To me when it comes to the receivers things just haven’t been the same since the loss to Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl Game.  We have seen it in the production but it becomes more of an issue when you look at the talent that SC has brought in the past couple of years.

Fair or not the receivers has been the brunt of a lot of criticism the past few years particularly last season.

Perhaps no group on the USC football team received more criticism last season than the wide receivers.

General lack of consistent production and some drops plagued the young group.

A year older, stronger, wiser and faster, though, and the group is intent on erasing any bad memories from last season, replacing them with a much-improved 2008 campaign.

The talent is there no question and we have seen glimpses of what can be achieved. And with the additions of Arkansas transfer Damien WIlliams and  RS freshman Brandon Carswell the presure is really going to be on the receivers to step up production in 2008.

Looking back on the past few seasons you can see how production has fallen off. Jarrett and Smith did some remarkable things in 2005 but that is understandable when look at the juggernaut that was the USC offense that season.

Pretty impressive numbers!

But things changed significantly in 2006 when Jarrett and Smith were pretty even in their production. Two things stand out here; 1) The loss of Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and LenDale White, you don't replace that kind production over night. 2) Jarrett's early in the season shoulder injury against Arizona which seemed to hamper him the rest of the season.

* I didn't add Davis' numbers here on purpose.

Jarrett started out a little slow in camp to the point that then offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin publicly called the receivers out , particularly Jarrett for his lack of fire. While Jarrett was out Chris McFoy was a capable replacement but his only standout game was against Wazzu in Pullman. Patrick Turner made his way onto the scene with an impressive showing against Arkansas but as we have seen he doesn't make the big or clutch plays that Jarrett or Smith did and he has had trouble hanging onto the ball. Hazelton wasn't even on the radar screen in forms of production, only hype.

2007 saw the departure of both Jarrett and Smith so it became Patrick Turner's unit to lead the question was would he step up? Well, right out of the gate he was injured in practice when he took a monster hit from Rey Maualuga. Why this happened and its effects can debated later but Turner wasn't the same for the rest of the season, he just didn't seem to have the spark that we were used to seeing in other receivers.

We wanted to see both Turner and Hazelton really take control of the game while being able to mix some things up with David Ausberry who was a redshirt in 2006 and incoming freshman phenom Ronald Johnson.

It's pretty ominous and kind of hard to miss the fact that Tight End Fred Davis was leading receiver last season. If it wasn't for his production I'm not sure how well SC would have done last season. Ausberry had a bit of the drops as well as PT and VH and Johnson showed us just how special he is going to be with some of his play on special teams and some of the catches he made last season.

The receivers need to do better than what we have seen if SC is going to continue to dominate the Pac-10. Sanchez may provide the swagger needed to fire this unit up and his leadership is going to be key to getting these guys to step up.

The decline in USC offensive production has some fans concerned. When you compare the production of the past few seasons to the explosive production of the Bush-Leinart years it is hard to really gauge just where SC is at. I kind of look at it like being the President, once you have achieved that office there really isn't much more that you can achieve and the only direction you can go is down.

Yes, nothing would us happier than to see SC keep the production level at a constant level but the fact it isn't possible to it every year. Couple that with the wanna-be's from across town who love to point out that SC has not won an MNC since Norm Chow left and you can see where some fans will get frustrated.

As I wrote earlier this year:

The talent that has been amassed at USC over the past coupe of years may not have developed to what we saw in 2002, 03 and 04 but can anyone honestly tell me that had Chow stayed that we would have beat Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl? In that game we were absolutely decimated on defense going up against a QB that could single-handedly win a game with his own sheer will. Would Norm Chow prevent Reggie Bush from lateraling the ball, which turned into a fumble. When SC came roaring back in the 2nd half I don't recall Chow calling the plays from his home where ever that was.

Can anyone explain to me what Chow did to recruit the talent that he was able to coach and develop? As mentioned above, Chow doesn't like to recruit and Carroll does, so what Carroll brought in talent (Leinart) Chow was able to develop. It was a symbiotic relationship but at some point all relationships end.

