USC Trojans

Through two weeks of USC fall camp, here is our take on the current depth chart (an asterisk denotes a player who is missing time right now due to injury):

QB: Matt Barkley; Cody Kessler or Max Wittek

Still no word from Lane Kiffin on which back-up quarterback is in the lead for the No. 2 spot.

TB: Curtis McNeal; Silas Redd, D.J. Morgan, Buck Allen,

Redd appears to have moved ahead of Morgan for the No. 2 spot.

FB: Soma Vainuku; Jahleel Pinner, Charles Burks

Vainuku has put together a real nice fall camp as he gets ready for starting role.

FL: Robert Woods; De'Von Flournoy, Nelson Agholor

Woods is looking good on that ankle lately.

SE: Marqise Lee; George Farmer, Victor Blackwell

Farmer and Blackwell have both performed well in recent practices

TE: Randall Telfer or Xavier Grimble; Junior Pomee *, Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick

Pomee was looking real good early in camp before getting hurt

LT: Aundrey Walker; Max Tuerk, Nathan Guertler

Tuerk was impressive while Walker was out, but Walker recently returned to action.

LG: Marcus Martin; Abe Markowitz, Giovanni Di Poalo

Markowitz can also serve as an option at center

C: Khaled Holmes; Cyrus Hobbi

Holmes looks like an All-American in camp

RG: John Martinez; Jeremy Galten

Martinez pairs with Graf to form an effective right side

RT: Kevin Graf*; Zach Banner

Guerlter has moved over to the right side in recent days with Graf out of action.

DE: J.R. Tavai*; Greg Townsend Jr.*, Morgan Breslin

With Tavai and Townsend both out and DeVante Wilson going down for the year with a knee injury, Breslin has flipped over from the right side.

DT: George Uko; Leonard Williams

Uko is showing signs of very good play -- a breakout year could definitely be on the horizon.

NT: Antwuan Woods; Christian Heyward, Cody Temple*

Woods has improved greatly from last fall.

DE: Wes Horton*; Kevin Greene

Greene could be counted on to play an increased role this fall.

WLB: Hayes Pullard; Anthony Sarao, Dallas Kelley

Pullard will move to the middle if Dawson is out.

MLB: Lamar Dawson*; Scott Starr, Will Andrew

Dawson has been out of action for a while.

SLB: Dion Bailey*; Tony Burnett, Jabari Ruffin

Bailey has seen spot duty in recent days, he should be fine.

CB: Nickell Robey; Kevon Seymour, Ryan Henderson, Brian Baucham*

Seymour has taken advantage of the absence of other corners to make an early impact.

CB: Anthony Brown; Torin Harris*, Devian Shelton

Kiffin has made no secret of how much he misses Harris in the lineup.

FS: T.J. McDonald; Drew McAllister, Gerald Bowman

After missing spring, Bowman started slow in camp but has come on lately.

SS: Jawanza Starling; Demetrius Wright, Josh Shaw

Shaw could play either corner or safety, though the coaches appear to prefer him at safety.

LOS ANGELES - The Trojans held their second scrimmage of fall camp on Sunday at the Coliseum and it was definitely a performance that was dominated by the defense.

Suffice to say, this one will not go down in the offensive scrapbook with five turnovers (four interceptions and one fumble). The offense did score three touchdowns, but one of them came on a defensive miscue when a receiver was left uncovered on a red zone play.

“It was a really good day for the defense,” USC head coach Lane Kiffin said. “It was particularly important for the defense because the offense had gotten the better of them the past few days. It was good to see them get some turnovers because we had really made that an area of emphasis this off-season. On the flip side, it was disappointing to see the offense play like that.”

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LOS ANGELES -- Unconcerned about having been named the AP preseason No. 1 team in the country, the USC Trojans were business as usual Saturday morning, participating in a low-key practice that lasted a little over two hours. Here are the practice highlights:

• Originally scheduled for an 8:45 morning practice, the Trojans pushed the start time back to 9:00. The reason for the early morning practice reschedule from the traditional afternoon workout was due to a youth baseball tournament on Dedeaux Field.

• With defensive ends Wes Horton and Greg Townsend Jr. in attendance but not participating, the Trojans first-team defensive line consisted of ends J.R. Tavai and Kevin Greene along with tackles George Uko and Antwaun Woods. FYI, Townsend was no longer wearing a “boot” on his right foot.There has been no explanation given for Horton being held out.

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Here are the confirmed USC commits with intentions to enroll next spring:

DT Kenny Bigelow

QB Max Browne

FS Su'a Cravens

RB Justin Davis

DE Kylie Fitts

CB Chris Hawkins

RB Ty Isaac

WR Eldridge Massington

It was a very good day for the offense on Friday, as the Trojans practiced once again on Dedeaux Field in shorts, shoulder pads and helmets.

"It was good work for the most part," USC coach Lane Kiffin said. "We pushed them today, and the offense responded, especially the skill guys. Robert (Woods) and Marqise (Lee) looked good, both tight ends, the running backs. It was a good day. I think there's a lot of excitement and anticipation from the players to get to the practice where we will see the most tackling, which is Sunday during the Coliseum scrimmage."

Kiffin singled out wide receiver George Farmer as having a particularly nice day, calling it his best session of the fall. Farmer went over the middle on two occasions to make catches and also had a nice sideline grab. Kiffin also praised Buck Allen after Buck had a beautiful 40-yard touchdown run toward the end of the day.

