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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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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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If you were paying even casual attention to USC football, you’re probably not exactly floored by Thursday night’s announcement that Monte Kiffin is stepping down as USC’s defensive coordinator.

It felt for a while as if this was coming. Things just weren’t working out and somebody named Kiffin was going to get caught in the line of fire.

They certainly didn’t work out this season, when defensive breakdowns were the primary reason USC probably is headed for the Sun Bowl when virtually everyone expected them to be vying for a BCS title shot or, if things sputtered, the Rose Bowl.

When the Trojans were playing the spread offenses that are so typical in college football now, things didn’t really work out the previous two seasons for Monte Kiffin defenses either. Sadly, the primary snapshot of Kiffin’s tenure at USC will be a Trojan defender flailing on an open-field tackle.

If you’re a conscientious father seeing your son get pummeled on a daily basis by fans and the media, Thursday’s action was really the only decent move. Monte Kiffin, 72, said he’s stepping aside to “pursue opportunities in the NFL,” but had he not done what he did it was only a matter of time before his son, Lane, also was in pursuit of other "opportunities."

If you root for this team, you’re probably not overly saddened by this development either.

In USC’s five losses this season, opponents gained an average of more than 500 yards. For a team that has fattened the NFL with some of its brightest defensive talent over the decades, that’s embarrassing. Veteran USC observers had never seen a team run up and down the field on USC as Oregon did while running up 62 points at the Coliseum a few weeks ago.

But you also have to pause for a moment and recognize something uncomfortable. USC isn't going to get back to the glory of the Pete Carroll years as swiftly as so many people had hoped. When Mike Garrett hired Lane Kiffin two-and-a-half years ago, fans were probably more excited about the assistants he brought with him than about Lane’s return after a short and uninspiring adventure.

Monte Kiffin carried an aura as the founder -- or, at least, co-founder (along with Tony Dungy) -- of the “Tampa 2” defense that finally started slowing down those nickel-and-dime-to-death offenses that Bill Walsh dreamed up. Kiffin was also Carroll’s mentor, and you don’t have to say much more than that to get people excited around USC.

He's as respected within the profession as any coach in America. He was fun to be around after practices, the way he talked relentlessly about how good the opposing coaches were, how dangerous the opponent was (even when it was Minnesota or Washington State) and said things like, "Gosh darn it! I'm serious now."

Of course, what springs to mind is that, at his age, Kiffin just couldn’t make the necessary changes the job demanded. Twenty-six years in the NFL didn’t prepare him for an Oregon.

Who knows who the next face of the USC defense will be. Does Ed Orgeron deserve to step into the No. 1 chair? Is Gene Chizik the answer? Randy Shannon?

The point is, it was time to bring in a fresh set of eyes, a fresh look at the problem. Considering USC has the top-ranked recruiting class in the nation coming in next season, I’m still not convinced the Kiffin era at USC is over just yet.

We can say for sure that the Kiffin era of USC defense is over, and that's not entirely encouraging.

LOS ANGELES -- USC and UCLA battle for recruits every year, and there are always a ton of top prospects at every game between the two schools.

Fittingly, dozens of 2013, 2014 and 2015 talents are expected to be at the Rose Bowl for Saturday's 12 p.m. PT game, including four-star safeties Tahaan Goodman (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) and Priest Willis (Tempe, Ariz./Marcos De Niza).

Yet, according to Trojans coach Lane Kiffin, the USC-UCLA winner won't gain any tangible advantage on securing the commitments of the players in attendance.

"I don't think it has a major impact," Kiffin said Thursday, while also acknowledging that the question comes up every year. "It just goes into whatever that formula is of the kid making a decision.

"It's just a small thing in there, and there's so many other things that one game doesn't matter."

Kiffin compared it to the commonly-cited theory that a winning season will get a team a bunch of top recruits that same year. That's not true either, he said.

"Just like when teams are having a great season or a rough season, they don't all of the sudden sign all the players because you're winning all the games, or the other way around," Kiffin said. "You assume that kids go to the teams at the top, but it doesn't always happen like that."