The fact is its symbiotic, talent and coaching walk hand in hand and if the stars line up perfectly like we saw in the Bush-Leinart era the results can be simply amazing. Talent alone won't win you championships you need coaching and just having a great coach with a great attitude will only get you so far if you don't talent.

Regardless there has been a decline in scoring since the 2005 season and there is a great write-up detailing it.

The lowest year in terms of points scored during the Pete Carroll era for USC is 2001 at 26.55 points per game in his first overall season at the helm. The highest level is of course the 2005 Trojan edition at 49.08 points per game when Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, LenDale White, Steve Smith, Dwayne Jarrett, and others lined up on offense.

The average points per game scored for USC over the seven year span is an impressive 36.24 points per game. The past two years however have been on the lower side of this figure.

(Note: Keep in mind that the 2006 season in college football was effectively 10% shorter due to changes in the game clock rules that year. I will not adjust for that effect but any cross year comparison should probably bump those figures up by roughly that amount.)

A big problem however with looking at the scoring data at this aggregate level is that the total combines so many different factors it is hard to sort out with respect potential sources of the variation.  For example in football:

• The defense scores points at times on safeties, interceptions or fumbles recovered and returned for scores
• Special team units can score points on punt and kick off returns for touchdowns or blocked kicks
• Teams typically score on offense at a higher percentage after turnovers by the defense
• Teams can score on short field (SF) scores (less that half the field) after blocked kicks, or turnovers, or excellent kick returns
• Teams can score starting from normal medium field (MF) position starting around the 30 yard line
• Teams can score on long field (LF) drives of 85 to 90 yards or more

Each of these categories is indicative of a different relative strength or weakness in a given year. The first four categories for example are reflective of how defense and special teams play directly and indirectly contribute to scoring by the offense.

This is some excellent analysis especially in how defense and special teams can influence the offenses ability to score.

Making the most out field position and turnovers is the key to the offense putting up points. of course it helps when you have explosive players like Joe McKnight, Stafon Johnson and Ronald Johnson who can break big plays to really fire up an offense. Its clear that SC has underachieved at certain points in the last two seasons and that can be for any number of reasons but talent isn't one of them coaching may be a part of some the decline. I realize that he is only in his 2nd year at running the offense on his own but Steve Sarkisian still has a ways to go before he can prove that he is one the best OC's in the game.

This year SC really needs to break out to put this decline behind them. Outside of the offensive line things look good on the offense in terms of experience but it needs to come together.

We will look at the receivers first a little later on today.

Last week Brian Grummell over at the Fanhouse observed how Pete Carroll continues to recruit top talent even with the Reggie Bush mess still unresolved.

Future unrest is usually trouble on the recruiting trail, just ask Penn State how much it has to answer to endless talk of Joe Paterno's retirement or dismissal. In spite of that, and of little surprise given Pete Carroll's ability to pitch, USC keeps smoking along on the recruiting trail.

They added Rivals.com's top player, quarterback Matt Barkley, this spring. Since then they've assembled a class of 15 players solid enough to rank second on Rivals.com's initial recruiting rankings and just behind Ohio State which already had 20+ commitments. If form holds it's another top five, maybe even No. 1 class.

The flip side is how Ty Willingham up at Washington hasn't signed a single recruit for 2009.

It's only mid-July. Still almost seven months until Feb. 7, when high-school senior football players can sign letters of intent to attend the college of their choice.

Plenty of time, in other words, for the Washington Huskies to put together a class like 2008's, which was generally considered to be among the top 20 in the nation and one of the school's best in years.

Still, the fact that UW doesn't yet have any commitments for its Class of 2009 while every other Pac-10 school has at least four — USC has 15 — is raising some eyebrows among those who follow recruiting. And at least a little concern among UW recruitniks, an anxiety often voiced on Huskies-related message boards.

I would agree that there is plenty of time for Willingham to put a solid class together but some programs weather uncertainty better than others. Recently, Marlon Pollard switched his commitment from ucla to Notre Dame. Part of the reason was his concern that Dwayne Walker wouldn't be there next season.

