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We wrote in April about Matt Barkley and his family's plans to bring several USC Trojans with them to Haiti this summer for a house-building trip in the earthquake-torn Caribbean country.

Those plans are ongoing, and the trip is nearing. Here's the updated list of players going and a brief itinerary of what the group will do in Haiti this month with Hope Force International.

The full list of participants includes Barkley, T.J. McDonald, Devon Kennard, Dion Bailey, Robert Woods, Khaled Holmes, Nickell Robey, Hayes Pullard, Kyle Negrete, Scott Starr, Josh Shaw, Cyrus Hobbi, Kevin Greene, Max Wittek, Cody Kessler and Luke Freeman.

The 14 players who originally planned to go are all still going, and McDonald and Bailey joined the group later. Barkley's parents and siblings are also attending.

They will leave at midnight on May 12th, so late this Friday night, meaning a few of the players walking in Friday's commencement ceremony will essentially be going straight from school to the foreign country. They return a week from today, on the 16th.

They're staying in the beachside town of Leogane, 20 miles west of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. Leogane was at the epicenter of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and had 80 to 90 percent of its buildings damaged.

The plan is to build four houses for four family in the small village of Sous Savanne and to visit an orphanage and school there and help out too.

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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USC quarterback Matt Barkley is going to Haiti this summer on a volunteer mission to help build houses, and he's bringing 14 other USC Trojans with him.

Barkley, an experienced foreign volunteer with trips to Nigeria and South Africa under his belt in the last few years, said his parents have been planning the six-day trip for some time. They recently thought to invite a number of the other players on the team who expressed interest in coming along too.

"We wanted to do something one more time while I was in college before life gets pretty crazy and all that stuff," Barkley said on Tuesday after the Trojans' practice. "I've grown up with these guys and played together with them for four years. I've known guys like Devon and T.J. for even longer than that. This came up, and we decided it'd be a great opportunity to go down there.

"It ended up being a little more guys than we originally planned, but I'm all for it. We're going to build houses. It's going to be awesome."

According to a USC news release, the team of Trojans will build a minimum of three houses and transport more than 2,000 pounds of supplies for orphanages and schools as part of the May deployment of Hope Force International, an organization that specializes in quick strike disaster relief.

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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 previews in the weeks leading up to spring practice, breaking down one group's depth chart each day, paying special attention to things that can change in the spring.

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

Three spots, three returning starting sophomores.

It doesn't get much more convenient than that for USC's new linebackers coach, Scottie Hazelton.

Dion Bailey, Lamar Dawson and Hayes Pullard will be his starters, from strong side to weak side. Very little time will be spent this spring trying to determine who's going to start.

That time will instead be spent transitioning to a new regime of sorts with the linebacking corps and helping develop the younger players at the position.

Thus, the two most intriguing players this spring are Scott Starr and Anthony Sarao, two talented guys who haven't logged any time on the field. This is Starr's first semester at USC after he enrolled early last month; Sarao redshirted last season as a Class of 2011 signee.

What makes them interesting prospects? Well, one of them has to be the backup to Dawson at middle linebacker this season, and there haven't been too many hints as to who it will be. We know Starr is going to start the spring at the Mike spot, but will Sarao, too?

Sarao played some of it last year on the scout team -- portraying Vontaze Burfict during ASU week -- and has received positive reviews from teammates and coaches about his on-field awareness. Starr is incredibly well developed for a kid who should be a high-school senior and has quickly caught on to the defensive schemes, judging from the winter workouts.

Dawson was bothered by injuries last season, so he could easily be the second-straight freshman to man the middle for a stint if he wins the No. 2 slot for this season.

On another note, will there be a way to get sophomore to-be Tre Madden on the field this year? He was a valuable special-teamer last season and can do the same in 2012, but he also proved capable of playing on defense in his one start at Colorado.

And what will happen to Marquis Simmons and Simione Vehikite, two players entering their fourth year in the program who have yet to contribute in big ways?