Kiffin added that high-schoolers often see teams having more of a need for them when they're losing some games.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Here are notes and quotes from No. 13 USC’s 38-28 win over Utah that won't make it into our other coverage from the game:

The Holmes-Barkley rapport

Center Khaled Holmes, the culprit on USC's two early turnovers that spotted the Utes 14 points, took every bit of available blame for his errors -- to the media and to his teammates.

He also said his connection with quarterback Matt Barkley -- the two played together in high school -- played a role in the Trojans' quick rebound. USC scored a touchdown on its ensuing drive, preventing a total collapse.

"I think that could have happened," Holmes said. "But fortunately it was not the case.

"Matt and the whole team had my back."

USC's more candid players did admit some interesting reactions to Holmes' second mistake, which was eerily similar to the first one that came just a few minutes before. He snapped the ball badly the first time, then misread the cadence on the second, which led to another bad snap because Barkley wasn't ready.

"After seeing it again, you're like, 'C'mon, man, seriously?'" receiver Robert Woods said he was thinking as he walked off the field. "Here we go again."

Woods' brief exit

Woods fell to the turf late in the first quarter when he tried to run off the field while dazed after a hit, a scary moment that turned out to be only a minor fright.

"That was funny. That was actually pretty funny," said Marqise Lee, his teammate and good friend.

Woods said he remembered most of the incident.

"I remember trying to run," he said. "But I couldn't see. And then I fell."

About an hour after the game's conclusion, he said he hadn't seen the video of it, yet, but noted it was "probably on YouTube."

Not much later, Lane Kiffin's assistant, Kyrah McCowan, tweeted a picture of Woods watching the play with tight end Xavier Grimble.

Woods said the concussion test given to him by USC's medical staff consisted of three questions: Who is the current president, what is today's date and what is 100 minus 7, minus 7, minus 7.

He passed all three, he said, and was allowed to return to the game after one missed play.

"There's no way you're gonna have Robert sit on the bench, no matter what it is," Lee said.

Morgan's return

On D.J. Morgan's eye-black during Thursday's game were two words: "Never Left."

Morgan wanted to show that he hadn't left the Trojans' offense despite missing USC's past three games after undergoing minor knee surgery to remove scar tissue from a high-school knee injury.

He said he felt as though he did that.

"It was very exciting," Morgan said. "My performance today came because of my preparation, because I prepared like I knew I was gonna play, like I was a starter."

Morgan, a redshirt sophomore, said he was still rehabbing following the knee surgery and didn't yet feel 100 percent recovered.

"Adrenaline kinda hides all that," Morgan said.

Homecoming for Martinez

USC right guard John Martinez is only the third Trojans letterman to hail from the state of Utah, and he grew up a Utes fan, attending a number of games at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

So he said Thursday night's game was "kinda a little bit personal" for him and that his teammates had asked him a bunch of questions about the atmosphere in the week leading up to the game.

He said it felt like a traditional Utah crowd amped up to another level Thursday night.

Martinez also was the player asked to help Holmes with the task of double-teaming Utah's Star Lotulelei, and he said it was intense.

"Their D-line is a friggin' monster to go against," Martinez said.

Injury report

Multiple USC players said running back Curtis McNeal suffered a concussion in the first quarter of Thursday night's game. It appeared to occur on a run play that did not count because of a holding penalty.

McNeal didn't return and did not record any statistics. Silas Redd, USC's other top running back, left the game initially with a shoe issue in the third quarter but did not return. It's not known if he suffered any sort of injury.

Defensive end J.R. Tavai did not make the trip to Utah. Only 56 scholarship players traveled for the Trojans.

Final notes: USC tied the school record for consecutive games without being shut out at 186 straight contests. ... The crowd of 46,037 was the fourth-largest in Utah school history. ... Kicker Andre Heidari missed two field goals in a game for the first time in his career Thursday. They were only the third and fourth misses of his career. ... Third-string quarterback Cody Kessler did all the holding for the first time this season. Barkley has typically filled that role this season. Kessler appeared to place the ball poorly on Heidari's second miss.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Here's USC coach Lane Kiffin's press conference following the Trojans' 38-28 win over Utah on Thursday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Kiffin addresses the play of his senior signal-caller, his thought process after USC went down 14-0 less than three minutes into the game and several other pertinent topics.

See the video here: