USC Trojans

Max Browne (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline), one of the nation's top quarterback recruits, will announce his commitment Wednesday evening.

Browne has narrowed his choices to Alabama, Oklahoma, USC and Washington, although with recent visits to see the Sooners and Trojans, most think it will come down to those two programs.

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NORWALK, Calif. -- There was plenty of hand wringing among USC fans in February when Trojans linebacker coach Joe Barry left for a similar position with the San Diego Chargers and top linebacker recruit Michael Hutchings (Concord, Calif./De La Salle) almost immediately cancelled his visit to USC for junior day. He maintained his interest in the Trojans and said he would still visit USC this summer and fall, but Hutchings seemed to be wavering -- however slightly -- in his long-held stance that USC topped his list without a clear No. 2.

USC fans can breathe a little easier now, after Hutchings combined a Los Angeles Nike Football Training Camp appearance with a visit to Lane Kiffin and staff. Of particular interest to Hutchings was spending time with new linebackers coach Scottie Hazelton.

"That was probably the most important part of the visit - -my relationship with Coach Hazelton," Hutchings said. "Getting time with him and getting to talk football with him -- that was fun. I got to know him and he's great. He's just like coach Barry -- they're teachers and not really screamers. They like to get pumped up, but they are teachers first. He knows what's going on in that defense and that's something I really liked and thought highly of. We understood each other great. I loved him."

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There were plenty of USC prospects in action at the Los Angeles Nike Football Training Camp on Sunday and here’s our position-by-position look at who stood out:

Quarterbacks

Garry Paskwietz: The guy who probably stood out to me the most was Troy Williams from Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne. He’s much more improved physically than I remember him being last year and he threw a sharp ball. I’m not ready to put him on a level with Max Browne (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline) or Hayden Rettig (Los Angeles/Cathedral) -- neither of whom was there -- but he’s definitely one of the best ones in the area.

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LOS ANGELES -- While cheers undoubtedly went up throughout the USC coaching staff and Hawkins family alike when Chris Hawkins of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., verbally committed to the Trojans at the conclusion of the Los Angeles Nike Football Training Camp on Sunday afternoon, a sigh of relief escaped Hawkins’ mouth through all the smiles.

After moving from quarterback to cornerback prior to his junior season, the 6-foot, 170-pound Hawkins has spent countless hours working on changing direction. But nothing could have prepared him for the past month of his life.

Hawkins, an ESPN Watch List member, received more than two dozen offers during his junior year and on March 10 was ready to make a verbal commitment to the Stanford Cardinal. But just 24 hours before the scheduled announcement, a conversation with USC recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron saw another offer added to the mix, and a big one at that. Hawkins canceled his announcement plans as he mulled over the two schools, eventually settling on an April 1 decision date and deciding to stick with the Cardinal.

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Here's the depth chart that was used for the USC scrimmage on Saturday at the Coliseum

Offense
QB Max Wittek – Cody Kessler
TB Curtis McNeal – D.J. Morgan – Tre Madden

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LOS ANGELES -- The Trojans held an open scrimmage today at the Coliseum in front of a gathering of USC fans anxious for their first look at the team this spring. Unfortunately, it wasn’t actually a true indication of what the team can or will look like in the fall.

Matt Barkley took part in the early position drills but did not participate in the scrimmage. The two starting wide receivers were not there -- Robert Woods is out for spring with an ankle injury while Marqise Lee is with the track team today -- and there were no scholarship tight ends or fullbacks available either.

That meant a fairly skeleton crew for the offense, which resulted in a pretty good day for the defense. It also meant a lot of work for backup quarterbacks Cody Kessler and Max Wittek, both of whom will take any work they can get at this point in a practice setting.

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Before Friday, there weren’t many top programs that hadn’t offered defensive end Joe Mathis (Upland, Calif./Upland). Friday afternoon saw another college crossed off the list.

Mathis can now add the Crimson Tide to his impressive offer sheet, following a conversation with Alabama coach Nick Saban.

“It’s a great feeling,” Mathis said. “I was able to talk to Coach Saban on the phone, and he said he was real impressed with my film and wanted to offer me.”

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With the entire back seven returning for the USC defense, every question on that side of the ball for the 2011 season begins up front with the defensive line. But whether it's wondering how the young interior tackles will adjust to playing starter's minutes, or how the unit will replace Nick Perry's 9.5 sacks last season, every answer begins with senior defensive ends Wes Horton and Devon Kennard.

"We definitely acknowledge the fact that we are seniors and we have to take it upon ourselves to lead," Horton said. "We feel comfortable putting that on our shoulders, and we want to do everything we can to get the inside guys playing at a high level and the backup ends to constantly get better in the little things."

Kennard is no stranger to the starting lineup, but after bouncing between defensive end, outside linebacker and middle linebacker, this spring is the first time in his USC career that he is returning to a position he played the previous season. Kennard said he is comfortable again at defensive end, and ready to take a step forward in his senior season. Last season, Kennard and Horton combined for six sacks, which matched the total of outside linebacker Dion Bailey and Hayes Pullard. The ends agreed that can't be the case again this year.

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When you watch the USC defense on the field in spring ball there is no doubt as to who is running the show.

During every huddle and before every play, sophomore middle linebacker Lamar Dawson is the one right in the center of the action. As the players say, he’s the one driving the bus.

The middle linebacker is responsible for getting the defense together and calling the play from the sideline, then making all the checks based on the offensive formation. It's a critical responsibility, one that has been handed to Dawson at a very early point in his career.

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Tahaan Goodman (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) has become accustomed to receiving scholarship offers this spring. But Wednesday morning, while speaking with coaches from USC, he was caught off guard.

"I thought they just wanted me to come to their spring game," Goodman said. "I was not expecting them to offer. It was a surprise."

Goodman, a 6-foot-2, 190 pound safety, has now collected nearly two dozen scholarship offers, from schools such as Boise State, Florida, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. He had been in touch with the USC coaches and visited the campus for a junior day in February, but when an offer wasn't extended then at that point, he assumed he wouldn't receive one this early.

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LOS ANGELES -- The football program generated some buzz Wednesday with the news that this weekend’s scrimmage in the Coliseum will be open to the public. But USC fans planning to attend may be forced to temper their expectations a bit, as Lane Kiffin backed away slightly from the promise of a scrimmage. With so many skill position players missing time due to nagging injuries, Saturday might be the second time this spring that a scheduled scrimmage is dialed down to a regular practice.

After Thursday’s practice, Kiffin simply said he didn’t know if the scrimmage would proceed as planned.

“There are so many guys in question,” he said. “We may just practice like we did last Saturday…The problem right now is the offensive skill doesn’t allow us to practice the way we would like, but we’re going to make the best of it.”

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“Give your top 5 surprises of spring ball”

Garry Paskwietz

1) Brian Baucham -- To say that any contribution from Baucham was unexpected would be an understatement. Baucham has been off the radar for years due to injuries and academics and there was no indication that he was ready to make a strong return, but that’s exactly what’s happened. He’s been consistently making plays ever since he came back during the first week of spring.

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The USC Trojans extended their first offer to a California offensive lineman on Wednesday, as Nico Falah (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco) earned the nod from Lane Kiffin and staff. It is Falah's 13th offer, as USC joins schools such as Florida, Notre Dame, Oregon, Utah, Arizona and UCLA.

Falah said his coach told him during school that the USC staff wanted to speak with him.

"Usually when coaches want me to call, I'm expecting that they're going to offer," said the 6-foot-5, 270-pound Falah. "But I didn't think USC would offer this early in the year."

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