Posts tagged USC football at FanHouse

After considering last week's proposal by the Coliseum Commission to enter into a long-term lease with USC, have the public entity raise the funds for stadium improvements, and promise no NFL team would come to the venerable Los Angeles Stadium, USC responded Monday with a "Thanks, but..." counterproposal.

In a letter to Coliseum manager Pat Lynch, USC's lead negotiator Todd Dickey lays out a groundwork for compromise--enter into an agreement to let the Coliseum sell naming rights to the stadium, raise the money, and meet specific goals over ten years for improving the stadium. If the Coliseum Commission fails to make the deadlines, they'd be in breach of contract with the University and the deal would revert to the Master Lease that USC has wanted all along.

The USC Trojans opened up their quest for a sixth consecutive Pac Ten title on Saturday, hosting the Washington State Cougars to a wet but spirited Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Just like the last two Trojan games, we were there to bring you the full pageantry of the day--and some insights on the game.

For once this season, the USC Trojans lived up to their "Leave No Doubt" slogan on their way to a 47-14 victory over the Washington State Cougars.

Heisman Candidate John David Booty lived up to the reputation, distributing the ball evenly among nine receivers while throwing for 279 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception. That tight end Fred Davis was his leading receiver shows that Booty was able to make progressions and check off receivers--something he seemingly had failed to do in previous games.

The Trojan running game was slowed a little compared to their 313-yard performance against Nebraska, rushing for but 215 yards. Nonetheless, USC was able to work in both Freshman Joe McKnight and sixth-year Senior Hershel Dennis late in the game and neither disappointed.

This week's edition of "Trojan Gameday" travels to Lincoln, Nebraska, where we seek to bring you the sights of Fandom from the 2007 USC Trojans' quest for the National Championship. Luckily, there was more than just going through the motions this week.



Of course, the Trojans brought the world-famous Song Girls to Lincoln, who we imagine were quite cold in the fifty-degree weather of late Summer in Middle America.

When the folks at Heritage Hall talk about USC's "Trojan Family," they aren't kidding. The latest recruit to the Men of Troy has special family ties to the program and it's legacy.

Yesterday 6'6" Jordan Cameron announced that he will be leaving behind his basketball scholarship at Brigham Young University to play tight end for the USC Trojans.

The 230-pound Cameron has a special relationship to the program that's about one tenth his weight. He's the uncle of Cole Cameron-Leinart, son of his sister Brynn and Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Matt Leinart.

If Cameron plans on getting any closer to a Heisman Trophy, it will have to belong to Joe McKnight, Mark Sanchez or Mitch Mustain, however, since he will redshirt this season.

Previously in the FanHouse:

Matt Leinart Now Has a Mini-Him
Matt Leinart to Become a Father (Paris Hilton Not the Mother)

Seeing as it is impossible to donate enough money to the University of Southern California to join an alumni donor group to get guaranteed seats in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, school officials are upping the ante, announcing this week a three-year series of price hikes for existing donors.

Membership in Cardinal and Gold, the Committee and the Scholarship Club will increase betrween 20 and 40% between 2006 and 2009. Hardest hit will be membeers of the Committee--which will be able to purchase tickets to Notre Dame away games in 2007 and 2009 and Ohio State--whose buy-in raises from $5000 to $7000 on top of their Cardinal and Gold membership and Cardinal and Gold members under 30 years old, who will see prices rise from $1500 to $2000.

Top-level donors will no have to pony up $30,000 to join the Scholarship Club--an increase of $5000.

The reason? Athletic Scholarships have gone from $36,000 to $45,000 a year thanks to tuition increases at USC, according to a letter by Athletic Director Mike Garrett. By my count, that means you'd need only 153 members of the Scholarship Club to cover the increased cost for all 85 players on the football team, so it looks like Heritage Hall will be doing more than just covering its costs.

Previously: Trojan Away Tickets Harder Than Ever

NFL scouts think they know him, but they're wrong ...

