ESPN College Football

ESPN draft guru Todd McShay took a measure of specific qualities of offensive of players expected to be selected in this week's NFL draft, which starts Thursday, and a number of Pac-12 players fall into interesting spots.

Here are some notes.

Quarterbacks
McShay ranked Washington's Jake Locker No. 3 overall among the QBs, behind Missouri's Blaine Gabbert and Auburn's Cam Newton.

He ranks Locker No. 2 in toughness/leadership.

Running backs
McShay ranks Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers and Stanford's Owen Marecic No. 1 among the RBs and FBs in competitiveness. Marecic is No. 2 among FBs in pass blocking.

He ranks California's Shane Vereen No. 3 in vision/patience, No. 2 in receiving skills and No. 3 in pass blocking.

USC's Stanley Havili No. 1 among FBs in vision/patience, agility/acceleration and receiving skills.

McShay has Vereen ranked ninth overall and Rodgers 10th among running backs. Marecic is No. 4 among FBs and Havili is No. 6.

Tight ends
McShay ranks USC's Jordan Cameron third in both ball skills and big-play ability.

He ranks Cameron sixth overall among TEs.

Offensive line
He ranks USC's Tyron Smith No. 1 in pass protection among OTs. He ranks Colorado's Nate Solder No. 2 in run blocking among OTs.

Among centers, USC's Kristofer O'Dowd ranks No. 3 in awareness.

McShay ranks Smith No. 1 overall among offensive line prospects. Solder is fifth.

Our countdown of the Pac-10's top-25 players is over, and the chief result is annoying Stanford fans, particularly those of FB-LB Owen Marecic.

Their gripe is legit. Not including Marecic kept me up at night -- really -- but this wasn't a list of my favorite players.

On Tuesday, we will look at the players who just missed the cut, which includes Marecic and a significant group of Stanford teammates. It's a long list -- nearly as long as the top-25 -- with a lot of good players. It was easier when I did my first iteration of this list in 2009, which included 30 players.

A lot of Oregon fans disagree with me -- and with Chip Kelly and Nick Aliotti and the Pac-10 coaches who vote for the All-Pac-10 team -- and rank Cliff Harris ahead of Talmadge Jackson. Certainly their right. Not sure Ducks fans have much to gripe about with this list, though, considering there are seven Ducks on it and no other team has more than three.

Feel free to make your own lists. The most difficult part, you'll find, is when you come up with 25 names and then go, "Oh, crud, forgot about X! Can't leave him off!" And then you have to knock someone off your list.

And the next list -- preseason -- will be tougher because it will including Colorado and Utah.

Couple of notes.

Here are the top-25 players by team. The bolded names return in 2011.

Arizona
6. Juron Criner
15. Brooks Reed
18. Nick Foles

Arizona State
11. Omar Bolden
13. Vontaze Burfict

California
8. Cameron Jordan
25. Shane Vereen

Oregon
2. LaMichael James
4. Darron Thomas
12. Jeff Maehl
17. Kenny Rowe
19. Casey Matthews
20. Talmadge Jackson
22. Cliff Harris

Oregon State
3. Stephen Paea
9. Jacquizz Rodgers

Stanford
1. Andrew Luck
10. Chase Beeler

UCLA
21. Akeem Ayers

USC
14. Matt Barkley
16. Tyron Smith
24. Jurrell Casey

Washington
4. Mason Foster
7. Chris Polk
23. Jermaine Kearse

Washington State
None

And here are the players who made the preseason list but didn't make this list. Some tough cuts here.

No. 2. Jake Locker, QB, Washington
No. 6. James Rodgers, WR, Oregon State
No. 7. Rahim Moore, S, UCLA
No. 10. Trevin Wade, CB, Arizona
No. 12. Ricky Elmore, DE, Arizona
No. 18: Colin Baxter, C, Arizona
No. 20. Lawrence Guy, DT, Arizona State
No. 22. Owen Marecic, LB/FB, Stanford
No. 23. Kristofer O'Dowd, C, USC
No. 25 Kai Forbath, K, UCLA

On Monday, we noted that USC will be missing 12 starters and/or key contributors this spring, including three from the critically thin offensive line.

