ESPN College Football

Last week we gave you our thoughts on which Pac-12 team had the best specific position group -- taking into account playmakers at the top of the group and overall depth at the position.

Knowing full well he'd catch some grief, Kevin Gemmell still picked the Stanford linebacking corps, citing All-American candidates Chase Thomas and Shayne Skov and a very deep list of players who can fill out the Cardinal 3-4 scheme.

Ted Miller went top heavy, pointing out USC's fantastic wide receiver duo of Robert Woods and Marqise Lee, but also noting that players such as George Farmer, De'Von Flournoy and Victor Blackwell could provide some depth behind those two.

Did we pick the wrong units?

What about Utah's defensive line. The Utes boast the best defensive lineman in the conference in Star Lotulelei and are talented across the line.

What about the Oregon linebacking corps headlined by Michael Clay. They are athletic, deep and talented. Clay and Kiko Alonso are potential all-conference guys in 2012.

ASU has a pretty good stable of running backs. Cameron Marshall has impressed in the spring and James Morrison and a healthy Deantre Lewis make it that much deeper. JC transfer Marion Grice and incoming freshman D.J. Foster add to that depth.

Which team has the best position group?

Garry Paskwietz writes : Walk-on fullback Hunter Simmons left the team last season but returned this spring. Due to injuries at tight end and fullback, he played every snap during USC's practice on Saturday.

Greg Katz writes : Victor Blackwell was high school teammates with Matt Barkley at Mater Dei before joining him at USC. With a redshirt year under his belt, he's ready to catch passes from Barkley in a game situation again.

Writing is hard — it's a form of punishment in schools, and rightly so — and so I stood paralyzed before all the different ways this simple message might be put.

• Hey, whatever happened to former Arizona coaches Mike Stoops and Tim Kish?
• What are the priorities at California?
• An early look at what Colorado has heading into spring practices.
• A look at Oregon's 2010 recruiting classes, its successes and its pratfalls.
• Some Oregon State football notes.
• Stanford will play its spring game in San Francisco's Kezar Stadium.
• New UCLA coach Jim Mora received high marks for his first recruiting effort -- and so do Arizona State's Todd Graham and Washington State's Mike Leach.
• Is Victor Blackwell going to be USC's No. 3 receiver?
• A position review for Washington: tight ends and receivers.
• It probably shouldn't be much of a surprise that Mike Leach gave LB C.J. Mizell the boot.

LOS ANGELES -- One of the coachspeak quotes that often raises an eyebrow from the media is the ole, "We're young" declaration. Sometimes it's true, of course. But even so, it seems like a ready-made excuse.

But when USC coach Lane Kiffin throws it out -- "We're going to be extremely young" -- he recites numbers that back him up.

The Trojans have just 12 scholarship seniors and 14 scholarship juniors, he said. Further, 12 players on the two-deep sat out spring practices. Eight players who did participate this spring are early enrollees from this February's recruiting class. In the fall, 23 first-year players arrive.

That means 35 players who aren't participating this spring will be new to competition for playing time during preseason camp. In other words, the USC you saw -- or read about -- this spring isn't really going to be the USC that shows up this fall.

At least, that's the hope for Kiffin, because things were far from pretty -- particularly on offense -- this spring.

Some notes.