Those are questions the 15-session spring can help answer.

Check back Thursday for the cornerbacks.

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)

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, we're delving into who will make up that 15-man list, including the eight prospects already committed, with assistance from ESPN Recruiting, Rivals and Scout. We did the offense Saturday; here's the defense.

Defensive end

USC has already has two new players guaranteed to be available at spring practice at end in juco product Morgan Breslin and former class of 2011 signee DeVante Wilson, so this is not a high-priority spot.

But the Trojans are still after three primo prospects who all happen to hail from Florida: Leonard Williams (Daytona Beach, Fla./Mainland), Tyriq McCord (Tampa, Fla./Jefferson) and Dante Fowler Jr. (St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood). McCord and Fowler are committed to Miami and Florida State, respectively, and Williams, who visited this weekend, is considered a likely SEC player.

Fowler and McCord are expected to visit USC next weekend, according to reports. This appears to be one of those situations -- especially this year, with limited availability -- where the Trojans are recruiting guys heavily but may not have room for all of them come signing day.

Defensive tackle

USC has one DT already committed -- Pio Vatuvei (Patterson, Calif./Patterson) -- and one player it really wants in Aziz Shittu (Atwater, Calif./Buhach).

Shittu is as close to an unknown as you can find in recruiting this late in the process. He's talked about USC repeatedly throughout his recruitment but has also brought up his other contenders -- Cal, Stanford and UCLA -- with as much regularity.

One thing we do know is the 275-pounder has been admitted to Stanford. That's often a hold-up with recruits with desires to go to school in Palo Alto, so that simplifies it a bit.

Linebacker

This is pretty much solidified. The Trojans have the two best in-state linebackers committed, and one of them already on campus in Scott Starr (Norco, Calif./Norco). Jabari Ruffin (Downey, Calif./Downey) is considered a solid commit.

They had been in on Noor Davis (Leesburg, Fla./Leesburg), and he was the school's first official visitor of the 2011 season, but he committed to Stanford early in the process and remains strong in that commitment.

It has been reported that USC also has an offer out to four-star outside 'backer Deaysean Rippy (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto Rox).

Cornerback

Kevon Seymour (Pasadena, Calif./Muir) is the big recruit at this spot, and he committed to USC earlier this month after quite a bit of speculation. USC's also in on Tracy Howard (Miami, Fla./Miramar), who some recruiting services have rated as a five-star. He visited last week.

There is not a huge need at corner. The Trojans bring back six scholarship players and only one is a senior.

Safety

Gerald Bowman (Woodland Hills, Calif./Pierce J.C.) was slated to be an early enrollee but may not get in school in time. He has five days left to finish his requirements and enroll in classes, needing to enroll by Jan. 27 to participate in spring practice and not count against USC's 15-man scholarship limit.

Either way, it looks like he'll be coming. It just might not be immediately.

USC also hosted Ohio State commit De'Van Bogard (Cleveland, Ohio/Glenville) on an official visit last week.

Considering that five scholarship players return at safety next season and Florida transfer Josh Shaw also may be eligible because of a hardship waiver, Bowman and any other commits at this spot would be redshirt candidates.

National Signing Day is in 16 days, on Feb. 1.

On that day, USC plans to sign 15 players, the most it's allowed to sign under NCAA-mandated limitations because of the sanctions. But will that work, considering the NCAA is also mandating the Trojans keep their total number of scholarships handed out at 75?

It's going to take some finagling. Looking at the updated scholarship math after the latest wave of transfers, USC will still have to create some more spots by the time the 2012 season comes around in one way or another.

Position by position, as of Monday, the Trojans have four quarterbacks, three running backs, two fullbacks, five receivers, four tight ends, four offensive tackles, four guards, three centers, four defensive ends, four defensive tackles, eight linebackers, six cornerbacks, five safeties and three special-teamers on scholarship.

