USC Trojans

The Trojans hit Brian Kennedy-Howard Jones Field one last time on Thursday before they take part in the team’s spring game on Saturday in the Coliseum. Donning shorts and helmets, the practice was the least physical of the last four and a half weeks -- a fact not surprising considering a total of 20 players have been ruled out for Saturday’s contest including Randall Telfer, Antwaun Woods, De’Von Flournoy and Jabari Ruffin -- all suffering injuries within the last week.

“There are some good parts about it,” said Kiffin in looking at the pros and cons of the physical way the team has practiced this spring. “I think that our guys that are still healthy are playing more physical than they were at the end of last year, and our front seven on defense is better because of it. But at the same time, obviously, we have a lot of players out.”

With Woods sidelined, it was Cody Temple who saw action with the first unit at nose tackle when the defense went to its base 5-2 look, but it’s the injury suffered by Telfer that will make perhaps the biggest impact in regards to Saturday’s game. Suffering a torn meniscus in his knee during Tuesday’s workout, he underwent surgery on Thursday and figures to be back in action in 4-6 weeks. But with Xavier Grimble already out with a chest fracture, the USC offense will have just one tight end at its disposal for the scrimmage in Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick.

“It’s been kind of the theme of the spring -- very physical -- as we come down to one practice left here,” Kiffin said. “I think you’ll still see the stars out there making plays. We’re just going to have to be creative because we’re not going to be able to go at the same speed in between series, and obviously we can’t have two teams with only one tight end, and all of our formations use a tight end, so we’ll figure it out -- probably just a little more time in between [each] series.”

Agholor and Lee at corner?

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LOS ANGELES -- It was a day for the offense on Saturday at the Coliseum, as the Trojans put together one of their most impressive offensive displays of the spring.

There were multiple contributors during the scrimmage, including Max Wittek and Marqise Lee, who seemed to be making up for lost time after each sat out earlier portions of spring with knee injuries.

"The story of the day was the passing game and the offense in general,” USC coach Lane Kiffin said. “All three quarterbacks played great and it was obviously great to have Marqise back.”

Wittek got the start with the first unit and quickly hit De'Von Flournoy with a nice touch pass over Anthony Brown for 25 yards. On another drive he completed a 40-yard pass to Lee and then closed out the drive with a 20-yard scoring pass to Nelson Agholor. Wittek also had a 4-yard touchdown to Lee with a back shoulder throw against coverage from Brown. Wittek ended the day completing 14 of 17 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns.

Lee wasted no time in showing everybody that he is officially back. In the early part of the scrimmage he caught a 60-yard touchdown on a go route from Cody Kessler. Later in the day he caught a bubble pass and put a juke move on Chris Hawkins to set up a 20-yard gain. Simply put, Lee looked every bit the reigning Biletnikoff winner with 10 catches for 191 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Those weren’t the only standouts for the offense, though.

Justin Davis continues to impress, as he had 17 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown. Davis showed some power on a short run, overpowering Lamar Dawson. He also read a good block from Kevin Graf to get a first down on a 3rd-and-short. His prettiest run came near the end of the scrimmagewith the ball at the 30. Davis broke up the middle and was headed for the end zone before Josh Shaw tracked him down at the 3-yard line. Davis punched it in from there two plays later.

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LOS ANGELES -- Injuries continue to be one of the big stories for the Trojans this spring as it was confirmed after practice that both George Farmer and Su’a Cravens will undergo knee surgeries.

The news was more dire for Farmer after Kiffin confirmed the earlier media reports of a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee, which will force him to miss the 2013 season. For Cravens, he has a torn meniscus in his right knee and will undergo surgery Friday. The injury is the same as the one suffered by Silas Redd. Cravens is expected to miss 4-6 weeks and will be back in plenty of time for fall camp.

“Whenever there is an injury you hope, like Su’a, that’s it’s not going to be a long setback,” USC coach Lane Kiffin said. “With guys like George, those are the ones you feel really bad for. A guy who battles back and was playing well and then to have this setback.”

