USC Trojans

LOS ANGELES -- Several players from USC’s 2011 recruiting class stepped right into important roles as true freshmen. But for every Marqise Lee, Lamar Dawson and Marcus Martin, there were several first-year players who took a redshirt as the Trojans looked to build depth for the future.

While many of the unused players remained highly visible during practice, such as quarterbacks Cody Kessler and Max Wittek, defensive end Greg Townsend Jr. and linebacker Anthony Sarao, others blended in to varying degrees and a few -- most notably offensive lineman Cody Temple -- seemed to disappear altogether.

Temple was a two-way lineman out of Bakersfield (Calif.) Liberty High School who surprised some by appearing on USC’s radar and eventually earning a scholarship offer. He was a lifelong USC fan that was hoping to do big things for the Trojans. But back pain that he has been dealing with since the eighth grade quickly derailed those plans, as Temple took part in only a handful of practices throughout the year and never truly threatened to make a mark on the depth chart.

But several months removed from the 2011 season, Temple is ready to turn the page on a tumultuous freshman year, as the lessons he learned off the field could go a long way toward helping him make an impact on it.

(Read full post)

Here's the official USC press release on the hiring of Hazelton and Sanders:

MARVIN SANDERS, SCOTTIE HAZELTON NAMED USC FOOTBALL ASSISTANT COACHES

LOS ANGELES¬-Marvin Sanders and Scottie Hazelton, who both have served as defensive coordinators at previous coaching stops, have been named assistant football coaches at USC, Trojans head coach Lane Kiffin announced on Thursday.

Sanders will be USC’s secondary coach, while Hazelton will coach the Trojans linebackers.

“We are delighted to add Marvin and Scottie to the Trojan Family,” said Kiffin. “Both not only have made their marks while coaching their respective positions, but both have been collegiate defensive coordinators and that should help us tremendously.

“Marvin had great success coaching the defensive backs at Nebraska and we believe that will translate well to our secondary, which is the most critical area we need to improve upon in 2012. Scottie is coming to us after helping North Dakota State win the NCAA FCS championship and coordinating a defense that led the nation in scoring defense in 2011, after it was 90th in that category before he took it over just 2 years ago.”

Kiffin expects to announce another assistant coach hiring soon.

(Read full post)

WeAreSC staffers discuss the biggest surprise performances through the years by USC tailbacks -- either for a season, a career, or a single game -- that were somewhat unexpected.

Garry Paskwietz
Steve Webster -- In his first three years at USC, Webster only appeared in one game due to a series of injuries and things didn’t look much brighter in 1987 with a pair of highly decorated prep All-American tailbacks on the roster in Ryan Knight and Aaron Emanuel. During spring ball, however, the speedy Webster won the job and ended up being a 1,000-yard rusher for a team that won the Pac-10 title and played in the Rose Bowl. Of course, history caught up to Webster, as he was forced to miss the bowl game due to injury.

Chad Morton -- There were plenty of critics who pointed out the reasons why Morton wouldn’t be a tailback at USC. He was too short. He was a corner. He was only on the team because of his brother (former All-American WR Johnnie Morton). He heard all the reasons why he shouldn’t succeed and then he simply went out and did it. A two-year starter, he rushed for over 1,000 yards as a senior and is currently No. 11 on the all-time USC career rushing list. In his final home game in the Coliseum -- a victory over UCLA in 1999 which snapped an eight game losing streak to the Bruins -- Morton was carried off the field by teammates and fans.

(Read full post)

With Reggie Bush and LenDale White helping lead the way to multiple National Championships, the two would always follow one player when they got the ball. We caught up with that player, former USC fullback David Kirtman, and asked him about the importance of the fullback’s role as well as what he is doing now that he has hung up his cleats.

KW: What was your best memory of playing at USC?

DK: I don't think people realize but after our triple-overtime Cal loss in 2003 during my sophomore year, we didn’t lose a single game until Texas in the national championship game in 2006. Every Monday morning for almost three years every man on that team had a smile on his face -- you forget what losing feels like. For a team, winning is what you strive to do, there is no better feeling.

KW: How much are you able to follow the team these days?

DK: Living in Tokyo makes it almost impossible to watch games; unfortunately I only get to read articles and follow on the internet. Each year, the USC and Notre Dame Alumni club gets together and watches the game -- always a great event. Last year, we played our 2005 highlight tape at halftime to rub it in a little.

(Read full post)