That's 59 players, not including Amir Carlisle, Brice Butler, Kyle Prater, Armond Armstead, T.J. Bryant and Patrick Hall, who have all left the program or are very near leaving.

Then add six more players who are expected to begin attending classes at USC by the Jan. 27 spring-semester deadline: Morgan Breslin, Scott Starr, DeVante Wilson, Gerald Bowman, Chad Wheeler and Josh Shaw.

That's 65 players. With a 75-man cap and 15 players presumably coming in the summer in the class of 2012, that means five more players still have to go. Where will those five players come from?

There are a few possibilities -- let's run through some of them.

-- Three former walk-ons who earned scholarships could have them revoked: offensive lineman Abe Markowitz, linebacker Will Andrew and safety Tony Burnett.

-- Bowman may not finish his junior-college requirements in time to enroll for the spring. That would push him back to the summer and lower USC's total.

-- One or two or a few players could still transfer. Prime candidates would appear to be those locked in at their spots behind younger players.

Those are three primary ways USC could get down to the maximum. Other more-creative, less-likely options are the oft-thrown-around ideas that (1) certain players could give up their scholarships for a year or (2) players who participate in other sports could get supported on scholarships from those sports.

But neither makes much sense -- firstly, it's not just the cost of attendance that a scholarship covers, it also provides the chance to eat in the athletic cafeteria and other similar privileges. And, secondly, there aren't too many football players still playing other sports. There are a few Track & Field athletes, but scholarships are at a premium there too.

Of course, USC could also grey-shirt a signee or two who doesn't qualify and have him come in next January, by which time more current players could transfer. There are ways around it.

Going along with our end-of-year lists that looked at the top performers from the 2011 season and the top questions facing USC in 2012, we're now profiling each of the five early enrollees expected to begin classes at USC this spring, continuing through Friday.

We began Monday with No. 1 was safety Gerald Bowman, a product of nearby Pierce College. No. 2 was defensive end Morgan Breslin of Diablo Valley College, No. 3 was Norco linebacker Scott Starr and No. 4 is Santa Monica lineman Chad Wheeler.

No. 5 is Corona defensive end DeVante Wilson.

Wilson was supposed to be a redshirt freshman by this time, supposed to have been with the Trojans all last season and learned from Ed Orgeron and Co. while bulking up for his first few months of college.

But he tore his ACL just before he was due to arrive on campus at USC last summer and ended up grey-shirting the 2011 season instead of enrolling at USC, essentially extending his clock another year. But because of the injury, it's likely he won't be able to participate in spring practice and also likely he'll redshirt the 2012 season so he can get back to full health.

When he is healthy, Wilson is a nice prospect as a speed rusher. He had 9.5 sacks as a senior at Corona High in 2010 and accumulated 82 tackles the year before while playing with current Trojan Demetrius Wright. But at just 230 pounds, he needs to gain quite a bit of weight.

In that sense, he's similar to fourth-year junior Kevin Greene, who came in to USC in 2009 so light that he started out at linebacker. Now he's up to 260 pounds and a key reserve defensive end behind starters Devon Kennard and Wes Horton.

Greene was more productive than Wilson in high school, but the new signee is a high-reward type who could grow into an impact player while a Trojan. And, by enrolling in January and catching up with some of what he missed last fall, Wilson is putting himself in good shape to compete for playing time.

It's worth noting that the only other big program to offer him a scholarship out of high school was Nebraska -- not that his lack of offers necessarily means anything in regards to his future productivity.

But, if he does develop into an impact player, he would certainly qualify as a diamond in the rough of sorts for Orgeron and James Cregg, the USC assistant who recruited him.

That concludes our early enrollee series. With the five players profiled here and Florida transfer Josh Shaw, USC hopes to have six new scholarship players available for spring practice, which will be a boon for depth purposes considering the transfers that have already occurred and those that still could.

