2008 USC Schedule: 08/30 @ Virginia
09/13 vs. OHIO STATE
09/25 @ Oregon State
10/04 vs. OREGON
10/11 vs. ARIZONA STATE
10/18 @ Washington State
10/25 @ Arizona
11/01 vs. WASHINGTON (Homecoming)
11/08 vs. CALIFORNIA
11/15 @ Stanford
11/29 vs. NOTRE DAME
12/06 @ UCLA
After going 11-2, The Trojans hope to compete for another National Championship in 2008. They have plenty of holes to fill, however they always seem to have few troubles when it comes to getting recruits. Who wouldnt want to live in Southern California?
It will be an interesting test when they play THE Ohio State Buckeyes in week 2. Also, they go to Standford this year, the same team that Upset them at home and broke their record breaking streak of consecutive home victories.
USC's non-conference schedule is among the toughest among Pac-10 schools, and it begins with a season-opener at Virginia. Then comes a treat for all college football fans -- Ohio State visits the Coliseum on Sept. 13. On Nov. 29, USC takes on rival Notre Dame. As for the league schedule, the Trojans play five road games and only four home games. The game at UCLA, with new coach Rick Neuheisel, Dec. 6 should be a good one. Good news is that USC gets Arizona State at home Oct. 11.
Coach Carroll is a name that is at the top of EVERYONE's list when a new job opens up. However, this guy isn't going anywhere. And why would he. Hes paid the big bucks, treated like a god and has built a program that is almost unmatched nationwide. A 10 win season has become the standard at USC. That won't be changing this year.
Recruits
So SC's class isn't as good as the past couple years class. It's still in the top 10 but it's not insane like it's been in the past. Partially that's because they don't have a ton of rides and partially it's because they don't have a QB more than one WR and a real RB. You don't take big skill position guys and you don't even really have a chance at a super high ranking. It doesn't really matter though cuz SC just about every year has the highest average "star rating" for it's recruits. This year there's only one team (Notre Dame) that's better than SC's.
There was really only one big disappointment heading down the stretch and that was that this kid from Arkansas who came out to SC a few times decommitted
from SC and switched to Arkansas at the last minute. He's a WR who SC was likely gonna use at CB but when Petrino got hired at Arkansas he suddenly wanted to
play WR bad... SC said they'd give him a chance but he went with the local school in the end. Bummer cuz we could've used him as a cb (a big need for SC).
The really good news is that the big surprises for SC were that they landed the top DE in Michigan --- this kid Nick Perry who had 36 sacks his senior year against
good competition. It's a state record. I don't even know how you get 36 sacks. That's just insane. Plus he's like 6'4" 250 and has running back speed). How did Rodriguez miss this guy!!! :smack:
The other surprise is one of the best CB's in the nation... A kid named TJ Bryant who hails from Lincoln HS in Tallahassee... which is about as much of a traditional feeder program to a school (in their case Florida State) as you could expect to see. They almost ALWAYS feed kids to FSU so this was pretty big get for SC. He's a really good athlete and nearly ideal size for the type of CB's Carroll likes (6'1" 180 and fast).
The overall for the rest of the class is as follows...
SC had the biggest need at OL and DL and they addressed those needs really really well (the party line on this class is that 'it's not the best class in the nation but it's the best class for SC's needs' (which are often two different things).
Ryan Kalil's brother Matt is probably the best OL prospect in the nation and he's all SC (and a LOT bigger than his bro at the same stage. Ryan was like 6'1" 255 his senior year. Matt is 6'7" 295).
Tyron Smith is another great OL that SC's bringing in. He's referred to by some people as "the OL with the 6 pack" he looks like he belongs on American Gladiators
or something. He's 6'5" 270 and he's pretty much all muscle. He'll need to add some bulk and get up to the 290 range before he can really see the field. He's got
incredibly long arms and he should be one of the best prospects to come in in this class. He and Kalil are the two headliners. They also got 3 other OL kids
who're all highly rated.
Daniel Campbell is a big fat kid (6'5" 330) but he's suprisingly nimble on his feet. He's gotta hit a weight room bad but he could ber like Deuce Lutui was for SC if he gets in shape. He's got lots of potential but if he's a lazy-ass it may hinder his development.
Matt Meyer is another one of the kids who's a good, big kid and is already in school. Smart kid too. Turned down stanford to come to SC.
The last OL is Khalid Holmes. He's Alex Holmes (former SC tight end) brother and is a very good looking guard prospect.
The guy who probably has the best chance of seeing the field early is a kid named Blake Ayles. He's a great TE prospect (maybe the best in the nation) and he
could be a great weapon for SC very soon (his biggest competition is another good TE prospect named Anthony McCoy). Tough kid too. I'm hoping he's SC's version of
Zack Miller... a TE who played at ASU a few years back who was an immediate impact player.