The Trojans entered the Thursday practice session with 20 players out of action because of injury and two more left practice – Torin Harris and Cyrus Hobbi.

“I don’t see any way we could practice like this in the fall. We wouldn’t be able to play a game,” Kiffin said. “Of the 22 guys who ended up being out today, 18 of them are scholarship players. With the roster reductions we already have we would not be able to give up that many players. We will start fall camp practicing this way, but I don’t think we will end fall camp this way.”

There was some good news on the injury front as Marqise Lee returned, albeit in a limited role, after missing two-and-a-half weeks with a knee injury. Lee seemed to be running fine with no major issues but he was held out of contact team drills. Kevon Seymour and Jordan Simmons also returned to action.

“Marqise was back, which was obviously good to see,” Kiffin said. “He basically took part in the first hour of practice and we’ll add to him as we go.”

George Uko was out today and J.R. Tavai took his spot with the first unit at defensive end. During the final team drill, Aundrey Walker was out and Max Tuerk had moved to center with Hobbi out, so the first unit left side of the line was walk-on Nathan Guertler at tackle and Giovanni Di Poalo at guard.

Receiver shuffle

With Farmer out, that means opportunities for players such as Victor Blackwell and De’Von Flournoy along with first-year players Darreus Rogers and Steven Mitchell. Kiffin also made sure to note the high level of play from Nelson Agholor this spring when discussing the receiver group.

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LOS ANGELES -- The Trojans held a scrimmage on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with the offense having the most balanced day of the spring.

“I thought this was the best day for the offense in terms of having a good balance of running the ball and throwing the ball downfield,” USC coach Lane Kiffin said. “Both of the quarterbacks were accurate, they handled things well, and I thought the offensive line has put together two of their best practices in a row.”

There was plenty of scoring in the scrimmage, including two touchdowns each from Nelson Agholor (four catches for 93 yards) and Justin Davis (11 rushes, 54 yards).

Agholor has scored at least one long touchdown in each of the three spring scrimmages so far. Today, it was a 59-yard effort on the opening series on a pretty pass from Cody Kessler down the right sideline.

It was the second eye-opening practice in a row for Davis. Not only did he get into the end zone twice but his most impressive run might have been when he bowled over Leon McQuay III on an 11-yard gain in the red zone.

Both quarterbacks did well too. In addition to the opening touchdown to Agholor, Kessler also had a scoring pass courtesy of a great effort from Victor Blackwell. With the offense at the 25-yard line Kessler lofted a pass into the right corner of the end zone, where Torin Harris had solid coverage on Blackwell, only to see Blackwell simply leap up and get the ball for the score.

As a side note, Blackwell’s high school coach, Bruce Rollinson from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, was standing on the sidelines near the play and had a big smile on his face for his former star. Kessler ended the day completing five of nine passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns.

Wittek, who also played for Rollinson at Mater Dei, hit Agholor for a 15-yard score, but his best throw of the day came when he threw down the right sideline to George Farmer for a 47-yard gain. Wittek completed three of five passes for 84 yards and one touchdown, he also had one potential touchdown pass dropped by Blackwell.

On defense, the two most active players were J.R. Tavai and Josh Shaw.

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The Trojans returned to the spring practice field on Tuesday with a full pads session that was dominated by the defense, particularly the front seven.

It’s been a familiar theme of spring to see the defense playing well, and that’s a sign that the players are picking up on the schemes being installed by new defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast.

“We’ve got a long way to go but we like what we see so far,” Pendergast said. “We want athletic guys with football instincts. Guys who are smart, tough and competitive players.”

One of the defensive players who has played well consistently this spring is linebacker Lamar Dawson, who was named MVP of the day by USC coach Lane Kiffin. Dawson continues to alternate with Anthony Sarao at the Will linebacker spot, but it’s clear that the 5-2 system is one that plays to his strengths. In fact, Kiffin called Dawson the most improved player on the team through seven days of spring ball drills.