ESPN.com's Ryan McGee went searching for this year's "Cam Newton" -- minus the, er, baggage, I suspect -- and he included two new Trojans.

Trojan offensive linemen!

Here's what he wrote:

Aundrey Walker and Cyrus Hobbi, OL, USC Trojans

... Perhaps the biggest issue for his Trojans this year will be finding help to protect quarterback Matt Barkley. That help is likely going to have to come from Walker and Hobbi, true freshmen who ditched hometown schools Ohio State and Arizona State Sun Devils (Hobbi chose USC in part because he wants to be an actor when he grows up ... seriously). Both are listed as guards, but here's betting that Hobbi will come out of two-a-days as the Trojans' starting center.

Perhaps. An immediate problem, though, is both Walker and Hobbi don't arrive until August, and it's difficult -- and rare -- for true freshmen to start on the offensive line. Most coaches will tell you it's not ideal, even if a player is physically ready.

Of course, the first question for the Trojans is center, and the guy who must be replaced -- Kristofer O'Dowd -- was good enough to start as a true freshman, so there's certainly no hard and fast rule. That said: O'Dowd was the Trojans first true freshman to start at center as well as only the third Trojan true freshman to start a post-World War II opener on the offensive line. So said rule is fairly hard and fast.

It also appears that Hobbi will start off as a guard, and redshirt freshman Giovanni Di Poalo will get a look at center this spring. Michael Lev of the Orange County Register previous speculated that Khaled Holmes would move inside to center after starting at guard last season -- reasonably because Lane Kiffin told him as much -- but Holmes is still listed as a guard in the spring prospectus and figures to be limited this spring because of a shoulder injury. Junior Abe Markowitz, another candidate at center, will miss spring with a foot injury.

So, based on injuries and August arrivals, the first-team USC offensive line when spring practices begin March 22 might look like this: left tackle Matt Kalil, guard Jeremy Galten, center Di Poalo, guard John Martinez, and right tackle David Garness.

That's four players with little to no experience -- Galten and Garness are both junior college transfers -- so you can see why this is an area of concern for Kiffin this spring.

If you are trying to attach a silver lining to this, the coaches figure to get a good look at their depth before the veterans return and the newcomers arrive in August.

Next week, the blog begins a countdown of the Pac-10's top-25 (not Pac-12 when we look back).

Many of you will be outraged.

Why? Because I am outraged at the limits of 25 spots, which means a number of top players -- even high NFL draft picks -- are going to get left off.

A number of players from our preseason top-25 list fall out for no justifiable reason, other than other players are more impossible to not include on the list.

You will send hate mail. I am already sending some to myself.

Just for reference, here's our preseason top-25.

No. 1. Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Oregon State
No. 2. Jake Locker, QB, Washington
No. 3. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon
No. 4. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
No. 5. Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State
No. 6. James Rodgers, WR, Oregon State
No. 7. Rahim Moore, S, UCLA
No. 8. Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA
No. 9. Mike Mohamed, LB, California
No. 10. Trevin Wade, CB, Arizona
No. 11. Mason Foster, LB, Washington
No. 12. Ricky Elmore, DE, Arizona
No. 13. Kenny Rowe, DE, Oregon
No. 14. Jurrell Casey, DT, USC
No. 15. Cameron Jordan, DE, California
No. 16. Nick Foles, QB, Arizona
No. 17. Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State
No. 18: Colin Baxter, C, Arizona
No. 19: Chase Beeler, C, Stanford
No. 20. Lawrence Guy, DT, Arizona State
No. 21. Matt Barkley, QB, USC
No. 22. Owen Marecic, LB/FB, Stanford
No. 23. Kristofer O'Dowd, C, USC
No. 24: Casey Matthews, LB, Oregon
No. 25 Kai Forbath, K, UCLA

Recruiting is an inexact science -- just ask any coach. Recruiting rankings are the same.

ESPN Recruiting went back and reviewed its 2007 rankings and found it had plenty of hits and plenty of misses.