Cody Kessler ended the regular session of practice with a highlight play where he rolled right and threw deep on the run to Nelson Agholor, who caught the ball in stride and waltzed into the end zone. Kessler also had an earlier nice completion to Woods over the middle against Anthony Brown.

The big highlight of the day came after the conclusion of practice, when Kiffin had Andre Heidari try a 50-yard field goal, which would have earned the players an extra hour of sleep Saturday morning. Heidari hit the kick and the celebration ensued but then senior running back Curtis McNeal took it upon himself to make it double or nothing. Heidari missed the next kick wide left, so it will be another 6 a.m. wake-up call tomorrow. Kiffin joked that he told McNeal, "that's why you have no money."

Other big plays included Matt Barkley completing a touchdown pass to Randall Telfer, Scott Starr batting down a pass intended for Telfer, Barkley hitting Xavier Grimble over the middle and J.R. Tavai and Antwaun Woods combining to get a tackle-for-loss on McNeal.

Lamar Dawson was dressed at the beginning of practice but did not take part. Kevin Graf also did not practice, Nathan Guertler took his spot at right tackle with the first unit. Cody Temple was spotted on the sidelines with a boot on his right foot.

It was a light practice with no pads Thursday as Lane Kiffin said it was a day to work on mental preparation.

"We worked on a lot of situational stuff today," Kiffin said. "It was a chance to take a break from the physical preparation and work on the mental stuff."

There were a few notable players who were back on the field today after missing time recently with injuries. Aundrey Walker was able to go through the whole practice as the first unit left tackle, while Curtis McNeal, Hayes Pullard, Dion Bailey and Christian Heyward were also back in action.

"Aundrey did everything today," Kiffin said. "We'll continue to push him but he's done a good job of staying with it mentally when he's been out."

The team worked a lot on complete kickoff return and punt return drills for the first time this fall. Nickell Robey said after practice that he is going to be returning punts and Robert Woods and Marqise Lee will be returning kickoffs.

Lee had a highlight flip at the Wednesday practice against Robey that showed up on YouTube but today it was Woods who did a cartwheel with the ball as an eye-opening play.

When asked about the two receivers he faces every day, Robey said. "Both of them are great. Robert is a technician but Marqise is more of a challenge because of how good he can be. I'm gonna get Marqise back for that flip, when I get a pick I'm gonna do a backflip."

With Walker back in the lineup at left tackle, Nathan Guertler was with the second unit at right tackle and Max Tuerk was the second-unit left tackle. Kiffin said Tuerk will likely stay on the left side because it would be hard for a true freshman to learn both tackle spots.

Anthony Brown continues to be the starting corner opposite Robey. It's a spot that has been a bit of a revolving door for the Trojans since Kiffin has been head coach. Torin Harris, who began the 2011 season as the starter, continues to be out while recovering from a shoulder issue.

"We wouldn't be seeing so many guys at that spot if Torin had stayed healthy last year," Kiffin said. "Torin was actually playing better than Nickell when he got hurt. Torin has an NFL-type body. Brown is very competitive; he's a good tackler."

Josh Shaw, who has been playing safety in recent days, had a beautiful pass break-up on a deep attempt to Woods. Jawanza Starling also had a good play on a ball intended for Xavier Grimble.

At one point the group of injured defensive ends was standing together off to the side and it was a nice selection of players with Devon Kennard, Wes Horton, Greg Townsend Jr. and J.R. Tavai. The defensive end lineup today had Morgan Breslin and Kevin Greene as starters.

There was a rotation at linebacker. At times it was Hayes Pullard in the middle, and Scott Starr also took reps. When Starr was in the middle, Pullard moved to the weak side with Bailey on the strong side. When Pullard was in the middle, Anthony Sarao took his place at WLB.

Matt Barkley had the top offensive play of the day when he hit Marqise Lee with a 39-yard touchdown. Cody Kessler put together a nice drive that featured a couple completions to George Farmer, including a 15-yard touchdown pass.

Among those in attendance today were Pat Haden, J.K. McKay, John Robinson, Allan Graf, Craig Gibson and Shane Horton.

LOS ANGELES -- It was another practice session on Dedeaux Field today as the Trojans hit the part of fall camp that Lane Kiffin called "the grind".

"It's this way for every team around the country," Kiffin said. "Guys are banged up. There is a mental and physical toll. Mental from learning the playbook, physical from coming out here and playing football. We don't get to work with them during the summer so no matter how much they do, it isn't playing football. You just can't simulate the physical part in the summer and it's different when the pads come on."

Kiffin confirmed that freshman defensive end DeVante Wilson tore his left ACL in practice yesterday, will need surgery and is out for the season.

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LOS ANGELES -- The Trojans practiced on Dedeaux Field today, primarily on the outfield grass, as Lane Kiffin said the team had torn up the grass on Brian Kennedy-Howard Jones Field so far in camp.

Kiffin said two things really jumped out at him today; the number of explosive plays given up by the defense over the top and the number of fumbles from the offense.

“We had really been doing well in terms of not giving up big plays,” Kiffin said. “It was really the best we had been looking in that area since we got here but today the offense did a good job in that area. On the other side, we had been protecting the ball fairly well but the defense was able to get three fumbles today -- they did a good job of stripping the ball.”

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