Ryan Kalil: senior center, USC

WHAT NFL SCOUTS ARE SAYING

Pro Football Weekly: The most athletic center in the draft, he maximizes his ability with tremendous savvy and football smarts. Great football character. Unselfish team player. Good work ethic. Has NFL bloodlines and a great understanding of the game. Tremendous football intelligence --- makes all the line calls and adjustments. Is a little undersized. Is not an overpowering in-line blocker.

Street and Smith's: Agile and able to work in space on the second level. Excellent technique and is like a coach on the field. Has a problem with massive defensive tackles, but has the frame to get bigger.

PROBABLY GETTING DRAFTED ...

Middle first to early second round. Kalil is the consensus top center, much like Ohio State's Nick Mangold last year. Mangold did well for the Jets, indirectly boosting Kalil's draft stock. The NFL rarely drafts centers in the first round, but Kalil's about as good as they come at the position and won't fall very far if he isn't a first rounder.

GUY WHO WATCHED HIM FOR FOUR YEARS IS SAYING

The NFL guys pretty much have him pegged here. Kalil is the complete package. His father played in the NFL so he knows how things work. He's a three-year starter who led the inner attack on one of the best collegiate lines ever assembled in 2005. Easily beat out Jeff Byers - considered the best high school lineman in a generation and the Parade Magazine Player of the Year - as an inexperienced sophomore in 2004. Has an easygoing and affable personality with zero character concerns. Oozes leadership.

Will give his all and looks to be a great investment as a player who can make a 10-year career or more in the NFL. Very light on his feet, moves quickly as a pass blocker but can also get nasty and drive block or quickly disengage and push to the second level to spring longer running plays.

Bonus video below: Kalil hanging with the USC Song Girls at their "Boot Camp"
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Have they lost their mind?

Last year's 13-9 victory was exciting and finally ended USC's 7-year victory streak (average score 35-18) over the Bruins. I can understand UCLA feeling good about themselves - they have a ton of guys coming back, It's the offseason when hope springs eternal, they've scored a few recruiting victories ...

But this is just stupid. Take it away, Dennis Dodd.

This is an issue because the Bruins got, uh, well, somehow left out of my first 2007 Top 25 in January. Being the good [Sports Information Director] that he is, Mr. [Marc] Dellins quickly shipped me the galleys of the spring guide. He apologized in advance for the typos (the bound version is coming). I didn't notice any except the bold prediction on Page 3 about beating USC. Again. By 20. To win the Pac-10. Now that's a good [SID].

No, that's an insane SID.

USC didn't need any extra motivation after dropping their championship hopes on the Rose Bowl turf last December, but now they've got it. I can only imagine Pete Carroll hearing about this (and he will), sitting in his office telling anyone within earshot: "For Realz? They aren't this stupid, are they?" with that confused look ironically last seen in last year's game against UCLA.

Anyway, at least we now know in advance - if it wasn't already a given - UCLA's confirmed a woodshed beating heading its way ETA 12/1/07 at the Coliseum. Sadly, there is no novelty in USC maulings of UCLA. See: 66-19, 47-22, 52-21 and 27-0.

Pete Carroll's biggest loss to date was by 11 points against Notre Dame his first year at Troy. That was a rebuilding team. Since then nobody's gotten the Trojans by anything more than seven points. I really just don't see where UCLA comes off not only calling their shot, but by 20 points. Cal might have something to say about their Pac-10 championship talk as well. If UCLA were to have that kind of season it would have made more sense not to draw a huge target on their chest, no? Let everyone gun for USC and stealthily claim the crown.

At least this once again confirms that UCLA defines itself by how it does against USC instead of more contemporary measures like "wins" and "championships". Because really, who would want to be defined by those things?

Previously at the FanHouse:
Cross-Town Rivals Cross in Town
UCLA Wins Battle in Local Recruiting War
It's Time to Let USC and UCLA Party Like its 1969
Top CFB Moments of 2003 #3: Tip, Pick, Chaos
USC vs. UCLA to Rematch December 1, 2007
Video: Rey Maualuga Delivers THE Hit of 2006
UCLA Fans Are Eye-Popping, Violent Fools
Aaaaah! Last Eight Minutes of USC-UCLA Liveblog! Aaah!
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If you like to watch people in football uniforms running really really fast and doing fast things, this is your video.