Right USC?

Recall that the Trojans had the nation's No. 1 class, featuring four top-20 players and eight in the top-50. Some of the names will inspire a "who?" from those who don't follow recruiting closely.

Oregon and Stanford, which earned the Pac-10's two BCS bowl berths this season, only had one player on the 2007 ESPNU 150: Oregon's Kenny Rowe. Rowe was also the only member of the ESPNU 150 from 2007 to earn first- or second-team All-Pac-10 honors this year, though a couple, such as Arizona TE Rob Gronkowski, are already in the NFL.

You can start your review of the ESPNU 150 from 2007 here.

Here's a re-ranking of the top-10 of the recruiting rankings.

And here's a "best of" from the ESPNU 150.

For quick reference, here are the Pac-12 players who made the list.

Top 25
1. Joe McKnight, RB, USC
2. Chris Galippo, LB, USC
3. Marc Tyler, RB, USC
18. Marshall Jones, S, USC

25-50
31. Everson Griffen, DE, USC
33. Aaron Corp, QB, USC
43. Dominique Herald, S, USC
47. Ronald Johnson, WR, USC

51-75
68. Martin Coleman, OT, USC
70. Apaiata Tuihalamaka, DE, Arizona
71. Ryan Miller, OT, Colorado

76-100
None

101-125
104. Conrad Obi, DE, Colorado
107. DaJohn Harris, DT, USC
111. Kenny Rowe, DE, Oregon
116. Rob Gronkowski, TE, Arizona
122. Kristofer O'Dowd, C, USC

126-150
133. Chris Forcier, QB, UCLA
135. Raymond Carter, RB, UCLA

Senior Bowl practices are winding down: The players were in shorts on Thursday. Here are a few notes.

Colorado OT Nate Solder may have secured the title of "best offensive lineman available."

Colorado OT Nate Solder was the best lineman here this week. He showed a good combination of size, feet and lateral agility, but the thing that stuck out was his toughness. He was playing with a chip on his shoulder and mixing it up.

UCLA kicker Kai Forbath got this review:

He doesn't have a huge leg, but he's been good inside of 40 yards this week. You can tell, however, that kickoffs are not his strength, as he just doesn't have enough leg. He tries to overcompensate, and it affects his hang time and accuracy. Even Thursday, he did three kickoffs with team drills and unintentionally squibbed two kicks; the one he connected cleanly on reached only the 10.

Washington LB Mason Foster was called a "riser" all week:

Two linebackers who helped themselves this week are LSU ILB Kelvin Sheppard and Washington OLB Mason Foster. Foster showed why he was second in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 163 tackles displaying natural instincts. He finds the ball quickly, reacts quickly and gets into position to make the tackle. He's not the best athlete, but he is a reliable tackler and has enough power, strength and explosiveness in his hips when taking on blockers. He has good coverage awareness and is a big contributor on special teams. At the start of the season, he was a late-round prospect, but after a good campaign and a good week here, he's in the mid-fourth-round range now.

Washington QB Jake Locker got mixed reviews, and that link includes many of them.

Stanford CB Richard Sherman had a good day Thursday:

Stanford CB Richard Sherman had a great day. He’s very big but also real fast. Showed great instincts in the red zone drill, understood where the receiver was going and had enough skill to redirect and/or impede without committing a penalty. Made a couple of good adjustments on the fly, has the balance to change direction quickly and charge under control. He is visibly better than Chris Cook, a CB with similar size who went at the top of the 2nd round last year. The coaches still in attendance gushed over him.

Some more thoughts on California DE Cameron Jordan, including a nice review from an opposing offensive tackle.

Cal’s Cameron Jordan (6 feet 4 inches, 287 pounds) is nearly unblockable.

“He really impressed me,’’ said Boston College offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo. “He’s real strong to go with some good moves and speed. A really good player.’’

Several scouts compared Jordan to former Patriot Adalius Thomas because of his versatility and skill set. Thomas didn’t work out long-term in New England, but Bill Belichick obviously likes that type of player. Jordan is a young, moldable player who will stay within the scheme.