Another standout player from the day was cornerback Torin Harris, who had multiple pass breakups. Torin also had an impressive interception when Cody Kessler tried to hit George Farmer deep down the middle of the field, but Harris tipped the ball and came down with the pick. With Kevon Seymour out of action on Tuesday, Harris was one of the second-unit corners with Anthony Brown and Chris Hawkins running with the first unit.

“I feel healthy right now and that’s the key,” Harris said. “You can play free when you are healthy, and I feel good. This new defensive system is perfect for me because it allows the corners to be aggressive. It’s a simple defense, so we picked it up quickly but it causes a lot of problems for an offense.”

Along the defensive line, there was a lineup at one point that featured a big interior grouping of Antwaun Woods and Cody Temple as the defensive ends and Kenny Bigelow as the nose tackle.

“We just wanted to see how they looked together to get a feel for who we have,” Pendergast said. “Those are the things you look at in spring.”

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LOS ANGELES -- The USC Trojans opened up the 2013 spring ball practice session with a spirited workout, which is typical for the first day of spring.

“I thought things looked good today,” USC coach Lane Kiffin said. “That is usually the case in spring, guys are fired up to get out here and start going to work. I also liked what I saw from our coaches, especially since some of them have only been with us for a short time. They were really ready to go.”

One of the new items to watch for the Trojans this spring is the 5-2 defense which is run by new defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast. Kiffin said that getting the new defense set is the top priority of spring and the highlight play of the day was an example of how the defense can shine. Jabari Ruffin -- who was lined up at defensive end -- had an interception of a Cody Kessler pass after dropping back into coverage and leaping in the air to make the play.

Kessler is part of what is expected to be an intense quarterback competition along with Max Wittek and Max Browne. Kiffin said Kessler was on schedule to be named MVP of the day until the interception and he also liked what he saw from his true freshman.

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On a day that perhaps will be remembered more for the signatures the USC staff didn't secure than the ones it did, an upbeat Lane Kiffin took center stage inside the John McKay Center on Wednesday night to officially announce the Trojans' 2013 signing class.

With a total of 13 members comprising the group, it's a class low in numbers but rich in talent, with 12 ranking in the ESPN 300 -- almost all of whom will be counted on to make an immediate contribution on the field for the Trojans.

"A very exciting day for USC football as we welcome 13 new guys into our program," Kiffin said. "We think that these players can come in right away and help us -- all of them. And probably a couple of them will start. Obviously, we have some holes to fill, but they are impact players and players that could have gone anywhere in the country."

Spearheading the class is a standout group of seven players already enrolled in school and set to participate in spring drills in March. They are Elkton (Md.) Eastern Christian Academy defensive lineman Kenny Bigelow, Sammamish (Wash.) Skyline quarterback Max Browne, Stockton (Calif.) Lincoln running back Justin Davis, Murrieta (Calif.) Vista Murrieta safety Su'a Cravens, Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) cornerback Chris Hawkins, Seffner (Fla.) Armwood safety Leon McQuay III and Carson (Calif.) wide receiver Darreus Rogers.

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5:15 p.m. -- Former USC commit Eddie Vanderdoes signed with Notre Dame.

4:11 p.m. -- USC sent out a press release announcing its recruiting class. "We could only sign a limited number of players because of our sanctions, so we went after the best of the best," coach Lane Kiffin said in a statement.

Kiffin will hold a press conference on campus at 5 p.m. PT. It will be streamed live official athletic website, usctrojans.com.

4:00 p.m. -- "In the summertime I committed to USC, and there's a reason why I committed," said Nico Falah, who announced for the Trojans. "It was back and forth and hard to decide, but I went with the greater picture."

Falah also said that UCLA made a late run for him this morning, but he prayed about the decision and signed with USC.

1:08 p.m. -- Indications are that USC might be done for the day. There's the possibility that the coaching staff tucks away the five available scholarships and uses them for the 2014 class, which would become a 20-member class.

12:46 p.m. -- USC has officially announced the signings of Nico Falah, Steven Mitchell, Ty Isaac, Michael Hutchings, Khaliel Rodgers and Quinton Powell.