In it, Muskegon (MI) receiver Ronald Johnson just torches some hapless opponent with several long receptions and punt returns. Johnson would later spurn the homestate Michigan Wolverines in favor of USC, shocking a lot of recruitniks.

The pure speed on display reminds me a little of Ted Ginn's videos from a few years ago. As soon as the ball is in Johnson's hands he's just gone, no doubt about it. It's all the more remarkable considering he was still recovering from torn knee ligaments at the time. That tends to rob guys of some of their explosiveness but apparently Johnson's doing just fine.

The scuttlebutt with him now is figuring out how USC will use him. The early talk is wide receiver, a la Ted Ginn. However, USC is loaded with receiver talent including several top 10 national recruits like Patrick Turner and Vidal Hazelton to go with the monstrous David Ausberry and speedy Travon Patterson. Did I mention USC also has Jamere Holland who broke his leg busted his shoulder just before fall camp last year but is otherwise one of the fastest players in the country (10.3 range in the 100 meters)?.

USC has numbers at receiver Ohio State simply couldn't match, which makes me think that Johnson finds his way to the defensive backfield within the year unlike Ginn who became a permanent offensive fixture in spite of his background as a defensive back. However, his speed and ball skills are hard to ignore. Look for him to moonlight as a punt or kick returner early in his career until that whole offense/defense thing is permanently sorted out.

There's an interesting - if brief - interview with USC coach Pete Carroll by the Riverside Press-Enterprise's Dan Weber. Believe-it-or-not, Carroll's seemingly brief stop at Troy -this is his seventh season - is the longest of any career stop. Notable excerpts below.

Q: OK, now for a negative: Toughest losses since you've been here?

A: Two games, the Rose Bowl loss to Texas. You're one tackle away from a national championship. That was pretty hard. And then I look at opportunities that get away from you and we had an opportunity against UCLA last year with a shot to go to the championship game, but it was a great Rose Bowl opportunity and we made the most of it. Those were the two hardest games, at least since the Las Vegas (Bowl) game. Or maybe it was the Oregon game the first year or the Washington game that year or ...

There really isn't a more agonozing way to lose in sports than in the last minute like happened against Texas. The second-guessing can almost be overwhelming. Ohio State at least has the comfort of knowing it was the inferior team in last year's championship drubbing, Pete Carroll's left to forever think about that 4th and five and Vince Young's unimpeded romp to glory (as well as that 4th and two call without Reggie Bush on the field).

But that's also been part of the Carroll mystique, never losing a game by more than 11 points and never more than seven points in any season other than his 2001 debut. I imagine he doesn't get much sleep at night having been so close to victory in literally every USC game he's coached.

Carroll is also known for his impeccable recruiting but there may be one state now closed off to the game's best salesman.

Q: You've just finished another top recruiting year. How do people treat you when you go into their state and take the best player in the past decade like you did with Joe McKnight in Louisiana?

A: They were pretty nice to us when we were down in New Orleans the week that we were recruiting down there, but maybe we can never go back now.

I think he's only being half sarcastic.

H/T: Tribute to Troy
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Take a gander at the grainy picture below. That's incoming USC football recruit Everson Griffen (in red) jumping over a defender on the way to a touchdown run.



'Hm, that's kind of interesting' you might say to yourself before thinking nothing else of it.

Thing is, Griffen's merely moonlighting as a tailback. In reality he's a 6'-4", 270 pound defensive end starting his college football career in just a few months. Can your defensive end do that? USC's can.

I've watched a lot of highlight tapes over the years and I've rarely seen tailbacks do that whole mid-air hurdle routine. I've seen exactly zero 270-pound defensive ends do it. So yeah, he's a freak.

For more of Griffen be sure and check out all his videos at Rivals.com.