That Boston Globe article also noted Arizona DE Brooks Reed.

While the other top 3-4 outside linebackers will be underclassmen, Brooks Reed (Arizona) and K.J. Wright (Mississippi State) are promising.

Reed is very strong at 6-2 1/2, 257, and has good explosion off the ball. Wright is long-limbed at 6-3 and 246, and played in a passive read-and-react system. He needs to be coached up but has a high ceiling if someone can get him to turn it loose.

More on Reed here:

Arizona LB Brooks Reed has looked very good as an edge rusher in drills. He has been playing with his hand on the ground, as well as on the outside in the Bills' 3-4, this week and has been very impressive getting past tackles.

From the same article, some praise for USC WR Ronald Johnson:

USC WR Ronald Johnson looks like he has some legit run-after-the-catch ability. He's had a good week.

From what I can gather, Jordan, Foster, Reed and Johnson were generally considered the top "risers" among Pac-10 players, and if you go Pac-12, Solder also had a strong week.

Locker, Sherman, Oregon LB Casey Matthews and USC center Kristofer O'Dowd seemed to get mixed reviews, though none of them laid an egg or saw his stock drop drastically.

Thirteen Pac-10 players representing eight different teams will participate in the Under Armour Senior Bowl, the premier postseason college football all-star game.

The 62nd game is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on Jan. 29 in Mobile’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The game and all practices will be televised live by NFL Network.

The Pac-10 players picked for the game are:

Arizona: Brooks Reed, DL
California: Cameron Jordan, DL
Oregon: Casey Matthews, LB
Oregon State: Stephen Paea, DL
Stanford: Sione Fua, DL; Owen Marecic, RB
UCLA: Kai Forbath, K; Christian Yount, DS
USC: Ronald Johnson, WR; Kristofer O’Dowd, OL; Shareece Wright, DB
Washington: Mason Foster, LB; Jake Locker, QB

The Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., is the premier postseason college all-star game. Everyone invited to the game has significant NFL prospects.

And just about every NFL coach and personnel guy will be on hand. Watching. Closely.

So the eight Pac-10 players invited should feel honored. And a bit nervous.

Here's an early list of invitations so far (it's likely at least couple of players will be added later).

Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State
Cameron Jordan, DE, California
Kristofer O'Dowd, C, USC
Shareece Wright, CB, USC
Stanley Havili, FB, USC
Ronald Johnson, WR, USC
Jake Locker, QB, Washington
Mason Foster, LB, Washington

We have just gutted the 2010 USC-UCLA game. Its entrails lay before us on a sacred stone where teams have revealed their greatness in days of yore, as well as in recent years. We -- you and the Pac-10 blog, of course -- are haruspices attempting to divine meaning from the state of the two programs and what their rivalry game on Saturday means.

In truth, it's just a wet, sticky, yucky pile. But things were pretty gross even before we made a bloody mess that reveals little.

"Steak tartare?" I say. "Sushi?" you say.

The battle for LA bragging rights ain't much to look at. USC is 7-5 and has lost two in a row. UCLA is 4-7 and has lost five of six. It's the most combined defeats for the two teams entering the game since 1999.

What is fair to say: The loser will be really, really miserable this offseason. The winner? It gets to not be the loser.

That said, the most accurate grade for both this season might be an incomplete, for it is difficult to get an accurate, big-picture measure of the state of either program.

For one, both programs had some impressive highs this season.

USC has been in and out of the rankings throughout the year, but it appeared to be there to stay after an impressive win at Arizona on Nov. 13. At that point, it was fair to predict a 10-3 finish, a strong first season for new coach Lane Kiffin by any measure, considering the circumstances.

At that point, some prematurely pinned a rose on Kiffin's nose. But then USC got blown out at Oregon State 36-7 and lost to Notre Dame 20-16 at home, thereby ending a record eight-game winning streak in the storied series.