Going along with our end-of-year lists that looked at the top performers from the 2011 season and the top questions facing USC in 2012, we're now profiling each of the five early enrollees expected to begin classes at USC this spring, continuing through Friday.

We began Monday with No. 1 was safety Gerald Bowman, a product of nearby Pierce College. No. 2 was defensive end Morgan Breslin of Diablo Valley College; No. 3 was Norco linebacker Scott Starr. No. 4 is Santa Monica lineman Chad Wheeler.

One thing you should know about Chad Wheeler right off the bat: He's vegetarian.

He's 6-6 and 260 pounds and vegetarian. Seriously.

Wheeler is a project for sure, but it's easy to see his potential to be an impact player at the college level. His frame looks like it hasn't come close to reaching its peak, and he didn't even play his first two years at Santa Monica High. But the USC coaching staff saw enough of him to offer him a spot in the Trojans' 2012 recruiting class -- if he was able to qualify academically to enroll early, of course.

He appears to have qualified and should be available to participate in spring practice with the Trojans beginning in March.

Where does he fit? Some sources had him as a strongside defensive end in the recruiting process, but the truth is there aren't many 6-6, 270-pound defensive ends at the college level, and he'll probably be at least 270 pounds by the time he gets going with USC's strength and conditioning systems.

He played both end and offensive tackle in high school, and the latter spot is where he'll likely end up at USC. Think of him as a right tackle of the future, assuming Kevin Graf stays there in 2012 and sophomore Aundrey Walker wins the left starting spot in spring practice or fall camp.

Have Wheeler redshirt a year and then sit for another season, and he could be a starting candidate at right tackle when Graf leaves following the 2013 season. That makes the most sense.

Of course, many said it made the most sense for Marqise Lee to start out as a safety, so you never know. Wheeler could end up an end or a really-tall interior offensive lineman.

But he's certainly a project, and an intriguing one at that.

Check back Friday for our series-concluding profile of DeVante Wilson.

Going along with our end-of-year lists that looked at the top performers from the 2011 season and the top questions facing USC in 2012, we're now profiling each of the five early enrollees expected to begin classes at USC this spring, continuing through Friday.

We began Monday with No. 1 was safety Gerald Bowman, a product of nearby Pierce College, and No. 2 was defensive end Morgan Breslin of Diablo Valley College.

No. 3 is Norco linebacker Scott Starr, who's already on campus, taking classes and working out with the Trojans.

Norco linebackers have a history at USC over the past five or so years. Former player Jordan Campbell came to the Trojans from the high school; current player Dallas Kelley transferred to USC last year after graduating from Norco and then spending two years at junior college.

Starr has significantly more potential than either of those two. A 6-foot-3, 225-pounder, Starr has sufficient mobility to play any of the three linebacker slots. His fluidity as an athlete is up for debate -- he sometimes appears stiff on film -- but he consistently makes plays, including tackles, sacks, fumbles and interceptions.

He had 210 tackles and 8.5 sacks during his final two seasons in high school and reportedly made a number of big plays at last month's Semper Fi All-Star Game.

So, where does he fit? Good question. USC's three starting linebackers are presumably entrenched for the next two seasons, with Dion Bailey, Lamar Dawson and Hayes Pullard all sophomores next season. But depth isn't exactly established.

Tre Madden, Anthony Sarao and Marquis Simmons are all scholarship players returning in 2012. Madden started a game last season at strongside when Bailey was hurt; Simmons, also a strongside 'backer has played himself into starring special-teams roles but gotten hurt twice now. Sarao redshirted as the third-string weakside linebacker in 2011.

That leaves the backup middle linebacker slot wide open, and hence there are rumors USC is looking at Starr as a potential mike 'backer. The fact he's coming in early and getting a half-year of experience before the 2012 season comes around also adds credence to the possibility that he could be Dawson's No. 2.

That would make sense.

Check back for our profile of Chad Wheeler.