RB/WR/LB/S DJ Shoemate is a versatile athlete and a real good player who went up against top competition in southern california (he and Kalil are teammates at
a school called Servite that plays in the toughest Southern CA league called the Pac-5). He played a lot of rb and is coming off a foot injury from two years
ago. Personally i don't think he'd make a great RB (at least not as great as some of the other kids SC already has). But no one really knows what position hewill play. I think he'd make a great safety (athletewise at least) or a great fullback but a lot of people scoff at those ideas. Chris Galippo (the best LB in the nation who came to SC last year and was a teammate of Shoemate's at Servite) said "Shoemate doesn't have a defensive bone in his body". The good news is that if he is on O he has a lot of skills... he can run, can run between the tackles, and can really catch. He's also a great kid and a total team guy. He's been committed to SC for like two years too.
Brice Butler is a WR from Georgia who i think also has a really good chance of seeing the field early. If you watched his hs film next to the average hs WR kids film you'd noticed how polished this kid looks. He's got GREAT "dwayne jarrett like" hands and he runs great routes. He's a lot like Steve Smith but a little bigger. Not a burner but he's going to be one of those reliable WR's who our qb's love and who they'll go to
whenever they're in trouble.
On DL SC has 5 kids coming in. The aforementioned Perry who's the real headliner, Armond Armstead, Jurrell Casey, Malik Jackson and Wes Horton. Horton is the one i'm least impressed with. He plays at a very good HS program (Notre Dame Sherman Oaks HS), but he seemingly hasn't seen a real weightroom yet. He'll need a year or two in SC's strength and conditioning program before he can hit the field.
Armstead was a real under the radar guy but he's a really good athlete (especially for a DT who goes about 6'4" 290) He's sorta the same height/weight as Manuel Wright... the DT who played at SC a few years back. He does have huge man-tits though. It's like he needs a tit reduction. High motor DL type though and that's hard to find in these big kids.
Casey is one of the biggest and best DL's in the nation. THere's sortof a west coast bias against west coast DL's and for west coast skill position players, but if you ask me Casey's one of the best in the nation. He's gonna be our Patterson/Ellis of this
class. Kid has huge, thick legs, he's fast and he fucks shit up real good for the O. Real strong and active kid. If you watched him in hs you'd be thinking 'who the hell is that kid? he's gonna be in the league some day.
Malik Jackson is a lean but very good DE. He's about 6'4" 230 so he's gonna have to add some bulk to see the field but the kid is just a football player. He's active, tenacious and has a really high motor. One of the more respected hs football analysts thinks that he's teh best DL on the west coast but doesn't get the
love cuz his offer's are so minimal (some services judge how good a kid is based on the prestige and numbers of offers he gets from schools). But his offers were low cuz his grades are equally low. He's probably the biggest worry as far as getting a kid into school in this class. That said, if he gets into class and if he adds weight, in a couple years he could be one of our best DE's. DE and CB are a big need coming up for SC so it's good to have these guys in the pipeline immediately.
Like i've said before, the great news is that the '09 class is gonna be sick. That's gonna be the class full of headliners. SC already has something like 6 of the
top 100 prospects already committed and i think the next closest school has 2. SC is going to absolutely clean up next year. UCLA may challenge for a couple kids and surprise SC fans a little here or there but this class is already off and running and Matt Barkley is a huge draw. If we run the table on the top 3 local WR's (which could happen) people are gonna sh*t.
QB
Mark Sanchez got a few starts last season in place of an injured John David Booty. Mitch Mustain sat out last season as a highly touted transfer from Arkansas. Aaron Corp is a redshirt freshman who needs to make a move.
"It's not a strong-arm guy or a flashy guy," he told the Orange County Register. "We're looking for consistency and someone that can deliver in the system. The competition is wide open."
Sanchez, a junior, led the Trojans to wins over Arizona and Notre Dame last season, although he couldn't engineer a win at Oregon. Overall, he completed 69 of 114 passes for 695 yards, with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. He also showed more athleticism than recent USC quarterbacks.
"I feel like I have a leg up," Sanchez told the L.A. Times.
Mustain was 8-0 at Arkansas as a true freshman. He, like Sanchez, earned some national player of the year honors in high school. Mustain has three seasons of eligibility left.
"I've come to terms with my situation. It is what it is. One of us has to be the backup. As far as pressure, I've stepped away and realized it's not a big deal. One of us has to pull it off. I don't feel the pressure. I wouldn't see it as failure if I didn't start." -- QB Mitch Mustain, in the L.A. Daily News, on his position battle with Mark Sanchez.
USC, which has won six consecutive Pac-10 titles, returns 13 starters.
Defense: Even with the loss of Keith Rivers, the linebacker corps is among the best in the nation. Fast, athletic and deep, the group is led by two-time All-Pac-10 player Rey Maualuga on the inside and Brian Cushing on the outside. Kaluka Maiava and Clay Matthews have starting experience and will help ensure that the Trojans continue to be a shutdown unit, even with the loss of key personnel from last season. Others to watch at linebacker are Luthur Brown, Malcolm Smith and redshirt freshman Jordan Campbell and Chris Galippo