The Trojans will lose a number of quality seniors heading into 2011 (WR Ronald Johnson, C Kristofer O'Dowd, FB Stanley Havili, CB Shareece Wright), and a couple more could enter the NFL draft a year early (OT Tyron Smith, DT Jurrell Casey).

Considering how young and thin the Trojans were this season, it's hard not to see them trending down after Kiffin's first season.

As for UCLA, the Bruins looked awful in their first two games -- a loss at Kansas State and a 35-0 drubbing at home against Stanford. But a three-game winning streak followed, topped by wins over Houston and Texas, a pair of nationally ranked teams. The defense stepped up and the pistol offense appeared to be breaking through with quarterback Kevin Prince.

Then: Splat. Prince, who was struggling in the passing game, was lost for the season to a knee injury, and the Bruins lost three in a row. They briefly seemed to recover with a win over Oregon State, which reignited bowl hopes, but they then lost by 17 at Washington and 21 at Arizona State.

The defense has been bad, but the offense has been awful. The Bruins rank 116th in the nation in passing and 103rd in scoring, and that has created a offensive coordinator controversy with Norm Chow, who is highly respected -- and highly paid -- but hasn't lived up to his reputation in Westwood.

It's hard not to see the Bruins trending down after Rick Neuheisel's third season.

So there is the suggestion of a downward trend for both, but there are variables beyond wins and losses in 2010.

USC still awaits a ruling from the NCAA Appeals Committee on severe sanctions, which included a two-year bowl ban and a docking of 30 scholarships over three years. In light of recent reports and ensuing investigations launched across the Eastern Seaboard for far worse offenses involving agents and pay-for-play schemes than what the NCAA turned up after investigating the Trojans football program for four years, it seems reasonable for the Committee to give USC a break.

Don't hold your breath, Trojans fans. But if penalties were reduced, that would provide a significant jolt of positive momentum, particularly if scholarships are restored.

With USC getting trampled by the NCAA, UCLA was supposed to take advantage, particularly in recruiting. At present, however, the Trojans rank 13th in the nation in recruiting, while the Bruins are not ranked in the top-25. USC has 16 commitments with four from the ESPNU 150. UCLA nine commitments with just one from the ESPNU 150.

But it's premature to measure recruiting classes before national signing day on Feb. 2. Recall that Neuheisel has made impressive late runs the past two years.

So, again, rain clouds hang over both programs in sunny Southern California. Neither is happy with this season. And both really, really would like to walk away from 2010 by putting a footprint on the other's forehead.

As for the big-picture trends in the rivalry? Who the heck knows?

It's not just Washington coach Steve Sarkisian who is making a homecoming of sorts when the Huskies visit USC on Saturday. His defensive coordinator, Nick Holt, also was a long-time assistant under Pete Carroll and coached alongside Sarkisian and new Trojans coach Lane Kiffin.

Suffice it to say, the two staffs know each other well, which adds another layer of intrigue for what should be a revealing game for both teams. The Trojans certainly should be motivated after losing in Seattle last year, a game Kiffin seemed eager to talk about this past week.

Holt and the Huskies are coming off a bye week, which fell at a good time after the embarrassing 56-21 home loss to Nebraska. While quarterback Jake Locker caught most of the grief for the Huskies poor play, the defense didn't exactly shine.

So it seemed like a good time to check in with Holt.

Probably not your favorite subject, but what did you learn about your team after reviewing the Nebraska game film?

Nick Holt: (Laughs) We didn't play as well as we can. We did stuff we haven't done in a long long time. Guys just not doing their fundamentals. A lot of it was guys just trying too hard to make a play and just not using good sound fundamentals. We just broke down. It wasn't just one guy. It was a different guy at each time trying to do too much, trying to cover for somebody. We broke down and we just weren't good. It was one of those days you look at the film and go, 'Golly, man, we just weren't ready to go.' And it's one of those days you want to get right back on the field and play it over right away, because you know you're better than that. But we learned. We came back and watched the film on Sunday. The kids saw it. They knew it right after. We just didn't play up to our capability. We just weren't right. We did some good things, but every time we kind of fought back into the game, which was late in the second quarter, they had some big plays and shut the door. It was a good learning experience that you have to take the care of business all the time and do the little things, the basic fundamentals, and get your mind ready to play every Saturday. It wasn't a very good job by myself.