12:34 p.m. -- ESPN 150 prospect Steven Mitchell, the only receiver in the class, has also signed. No official word from USC yet, though. No surprise on this one. Read all about Mitchell's drama-free recruitment here .

12:29 p.m. -- It's important to note that USC has yet to announce any of its signees, though Khaliel Rodgers and Michael Hutchings have confirmed they have signed and sent in their national letters of intent.

12:16 p.m. -- Washington has announced that it received a signed national letter of intent from cornerback Jermaine Kelly, ending any chance USC had to swoop in late for the local standout. The Trojans offered on Tuesday hoping to soften the blow dealt by the loss of Jalen Ramsey, but it was too late. Kelly fell in love with Seattle and decided to leave the area. USC has had a bad two days.

12:11 p.m. -- It's no surprise now, but Jason Hatcher has officially signed with Kentucky. He walked into his announcement ceremony wearing a blue tie and carrying a blue Kentucky hat. Bigelow is the lone defensive lineman who remains from a group that included Hatcher, Fitts, Prevot and Eddie Vanderdoes.

11:11 a.m. -- We've received word that cornerback Jermaine Kelly, who was offered by USC less than 24 hours before signing day, is expected to announce his college choice in 30 minutes.

Kelly (Los Angeles/Salesian) is committed to Washington and was previously committed to UCLA, but it wouldn't be surprising if he signed with childhood favorite USC. It would be big for the Trojans given the loss of No. 4 CB Jalen Ramsey to Florida State.

11:00 a.m. -- No. 14 DT Keith Bryant had a USC hat on the table at his announcement ceremony but committed to Florida State. It appears Bigelow will be the only incoming defensive lineman for the Trojans.

9:33 a.m. -- Eddie Vanderdoes has cleared the air about his situation, writing on his Twitter account: "I'll put my life on it that I have NOT signed one paper yet."

9:15 a.m. -- ESPN 150 linebacker Quinton Powell (Daytona Beach, Fla./Mainland) committed to USC, ending a drought of sorts for the Trojans. Fitts, Thomas, Ramsey and Prevot had committed elsewhere, so this is an important pick up for USC.

"Every time I heard about (the decommitments) I shrugged it off," Powell said. "I just thought about myself. I wanted to commit based on my opinion of the school."

8:41 a.m. -- Prevot announced he is signing with Oregon. Another blow to USC, heightened by the fact that they lost out to another Pac-12 school... With DE Kylie Fitts (Redlands, Calif./Redlands East Valley) signing with UCLA and Jason Hatcher (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) expected to sign with Kentucky, the Trojans are down to early enrollee Kenny Bigelow in this class.

8:28 a.m. -- Four-star DE Torrodney Prevot (Houston, Texas/Alief Taylor) has three hats on the table at his announcement ceremony: USC, Oregon and Texas A&M...

8:00 a.m. -- No. 4-rated CB Jalen Ramsey (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood Academy) officially flipped from USC to Florida State in a signing ceremony at his school. It's a big loss for USC, which had held onto his commitment since the summer. Ultimately, the firing of defensive backs coach Marvin Sanders appears to have made the difference. Ramsey felt very comfortable with new Florida State defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, who recruited him while he was at Alabama.

7:16 a.m. -- UCLA coach Jim Mora announced the school received a signed national letter of intent from four-star safety Tahaan Goodman (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga), ending any speculation that the close friend of USC early enrollee Chris Hawkins might potentially flip. Not catastrophic since the Trojans are set at safety with No. 1 Su'a Cravens and No. 3 Leon McQuay III.

6:15 a.m. -- No. 1-rated OLB Matthew Thomas (Miami, Fla./Booker T. Washington) committed to Florida State, citing a comfort level with the coaches and it being a family decision. According to sources, USC made a late run Tuesday night but ran out of time.

4:55 a.m. -- ESPN 300 OG Khaliel Rodgers has signed his paperwork and is making it official with the Trojans.

4:15 a.m. -- Signing day is finally here. Follow along for the latest news as USC looks to put the finishing touches on its 2013 recruiting class.