Going along with our end-of-year lists that looked at the top performers from the 2011 season and the top questions facing USC in 2012, we're now profiling each of the five early enrollees expected to begin classes at USC this spring, beginning Monday and continuing through Friday.

No. 1 was safety Gerald Bowman, a product of nearby Pierce College. No. 2 is defensive end Morgan Breslin of Diablo Valley College.

Breslin is a pass-rusher by nature who needs to bulk up to effectively play on the defensive line at the major-college level. But he has a good amount of potential as a pure pass rusher and could be a nice player to have in the rotation over the next few years.

A two-year starter at Diablo Valley up north, Breslin is not yet on campus at USC but is believed to be arriving sometime this week. He is precisely the type of player who can benefit most from a semester in the strength and conditioning program before the fall, and the Trojans clearly see some potential him to be available as a reserve in 2012. Nick Perry's gone to the NFL, and Armond Armstead is unlikely to return to USC, so there are depth issues on the outside of the defensive line.

But once seniors-to-be Devon Kennard and Wes Horton finish their USC careers, it'll be players like Breslin, Greg Townsend Jr. and Kevin Greene competing to replace them.

The 6-3, 245-pound Breslin led all of California's junior colleges in sacks each of the past two years, recording a combined 28 sacks. He played high school football in Walnut Creek -- the home of the Pac-12 offices, incidentally -- and also played rugby.

He's another example of a player who was committed to another school until USC saw him and started heavily recruiting him. Breslin was all set to enroll at UCLA this spring until Trojans recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach Ed Orgeron saw him on film and then gave him the hard sell.

Breslin is one of two defensive ends USC is currently bringing in, with Pio Vatuvei the other. Chad Wheeler, another early enrollee we're profiling later this week, could also play end in college but was recruited as an offensive tackle by most schools.

Check back Wednesday for our profile of Scott Starr.

With the spring semester at USC beginning Monday, five of the Trojans' class of 2012 recruits are expected to begin taking classes this week or next: safety Gerald Bowman, defensive end Morgan Breslin, linebacker Scott Starr, offensive tackle Chad Wheeler and defensive end DeVante Wilson.

Going along with our end-of-year lists that looked at the top performers from the 2011 season and the top questions facing USC in 2012, we're now profiling each of the five players, beginning Monday and continuing through Friday. Here's No. 1, Bowman, a product of nearby Pierce College.

Bowman's the most college-ready of any of the five players USC's been bringing in, and will probably be the most college-ready of anybody in USC's entire 20-person recruiting class. He could start at a number of schools across the country next year, and he probably was going to start for the Trojans if T.J. McDonald declared early for the NFL draft.

But McDonald will be back in 2012, as will his counterpart at safety, senior Jawanza Starling. Those two will have those spots fairly locked down. Bowman, then, becomes one-half of the Trojans' safety combination of the future with junior Demetrius Wright, who once challenged Starling for his spot but fell behind because of injuries.

The only problem: He's not officially in school yet, still needing to finish winter inter-session classes up at a local school in the interim to meet all the qualification requirements at USC. The deadline to begin attending spring-semester classes at USC is Jan. 27, giving him about two and a half weeks to get everything arranged.

If he does, he'll be able to participate in team meetings and workouts immediately. If he doesn't, he'll still be a 2012 recruit but will be set back quite a bit as a juco player. A redshirt would be a real possibility if he didn't get to USC until the summer, as he does have three years to play two.

Bowman took a roundabout route to end up in Southern California after going to high school in Philadelphia. Now some recruiting services' No. 1-ranked junior college player, he clearly has the speed and size to succeed at the position. He's 6-1 and 210 pounds and reportedly runs a 4.45 40-yard dash. His ball-hawking instincts could use work, but he consistently plays aggressively on film, showing a McDonald-like tendency to step up to ballcarriers and knock them back.

Check back Tuesday for our profile of Breslin, the other junior-college player of the five.