How did your guys react during the bye week: Did you see any loss of confidence?

NH: No, I didn't. During the bye week we got guys who had been banged up healthy. And we went back to work. They had a good attitude. We had some really good practices. One of the big things that hurt us -- and we don't want to make excuses -- but our starting middle linebacker, who is one of our leaders [Cort Dennison], and one of our top tacklers, and one of our better players, he couldn't play because he got a mild concussion in practice on Wednesday before the game. He was out. He couldn't play. We had to play a true freshman at middle linebacker [Garrett Gilliland] and he did some good things, but I think quite honestly that affected some of the other guys. They just didn't play right. They just weren't as confident as they have been. So during the bye week we had some good practices and tried to get back to who we are. I think we feel a little more confident right now.

Who's been playing well for you?

NH: Our inside linebacker Mason Foster has been playing really well. Nate Williams, our strong safety, is doing a good job. Our corner, Desmond Trufant, has been doing really well. And our middle-backer, Cort Dennison, has been playing really well. And like I said he didn't get to play against Nebraska. And our noseguard [Alameda Ta'amu] has been playing well but he can play better. He's doing a decent job.

What about the young guys? Who do you see getting more playing time as the season goes on?

NH: One of our safeties, Sean Parker, will continue to get more reps in the games. He's a strong safety. Two of our defensive linemen. Sione Potoa'e is getting 20-30 reps in the games. He's getting better each week, more confident, making plays for us. He does a good job. Then Hau'oli Jamora, a defensive end, he had the most production of all our defensive linemen in the last game. He had a lot of nice plays. He's not the biggest guy [238 pounds] but he's a really good football player. Those three, along with one of our corners, Greg Ducre. Those guys are going to keep getting more reps as they continue to learn and grow.

Think you'll feel any sentiment coaching from the visiting sideline inside the Coliseum opposite USC?

NH: That side of the field will feel a little awkward, but not sentiment, no. It will be good to get back down there. I haven't been there a couple years. I love walking down that tunnel. It's a great venue to play in. One of the best if not the best, in my opinion, in the country. I'm looking forward to getting back down there and playing. Quite honestly, I'm just looking forward to playing again. It seems like we haven't played in so long. You come off a loss after a bye it seems like forever. It's such a long week. We're ready to get going again.

Tell me about USC's offense: What do you see on film?

NH: They run the ball extremely well. They are extremely balanced. They are solid upfront. They've got some good offense linemen. Their center [KristoferO'Dowd] has been starting for a million years. He's a good player. Heady, makes all their calls. Ronald Johnson is one of the better wideouts in the conference. Just a really good player. I like all their running backs, especially Stanley [Havili]. He's a complete running back. He can run, catch. He can block. And Matt Barkley is doing a nice job. They have some weapons. They are physical. They try to run the ball and they believe in it. Then they try to hit you with a big play passes. They do a nice job.

How much will you and Steve Sarkisian try to get inside of Lane Kiffin's head and do the ole: 'Lane likes to do this.' And, 'if we do this, he'll do that?'

NH: That's a part of the game and the strategy. But you've got to remember, Lane knows us too. He'll have his own ways of trying to get in our heads. So you don't want to get too caught up in all that stuff. You want to coach your guys. You want to do things they are really good at that they're confident in. You don't want to get into your own little mind games, or your own little battles. This is a team game. You got to make sure you're putting your kids in position to be successful, regardless of who you're going against.

I know you guys love to compete. Is there anything special calling defensive plays versus Kiffin, who calls the Trojans offensive plays?

NH: (Laughs) Kiff is one of the more competitive guys. He loves to win. Whether it's 7-on-7, or at high school camps, whenever it is. He's going to bring out all the stops. It will be fun to go against him.

A Pac-10 QB is atop Mel Kiper's "Big Board," but it's no longer Washington's Jake Locker.

It's Stanford's Andrew Luck.