Marlon Pollard is the second defensive back to de-commit from UCLA in the last week (Byron Moore de-committed and committed to USC). Asked if he was worried defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker might leave for a head coaching gig, Pollard said:

"That was definitely in my mind. He was the person I liked a lot at that school. Coach (Karl) Dorrell left. I just didn't want to choose a college over one person I'd be working with.

SC has had to deal with the rumors that Pete Carroll is going back to the NFL and we know other coaches have used the Reggie Bush mess to negatively recruit against SC but Pete Carroll continues to prevail. Of course it won't last forever, nothing ever does. But until it does it is comforting to know that as long as Pete Carroll is the head coach at USC we will be in good shape.

The train keeps rolling along...

Pete Carroll knows defense.

He identifies and recruits talent that can fit into his system.

He doesn’t get every player he covets but those he does get are a part of the toughest defense in the game.

For all the players Pete Carroll has recruited two have stood out and will always be a part of Trojan lore. Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga. They came in together and they will leave together. When both decided to stay for their senior seasons a collective sigh of relief could be heard because they will be the leaders on the SC defense in 2008. Both have been Rose Bowl MVP’s. Both were on the field during that heart breaking loss to Texas in the National Championship game as freshman and both have consistently improved their play on the field as they have been a part of some of SC’s great wins and terrible losses.

They are just two of the stand out players that link the past, the Bush-Leinart era, with the future, the McKnight-Sanchez era. Both share their thoughts and their expectations (in separate stories) on their final season together.

Rivals on Brian Cushing

Looking for veteran leadership on the USC defense is like looking for water off the side of the boat — it's everywhere. The group learned what it takes to lead when it arrived on campus, learning from guys like Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Darnell Bing.

Cushing said the information passed on from the older group when he arrived at USC has been crucial to his and the team's success.

"We came in to an unbelievable situation, and we couldn't have gotten better guys to show us what SC football is and what it takes," Cushing said. "You have to compete every day to be the best player or the best team — no matter how much talent you have."

It's a message he's trying to convey to the newest Trojans on campus during summer workouts.

"I definitely hope I'm showing them the right things," Cushing said. "If they take anything out of these workouts, I hope it's the work ethic it takes and the desire to be the best. We need to spread the message we learned. One day when they're the guys, they can teach."

With new blood from the incoming freshman paired with some returning players like Josh Pinkard and Kevin Thomas, Cushing's feeling good about the state of the defense.

 

Scout on Rey Maualuga

Probably one of the more misunderstood players on this year’s Trojan roster is senior Rey Maualuga. Maualuga is a ferocious hitter on the field, who can level an opposing player seemingly without much effort. He can appear to be a reckless defender, when quite the opposite is true. Part of the misunderstanding about Maualuga is that his defensive hits can be so powerful, that one highlight play will make the rounds on the internet or TV highlight shows for months without end.

Maualuga can also change the complexion of a game with his up-tempo, aggressive playing style. Take for example, the closing of the first half of the 2008 Rose Bowl vs. Illinois. By the end of the half, Maualuga rattled the Illinois offense, forced turnovers, and had such a big impact on the game that the Illini could never get back on track.

This even led play-by-play announcer, Brent Musburger to claim that Maualuga was leaving USC after the Rose Bowl, to enter the NFL a year early. Despite the fact that in the weeks leading up to the Rose Bowl, Maualuga and Brian Cushing both went on record to say they would return for their senior seasons.

Both have the opportunity to really make a statement this season and solidify their futures in the NFL. It has been a blast watching these two play together. They have come a long way since that first season and they have given us some great memories, lets hope they give a lot more this season.

I saw this earlier in the week but I got busy and forgot to post it up.

From Wolf's blog.

We hear that Fox Sports Net (Prime Ticket) canceled the "Trojan Rewind'' show and will no longer televise Pete Carroll's Tuesday press conferences. With more than one local sports channel, it's hard to believe Carroll does not have a coaches' show, like so many other college programs. Something doesn't add up here.

Just so you know they canceled Bruins Rewind as well.

