the most competitive spirit): Robey
Joe Collins Walk-on Award: punter Kyle Negrete
Courage Award: McNeal
Co-Lifters Award: Ellison, safety Jawanza Starling

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Read full post)

USC receiver Marqise Lee and linebacker Dion Bailey were named the Pac-12 conference's offensive and defensive freshman of the year, the league announced Monday.

Lee, a product of Serra High in nearby Gardena, shared the offensive award with Oregon running back De'Anthony Thomas. Bailey, a redshirt freshman from Lakewood High who converted from safety before the 2011 season, was the sole honoree on the defensive side.

Lee finished the 2011 season with 73 catches for 1,143 yards and 11 touchdowns, picking up his pace over the final five games of the year. Bailey had 81 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble on the year -- as well as a 14-tackle game against Arizona, the most by a USC freshman in a game since 1996.

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck was named the conference's offensive player of the year, and Cal linebacker Mychal Kendricks earned the defensive honor. USC coach Lane Kiffin lost out to Stanford coach David Shaw in the Pac-12 Coach of the Year announcement. Runners-up are not announced for the conference awards, voted on by the Pac-12 coaches.

Seven Trojans were named to the All-Pac-12 First Team, the most of any team in the conference and four more than USC had a year ago. Receiver Robert Woods, left tackle Matt Kalil, defensive end Nick Perry, safety T.J. McDonald, cornerback Nickell Robey, kicker Andre Heidari and special-teamer Rhett Ellison all earned first-team honors.

Woods was the only player unanimously named to the first team.

Five Trojans were named to the All-Pac-12 Second Team: quarterback Matt Barkley, Lee, center Khaled Holmes, defensive end Wes Horton and Bailey. Four Trojans earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention status: running back Curtis McNeal, tight end Randall Telfer, defensive tackle Christian Tupou and linebacker Hayes Pullard.

Of the 11 freshmen or sophomores named to the conference's first or second teams, five play for USC.

Bringing back a tradition that has escaped the Trojans for quite some time now, four USC seniors wore their high-school jerseys to practice Wednesday.

Defensive tackle Christian Tupou, offensive lineman Martin Coleman and receiver Brandon Carswell sported their prep uniforms, and fullback/tight end Rhett Ellison took some scissors and tape to his current uniform to make it look like his old one.

"We're just trying to keep tradition alive at this school," said Tupou, adding that his blue-and-yellow No. 44 jersey from Sacramento Grant High fit him best 40 pounds ago. "It was kind of unusual, a little uncomfortable, just different.

"But if it's keeping tradition alive -- if that's what it means -- then I'm all for it."

Running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu first brought the idea up to the players a while back, Tupou said, mentioning that it was all the rage in the 1980's, when he was in school. Then, Ellison got more information on it from his father, Riki Ellison, and told the rest of the seniors to participate.

There was some confusion as to whether it'd be done Wednesday, for the final padded practice, or Thursday, for the final practice overall. But Thursday has its own tradition as the seniors run off the practice field through a tunnel formed by their teammates, so the players decided to do it on its own.

"Rhett's been waiting for this a long time," said Carswell His dad told him about the tradition and he brought it to our attention. A lot of the seniors are kinda bummed out that they didn't get to wear theirs, but it was fun for today."

Ellison cut up an undershirt and taped up his helmet to create some similarities to the get-up he wore at St. Francis in the Bay Area. Coleman wore the green uniform he sported at Edison High in Orange County.

Carswell's jersey was a navy No. 1 jersey from Milpitas High, also in the Bay Area. He said he felt a lot tighter than he remembered it.

"I like the way it looks," Carswell said. "I felt fast out there today, felt young again, it was awesome."

USC coach Lane Kiffin said he supported the players' attempt to revive a bit of history.

"They mentioned it to me and I had no problem with that," Kiffin said. "That's got nothing to do with how we're preparing and how we're lining up and practicing.

"Anytime we have a chance to let the kids do something they like we usually favor that as long as we're still staying focused."