Here's what Kiper has to say about Locker's terrible game vs. Nebraska:

Still, it's hard to ignore the dreadful showing Jake Locker had against Nebraska. While I noted in Stock Watch that the totals were worse than the tape -- Locker was facing a loaded secondary, and was constantly harassed and forced to simply dump the ball -- he's still due for a fall. It's a developmental issue. NFL evaluators still see significant talent, but they are hesitant to take a QB as high as No. 1 overall if they think he needs significant tutoring at the NFL level. They simply can't have the patience because of the tenuous nature of their own jobs. So Locker takes a hit this week.

Kiper therefore drops Locker to No. 4, though he still lists Locker as the No. 1 senior QB.

Also on the Big Board: The UCLA duo of LB Akeem Ayers and S Rahim Moore are rated 18th and 24th, respectively.

Other top Pac-10 seniors:

• Stanford's Owen Marecic and USC's Stanley Havili rate as the top two fullbacks.
• USC's Ronald Johnson is the No. 2 receiver.
• USC's Kristofer O'Dowd is the No. 3 center.
• Oregon State's Stephen Paea is the No. 2 DT.
• UCLA's Kia Forbath is the No. 1 kicker. Arizona State's Thomas Weber is No. 3.
• Arizona State's Trevor Hankins is the No. 2 punter, while Washington State's Reid Forest is No. 5.

As for Pac-10 non-seniors:

• Luck is the No. 1 QB. Arizona's Nick Foles is No. 4.
• Kiper lists Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon's LaMichael James and California's Shane Vereen as the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 RBs.
• Cal's Anthony Miller, Oregon's David Paulson and USC's Rhett Ellison are the Nos. 2, 4 and 5 tight ends.
• USC's Jurrell Casey is the No. 3 DT. Arizona State's Lawrence Guy is No. 5.
• USC's Chris Galippo, who doesn't start, rates as the No. 5 inside linebacker.
• Ayers is the No. 1 OLB. Moore is the No. 1 safety.
• Washington's Erik Folk is the No. 2 kicker.
• Cal's Bryan Anger is the No. 1 punter

There are lots of good centers in the Pac-10: See six being named to the 37-man watch list for the Rimington Award, which is given annually to the best one.

You can see the entire list here.

The Pac-10 players are:

Colin Baxter, Arizona
Chase Beeler, Stanford
Jordan Holmes, Oregon
Alex Linnenkohl, Oregon State
Kai Maiava, UCLA
Kristofer O'Dowd, USC

Obviously, Maiava, who broke his ankle during a scrimmage on Saturday, is probably not going to win the award.

The winner will be honored at the Rimington Trophy Presentation banquet Jan. 15 at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, Neb.

Happy Friday.

• If Travis Cobb is healthy, he's a dangerous weapon for Arizona. But that remains an "if." Checking in with ex-Wildcats in the NFL.
• Here are 10 guys who have stood out for Arizona State. Eddie Elder is still trying to break through at safety.
• California is having more fun. Turns out, there's a good reason that cornerback Darian Hagan struggled to stay focused last year.
• Oregon is still looking for a cornerback. The Ducks' "other" running back is pretty special, too.
• Both Oregon State's quarterbacks looked sharp in a scrimmage. Another report with video and stats.
• Alex Loukas looks like he's Stanford's backup quarterback, which means his reps free safety might be limited. A Q&A with Loukas.
• It's still not clear who UCLA's starting middle linebacker will be. The Bruins' defense was in control on Thursday.
• USC linebacker Malcolm Smith is hungry, but he's got a problem eating. Kristofer O'Dowd isn't paying attention to preseason hype.
• Washington has a couple of more major recruiting targets its looking to land. Kearse vs. Trufant: A spirited battle.
• Washington State linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis has turned his life around. The Cougars feel good about the depth at running back.
• Fifteen Pac-10 players representing eight schools have been named to the Rivals.com preseason All-America team, the most of any conference in the country.

USC opens preseason camp today. Here's a quick look.

Who's back: Six starters on offense, six on defense and punter Jacob Harfman.

