USC
QUARTERBACK
- John David Booty. 2005 stats: 27-42, 327 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs. New starter.
Technically the starting job is still up for grabs; either junior John David
Booty (left) or redshirt freshman Mark Sanchez
could be the Trojan signalcaller come September.
Booty has the edge on experience and for now seems like the favorite to take
the job. Of course, the Trojans don't play Notre Dame until November, so it
could very well be Sanchez under center by then. Booty was Matt Leinart's backup last year and the favored first-stringer
in the spring before a back injury
sidelined him for the nearly the entire practice session. A former #1 high
school QB recruit, Booty certainly has the talent to be one of the best
quarterbacks the Irish face, but his balky back and inexperience make him a
wildcard. Will his tranistion to starter be as successfull as Leinart's, or will
there be a drop-off production? Depth: Sanchez, another #1 high school
QB, has earned nothing but rave reviews from practice sessions. Even if Booty
stays healthy, Sanchez could beat him out. With more mobility and a bit more
size than Booty, Sanchez certainly is an attractive option and a tremendous
talent. Still, there will always be question marks until potential is turned
into production. Junior Michael McDonald and incoming freshman Garret
Green round out the talented, but inexperienced QB depth chart.
RUNNING
BACK - Chauncey
No team loses more at running back than the Trojans, who must make do without
Reggie Bush and Lendale White. Replacing them is
likely going to fall to Chauncey Washington, who has finally been
cleared to play after being academically ineligible his first two years at
Southern Cal. Washington is certainly a talent and was one of the most
impressive players during the 2005 spring game, but will need to show to the
staff that he's able to shake off the rust of sitting out the past year. Depth:
Ryan Powdrell switched over from linebacker
and had a solid spring. At 250 pounds he is more of a fullback than running
back. Starting at actual fullback is Brandon Hancock. Built like a
professional bodybuilder, Hancock is more than simply strong; he's got good
hands and is a decent threat running the ball. Desmond Reed, who injured
his knee against Notre Dame's long grass, is on the path back to being a threat
that averaged 7.2 yards per carry last year. Michael Coleman is the only
other running back besides Reed who got some carries last year, but hip surgery
kept him out for the spring. Rounding out an extremely deep, though
inexperienced, depth chart are the five highly-recruited running backs that
signed with the Trojans. Stafon Johnson,
Emmanuel Moody, C.J. Gable, Stanley Havili,
and Kenny Ashley might not all still be at running back by the November
showdown with the Irish, but odds are one of them will be making
a significant impact at running back.
WIDE
RECIEVER
Dwayne Jarrett. 91 receptions, 1274 yards, 16 TDs. Returning starter.
Steve Smith. 60 receptions, 957 yards, 5 TDs. Returning starter.
The best receiving corp that the
Irish will face and probably the best receiving corp
in the nation. Dwayne Jarrett (left) is the star of this
ballyhooed group. One of the best receivers in the nation, the 6-5 Jarrett has
size, speed, and with even more experience should have a stellar junior year.
Joining him yet again will be the sure-handed Steve Smith who has over
100 career receptions for the Trojans. Depth: Patrick Turner
looks to be the next big star receiver for the Trojans. Also 6-5, this should
be his breakout year. Chris McFoy has never
grabbed too many headlines, but started 16 games over the past three years and
adds another veteran presence to the team. Ryan Ting shifted over from
free safety but by November might be overtaken by one of talented receivers the
Trojans brought in. David Ausberry is already
big at 6-5, 215 pounds while 6-3 Vidal Hazelton was one of the most
heavily recruited receivers in the nation. Jamere
Holland and Travon Patterson add
speed threats to a receiving corp heavy on tall
receivers.