A lot of fans are upset that this show was canceled. Personally and this is only my opinion, the whole philosophy of dealing with FOX for college sports really has hurt the product. Why USC or UCLA couldn't cut a deal with the local affiliates to keep these show's on just boggles the mind.

Wolf is right, how Pete Carroll doesn't have a show is just nuts. Obviously I'm no fan of ucla but having both shows on would be a great thing for the rivalry. As popular as both programs are you would think there would be some ratings there.

Hopefully someone, somewhere finds a way to get these shows back on.

We noted this morning, based on a report at the L.A. Daily News, that UNC transfer Alex Stepheson had indeed committed to USC.

It appears that the DN, and subsequently us at Conquest Chronicles were premature with that report. All Things Trojan reports otherwise.

Despite a newspaper report this morning that he will transfer to USC, Alex Stepheson's family said today that he remains undecided.

The junior transfer from North Carolina has been considering the Trojans as well as UCLA and ASU. He played high school basketball for Harvard-Westlake and is looking to return to the Los Angeles area due to an illness in the family. Because of the circumstances that caused him to transfer, Stepheson could be eligible to play immediately for his new school.

And this from the Press-Enterprise college blog.

There was a report this morning that North Carolina transfer Alex Stepheson has chosen USC, but his mother told me a few minutes ago that her son remains undecided. Diane Stepheson said USC continues to be in the running for her son, but the 6-foot-9 junior is still considering UCLA and Arizona State.
"He has not made a decision," Diane Stepheson said. "I did see the article this morning, and we were shocked because the decision has not yet been made."

I also agree with Adam Rose in letting this kid be as he has a lot on his plate. Would I like to see him at USC? Yes, I would but not at the price of putting too much pressure on Stepheson with all he has already on is plate.

Maybe he will pick SC maybe he won't but I am surprised that it was reported that he was a lock when it appears that the initial story couldn't be further from the truth.

Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Stepheson picked another school out of frustration at the premature reporting of this story by the DN. Who needs the grief.

According to Scott Wolf sources have indicated that North Carolina transfer Alex Stepheson will Transfer to USC.

Former Harvard-Westlake High of Studio City and North Carolina forward Alex Stepheson informed USC he intends to transfer to the school in the fall, according to sources close to Stepheson.

The 6-foot-9 junior also considered UCLA and Arizona State before selecting the Trojans. He will have two years of eligibility remaining and will probably have to sit out the 2008-09 season.

When Stepheson left North Carolina in May, he said in a statement he wanted to be closer to his father, Art, who has heart-related health issues.

I will believe it when I see him enrolled. If Stepheson is coming it and if he can get a waiver, which I doubt, he would be a big help to Taj in grabbing some rebounds but as the article also states it appears that SC is already at its scholarship limit so I am a little concerned about the availability of a spot on the team.

This will have to be monitored closely. All you can do is hope for the best!

Here is the schedule from ESPN's Pac-10 Blog.

9:35 am -  Tyrone Willingham/QB Jake Locker - Washington
9:50 am -  Jim Harbaugh/C Alex Fletcher - Stanford
10:05 am - Paul Wulff/FL Brandon Gibson - Washington State
10:20 am - Jeff Tedford/C Alex Mack - California
10:35 am - Mike Stoops/QB Willie Tuitama - Arizona
10:50 am - Mike Bellotti/ROV Patrick Chung - Oregon
11:05 am - Break
11:15 am - Rick Neuheisel/DT Brigham Harwell - UCLA
11:30 am - Mike Riley/CB Brandon Hughes - Oregon State
11:45 am - Dennis Erickson/QB Rudy Carpenter - Arizona State
12:00 noon - Pete Carroll/SLB Brian Cushing - USC

This is a a good group of players so it should be interesting to see what some of these players have to say. I wonder what Harbaugh is going to say this year??

From the OC Register.

Mater Dei quarterback Matt Barkley was selected today as the Gatorade national boys athlete of the year for the 2007-08 school year.

The Monarchs quarterback, who still has a season left to play at Mater Dei, already was the Gatorade national football player of the year.

Barkley has committed to sign a national letter of intent with USC.

Congratulations Matt!

FIGHT ON!