Big names: QB Matt Barkley, C Kristofer O'Dowd, DT Jurrell Casey

What's new: Everything? Pete Carroll is out; Lane Kiffin is in. The only holdover from Carroll's staff is receivers coach John Morton. The postseason is out; NCAA sanctions are in. AD Mike Garrett is out; Pat Haden is in. Defending Pac-10 champions is out; finishing with four conference losses is in. Certain dominance is out; questions about the future are in.

Key competition: There are lots of areas of intrigue, starting with returning starter Chris Galippo trying to hold onto the job at middle linebacker against converted end Devon Kennard. Who will replace the injured Christian Tupou at defensive tackle: Either DaJohn Harris or Hebron Fangupo. What's the pecking order behind Allen Bradford at tailback? And what about receiver, where freshmen Kyle Prater, Robert Woods and Markeith Ambles figure to challenge returning veterans. The only certainty in the rebuilt secondary is CB Shareece Wright. Oh, and freshman Kevin Graf is listed ahead of returning starter Butch Lewis at left guard.

Breaking out: Wright, O'Dowd, WR Ronald Johnson and DE Armond Armstead will be all-conference if they stay healthy. What will Barkley in Year 2 look like after starting as a true freshman? Kennard looks like a rising star. Freshman RB Dillon Baxter had folks whispering "Reggie Bush II" in spring practices. Hopefully without the greedy parents and accompanying parasites.

Quote: Kiffin on the team's strengths and weaknesses: “I feel good about our defensive line. Depth in general is going to be an issue. We have to be extremely intelligent and smart. Seven of our 10 coaches have NFL experience. We’re going to have to be NFL-oriented because of our situation.

Notes: The Trojans were picked second in the preseason media poll. They received 12 first-place votes compared to 15 for Oregon. It was the first time in seven polls USC hadn't been picked first. ... 13 returning starters is the second fewest in the conference. ... Players who left the program after NCAA sanctions were announced: safety Byron Moore (junior college), linebacker Jordan Campbell (Louisville), wide receiver Travon Patterson (Colorado), fullback D.J. Shoemate (Connecticut), defensive end Malik Jackson (Tennessee). Also, the Trojans released touted offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson (Miami) and linebacker signee Glen Stanley (Florida State) from their scholarship commitments.

We ranked the top-25 players in the Pac-10. We noted six who just missed. Now we've got six who are good bets to be on a post-season top 25. And some honorable mentions.

1. Shareece Wright, CB, USC: Former defensive coordinator Nick Holt said Wright, who was academically ineligible in 2009, was the best cover corner he'd coached at USC. Wright is a good bet for first-team All-Pac-10, but he's got to get on the field and perform.
2. Chris Owusu, WR, Stanford: Already getting preseason All-American honors as a kick returner, the speedy Owusu could break through as a deep-threat receiver this fall.
3. Ronald Johnson, WR, USC: One of the conference's best deep threats, he missed half of last season with a broken collarbone and it took a while for him to rediscover his form. Looked like he did just that during spring practices.
4. John Boyett, S, Oregon: Stepping in when T.J. Ward went down, he became the first freshman to lead the Ducks in tackles since the defensive records were first consistently recorded in 1969. Should be an all-conference threat a sophomore.
5. Jeff Maehl, WR, Oregon: A clutch playmaker, he ranked 10th in receptions and 10th in receiving yards per game in the conference in 2009, but those numbers figure to go up as he looks like the go-to receiver for a team that might throw more in 2010.
6. David DeCastro, OG, Stanford: He was good as a redshirt freshman. He could be dominating as a sophomore. In fact, any of the four returning starters on the Cardinal line is a threat for all-conference honors.

Honorable mention: Juron Criner, WR, Arizona; Omar Bolden, CB, Arizona State; Anthony Miller, TE, California; Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon; Gabe Miller, DE, Oregon State; Sione Fua, DT, Stanford; Datone Jones, DE, UCLA; Allen Bradford, RB, USC; Senio Kelemete, OT, Washington; Travis Long, DE, Washington State.