TIGHT END
TE - Fred Davis. 13 receptions, 145 yards,
2 TDs. New starter.
Fred Davis was a top 3 wide receiver prospect coming out of high school
but has since bulked up to tight end. Trojan fans have been waiting for him to
have his breakout year and now that he's the de facto starter at tight end,
this could be it. Still able to run like a receiver, the 6-4 Davis will be a
very big threat in the passing game. At only 245 pounds, he probably won't be
relied on too much for his blocking skills. He saw plenty of action last year
and even started three games so he does have some decent amount of experience. Depth:
Dale Thompson hasn't done much more than special teams, but will be a
solid blocker for the Trojans in two tight end sets. Jimmy Miller had an
impressive 2 touchdowns on 3 receptions last year as a productive red zone
target.
OFFENSIVE LINE
LT - Sam Baker. (#6
T) Returning starter.
LG - Jeff Byers.
(#20 G) New starter.
C - Ryan Kalil.
(#2 C) Returning starter.
RG - Chilo Rachal. (#44 G) New starter.
RT - Kyle Williams. New starter.
Despite losing three talented lineman to the pros, the
Trojans will field another great offensive line, and any intial
inconsistency between new starters will likely be mostly cleared up by the time
the Irish roll into town at the end of the season. If Penn State's Levi Brown
is the best left tackle that the Irish will face, USC's
Sam Baker is a close number two. A 3rd Team All-American last year,
Baker is a three year starter at left tackle and a force in the running and
passing game. Lining up next to him is former high school player of the year Jeff
Byers, who returns from a hip injury that knocked him out for all of 2005.
If he's fully healthy, he should be a load of a player up the middle.
Continuing the bad news for Irish fans is center Ryan Kalil,
another three year starter who also was named to a few All-America teams in
2005. The right side of the Trojan line does suffer a bit from attrition as Chilo Rachal and Kyle
Williams have the early lead as replacement starters on the SC line. Both
saw time as backups last year with Williams coming as the extra lineman on goalline situations. Depth: Big Thomas Herring
missed the spring, but at 6-6, 335 pounds is a huge backup at the tackle
position. Similarly massive Alatini Malu (6-4, 340 pounds) will push for time with Rachal at the right guard spot.
DEFENSIVE
LINE
Kyle Moore. 6
tackles, 2 FR. New
starter.
Sedrick Ellis. (#13 DT) 50
tackles, 4.5 sacks, 8 TFL, 3 PBU, 1 FF. Returning
starter.
Chris Barrett. 5 tackles,
1 PBU. New starter.
Lawrence Jackson.
(#1 DE) 46 tackles, 10 sacks, 13 TFL, 6 PBU, 2 FR, 4 FF. Returning starter.
After some of the solid Trojan lines of the past few years, this one might take
some time to regroup and reload, but it should be a solid line by the time the
Irish roll into town. There is talk that the Trojans might play a 3-4 defense
this year at times to take advantage of their stellar linebacking
corp, but I'm going to stick with the 4-3 in this
preview in order cover more of the Trojan depth at DL. The star of the line is Lawrence
Jackson (left), generally considered one of, if not the best defensive ends
in the country. He's big at 6-5, 265 pounds and as fast as most linebackers. He
will be hard to handle this year. Sedrick
Ellis is the returning veteran in the middle and while he's not as
well-known as past star Trojan defensive tackles, he's a very capable player
who should be even better now that he's a returning starter. Next to Ellis is Chris
Barrett, an inexperienced player who rose to the top during spring
practice, beating out more highly touted recruits in the process. Initially he
might be the target of opposing run games until he can prove himself in a game.
The other defensive end spot is still up in the air but 6-7, 265 pound
sophomore Kyle Moore impresses everyone with his speed coming off the
edge. If the Trojans stick with the 3-4, Moore's spot will be the one that is
taken off the field in favor of a linebacker. Depth: Fighting Moore for
that starting spot is the talented but oft injured Jeff Schweiger.
Schweiger might also see some time playing linebacker
in the 3-4 as he's extremely fast. Adding bulk to the defensive tackle rotation
will be the job of 300 pounder Fili
Moala and 295 pound Walker Lee Ashley, one
of the top DL recruits from a few years ago. Alex Morrow is a solid defensive
end and will be Jackson's backup. Also look for Travis Tofi
and Averell Spicer, yet another top
recruit, to contribute to the defensive tackle rotation.