• It's difficult to judge quarterback Matt Barkley this spring because his supporting cast was so thin. Kiffin mostly lauded his leadership, and the general feeling is that Barkley and receiver Robert Woods are going to light things up this fall. As for quarterback depth, it seems redshirt freshman Jesse Scroggins took the lead for the backup role over touted true freshmen Max Wittek and Cody Kessler. Kessler seemed slightly more polished than Wittek this spring.
• The depth looks strong at running back, even if Marc Tyler can't stay healthy. Dillon Baxter, D.J. Morgan and Curtis McNeil each had their moments. Morgan is intriguing but "still very raw," said Kiffin, who added that McNeil, who was academically ineligible last season, "actually outperformed all those guys." The fullback is Soma Vainuku, a freshman.
• The receiving corps is going to be long on potential and short on experience. Woods often looks like a budding All-American. Said Kiffin: "Robert Woods has really taken his game to the next level. It's hard to imagine he's only in his second semester." If Kyle Prater can stay healthy, he also has all-star potential. Brandon Carswell, De'Von Flournoy and Markeith Ambles -- who's struggled to stay out of the doghouse because of discipline issues -- provide uncertain depth. It's almost certain that incoming freshmen, including the celebrated tandem of George Farmer and Victor Blackwell, will get immediate looks.
• Rhett Ellison has had a good spring and is getting looks at both tight end and fullback. Xavier Grimble, Christian Thomas and Brandall Telfair also are in the tight end mix, with each bringing different skills to the position.
• The offensive line? Huge question mark. The only certainty is Matt Kalil at left tackle. Khaled Holmes started at guard last season and is expected to start at center this fall, but he didn't do contact work this spring. Kevin Graf probably fits in somewhere. There really wasn't a second unit of scholarship players this spring. Incoming freshmen Cyrus Hobbi and Aundrey Walker will get serious looks in the fall. Former coach Pete Carroll was an outstanding recruiter, but he fell short recruiting offensive linemen over his final few seasons.
• Andre Heidari, the No. 1 prep kicker in the nation last year, has looked solid this spring. The hope is incoming freshman Kristopher Albarado will win the punting job.
• The big question on the defensive line is the uncertain health of Armond Armstead. An undisclosed health issue prevented him from practicing and his future is uncertain. Said Kiffin, "That's big. He really came on at the end of the year. We'll know more this summer." With him, the Trojans' defensive line could be elite. Without him, it still could be pretty good. Junior end Nick Perry, if he can stay healthy, will become an NFL prospect. He was clocked at 4.6 in the 40 at 250 pounds. Said Kiffin, "He's everything you want. He's an NFL dream, height, weight, speed, jumping." Redshirt freshman defensive tackle George Uko has made the most gains this spring. End Wes Horton and tackle DaJohn Harris have experience, as does tackle Christian Tupou, who should return from a knee injury that killed his 2010 season.
• The likely starting linebackers -- Chris Galippo, Devon Kennard and Shane Horton -- sat out with injuries. Things are thin behind them, though redshirt freshman Hayes Pullard "has played extremely well," according to Kiffin. This is another position where incoming freshmen -- Lamar Dawson? Tre Madden? -- could make an impact.
• Cornerback Nickell Robey has had and outstanding spring, and safety T.J. McDonald is a budding star. There's less certainty at the other two spots, though Anthony Burnett appears to have caught Kiffin's eye at the other corner. Jawanza Starling, Drew McAllister, Demetrius Wright and Marshall Jones are competing at the other safety. Dion Baily is getting a look at a "nickel linebacker."

The ESPNU 150 recruiting list has been released.

Four players on it already have committed to Pac-10 teams, three to USC and one to Washington. They are:

No. 45 DT Antwaun Woods (USC)

No. 56 WR Victor Blackwell (USC)

No. 65 ATH DeAnthony Thomas (USC)

No. 115 Aubrey Coleman (Washington)

The list includes 18 players from the West Coast: 11 from California, four from Arizona, two from Washington and one from New Mexico.

One of the nation's top athletes, DeAnthony Thomas of Crenshaw High (Los Angeles) has committed to USC.

Thomas (5-foot-9, 160 pounds) was also was offered by UCLA, California, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, Florida, Colorado, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon and Oregon State.

He told ESPN's Greg Biggins, "It was all about being comfortable there. I always said I didn't want to leave home because I'm so close to my family so I was leaning towards playing for one of the two L.A schools. USC is where I felt I fit in the best, where I had the best relationship with the coaches and they recruited me harder than anyone."

His God-brother, Victor Blackwell, a receiver from Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), also recently pledged to USC.

Nicknamed the "Black Mamba," he rushed, as a junior, for 902 yards on 81 carries (11.1 yards per carry average) and scored 12 touchdowns and caught 11 passes for 204 yards and three TDs. On defense, he recorded 60 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions, seven pass breakups and three forced fumbles.

Thomas is the Trojans' fifth commitment. All five are members of the ESPNU 150 Watch List.

USC and California have both picked up recruiting commitments.

Receiver Victor Blackwell (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei), a member of the ESPNU 150 watch list, committed to the Trojans on Monday night.

Blackwell (6-foot-1, 190) is the top receiver for touted quarterback Matt Wittek, who previously committed to the Trojans. Blackwell picked USC over California, Florida State, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Tennessee, UCLA and Washington.

He's the fourth 2011 pledge for the Trojans, all coming from the ESPNU 150 Watch List. He caught 52 passes for 1,044 yards (20.1 average) and 11 touchdowns as a junior.

Cal got word Tuesday from quarterback Kyle Boehm (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty). He picked the Bears over Arizona State, Colorado State, Illinois, Oregon State, San Jose State, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Northwestern and Washington, among others.

Boehm told ESPN.com's Greg Biggins, "I knew I was getting close to making my decision and didn't feel the need to drag it out any longer. Cal has everything I could want in a school, and has a great combination of athletics and academics. The fact that it's close to home and my family can come up and see my games is another added bonus."

Boehm passed for 881 yards and seven touchdowns while also rushing for 861 yards and 12 more scores last year.