LINEBACKERS
SLB -
MLB - Oscar Lua.
(#10 - ILB) 66
tackles, 0.5 sacks, 0.5 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PBU, 1 FR. 1 FF. Returning starter.
WLB - Keith Rivers. (#3 - OLB) 52 tackles, 1 sack, 3 TFL, 1 INT, 2 FR. Returning starter.
If Penn State is the best linebacking corp in the nation, Southern Cal is #2. The collection of
size, speed, and talent here is really impressive and the fruit of three years
of almost unbelievable recruiting. There is so much talent, the Trojans might
be tempted to try out a 3-4 defense, but for this
preview we'll stick with the 4-3. And even then, the names of the starters
aren't set in stone. Dallas Sartz returns from
a shoulder injury that knocked him out for all but two games of the 2005 season
and regains the starting strongside spot he has held
since midway through the 2003 season. At 6-5, 240 pounds, Sartz
is tough, fast, and smart. If he can stay healthy, he should have a fantastic
year. In the middle, Oscar Lua returns for his
second year starting after leading the Trojans in tackles last year. He has a
highly regarded player on his heels for the starting job, but so far Lua has played well enough in practice to hold him off. Keith
Rivers (right) had a breakout game last year against Notre Dame and the
extremely fast junior will likely show up on a few national award lists by the
end of the season. Depth: You can see the depth of the Trojan team when
you notice the Phil Steele rankings for the Trojan backups. Fighting Lua for the starting job in the middle is Rey Maualuga (#26
- ILB) , a
ferocious player that I honestly think will be the starter when ND rolls into
town. Brian Cushing (#9 - OLB) has battled through some injury
problems and will push Dallas Sartz at the strongside 'backer position. If USC goes to a 3-4, look for
Cushing to get the call off the bench. Thomas Williams (#49 - OLB)
actually started 6 games at the strongside position last
year, but now finds himself 3rd on the depth chart at both the strongside and middle 'backer positions. Luther Brown
was a very highly regarded recruit who was sidelined last year with back
issues. Once healthy, he may make a move up the very crowded Trojan depth
chart. Allen Bradford is a highly touted freshman, but he was moved from
linebacker to running back in fall camp.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
CB - Cary Harris. 9 tackles, 1 PBU. New starter.
CB - Terrell Thomas. 5 tackles, 1 PBU. New starter.
FS - Josh Pinkard.
(#12 - CB) 54 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1.5 TFL, 2 INT, 7
PBU, 1 FR, 2 FF. Returning starter.
SS - Kevin Ellison. 6 tackles, 1 INT,
2 PBU, 1 FF. New starter.
The Trojans feature a revamped secondary this season, but there is a lot of
young talent, albeit untested, lininup in the USC
defensive backfield. Josh Pinkard (right) is
the lone returning starter, but after starting 6 games at corner last year,
he'll have to get used to starting at his original position of safety again.
Kevin Ellison was contributing on special teams and as a backup safety
before injury sidelined him for the season. He's back and although only an
inexperienced sophomore, will look to stay healthy and keep the starting strong
safety spot. Terrell Thomas also was sidelined early in last season and
was put on the bench for the remainder of the season. He appears to be fully
healed from knee surgery and ready to play. He'll probably be rusty for a bit,
but should be back to form by the time ND plays the Trojans. Cary Harris
was a backup corner last year as a freshman and now the sophomore has earned
the starting job for now. Depth: Fighting Harris for that starting spot
is another sophomore, Kevin Thomas (#37 - CB). Like Harris, Thomas was a
backup corner last year and now is looking at possibly starting. Two freshman are the backups at safety and have a world of
potential. The biggest is Antwine Perez,
who is already pushing returning starter Josh Pinkard
for the starting spot. An all-everything recruit and ferocious hitter, Perez is
already a Trojan fan favorite. Meanwhile, Taylor Mays is looking at
taking over the free safety spot. Mays has linebacker
size at 6-4, 225 pounds and may not be a safety for long, but for now he's
impressing everyone with his mix of size and speed.