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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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As the Trojans begin the final week of practices prior to the spring game it was shoulder pads and shorts practice on Tuesday. The team has been hit with injuries during the physical spring and, even though the load was lightened a little, USC coach Lane Kiffin was happy with the intensity.

“We really wanted to focus on keeping guys staying up today and that usually happens when we don’t go full pads,” Kiffin said. “I thought we were still able to have a physical practice.”

Highlight plays

• From deep in his own end, Cody Kessler stood in the pocket against strong pressure and fired late to Nelson Agholor for 12 yards and a first down.
• Max Wittek had his chance with the ball near his goal line and he found Victor Blackwell with a quick strike, and Blackwell put on the jets to race for a long touchdown despite valiant pursuit from Leon McQuay III.
• Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick made a nice catch of a low-thrown ball across the middle from Wittek.
• McQuay popped the ball loose from Cope-Fitzpatrick after a short catch.

Goal-line intensity

One of the most fiery drills of any practice is when the ball is placed inside the 5-yard line and the offense takes its shots at the end zone.

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It was a spirited, full-pads practice session for the Trojans on Thursday and one that featured a nice performance from the offense. This was welcome news to USC coach Lane Kiffin, particularly after the defense had dominated a practice earlier in the week.

“The offense did a lot better today,” Kiffin said. “It was good to see them bounce back that way after what happened on Tuesday. They came out today with a much better mindset.”

The solid play was spread around through many players but one area that really stood out was the run game. With Silas Redd out for spring with injury and Tre Madden limited in contact, the tailback work has fallen to the trio of D.J. Morgan, Buck Allen and Justin Davis, and they responded on Thursday.

It was Davis who got things going with a pair of long touchdown runs in a team drill. The smooth freshman, who has provided multiple promising moments in his brief time at USC, took both runs to the left side and showed a combination of speed and moves to get to the end zone.

Morgan followed in the next drill with a 10-yard touchdown run, showing a quick burst through the line. A few plays later, Morgan took a handoff and went down in a pile after a short gain. When he came up, he was limping a little and did not return.

Allen took his turn as the lead runner at the end of the day when the Trojans were in goal-line situations. The chatter between the offense and defense had reached a crescendo as time was running out in practice and both sides were eager for victory. With the ball at the five-yard line, Allen was able to punch in two touchdowns, including the final play of the day to signal a win for the offense. Davis also had a short touchdown run in the goal-line drill.

“I thought D.J. Morgan was having a very good day before he went down,” Kiffin said. “Justin Davis had a great day.”

It was also a good day at the quarterback spot, Max Wittek looked much better than he did on Tuesday, while Max Browne had his best practice as a Trojan.

Wittek got things going early with a deep touchdown pass to De’Von Flournoy against solid coverage from Ryan Henderson.

In a red-zone drill, Browne hit Nelson Agholor as Torin Harris went for the ball and missed, so Agholor was able to go in for the 20-yard score. Browne also hit a pair of short touchdowns to Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick. The highlight throw of the day for Browne came when he hit Farmer on a 55-yard completion. It was yet another sign of the accurate touch that Browne has shown on the deep ball so far, and of the fact that Farmer is continuing to make plays as well.

“George has stayed healthy and he’s doing well,” Kiffin said. “We need him to make the hard plays, to be physical, and he’s doing that. It’s been great to see.”

O-line adjusting to coaching changes
One of the primary areas of emphasis for the Trojans this year will be to get more physical, and that starts with the line. To that end, Kiffin has put two coaches on the offensive line, adding Mike Summers and keeping James Cregg, who had been the line coach for the past three years, as his assistant. There was some curiosity as to how the arrangement would work but, through the first three weeks, Kiffin is pleased with what he sees.

“Mike Summers has done a really good job of coming in and capturing the group,” Kiffin said. “It’s worked out like we had hoped with the two of them in combination, that’s why we put two coaches at such an important position.”

Injury report
Xavier Grimble will miss the remainder of spring with a chest fracture. There was no update on Morgan after practice. Jordan Simmons missed practice after getting sick earlier in the afternoon.

Defensive highlights
* Ryan Henderson had multiple solid tackles on the day coming up from his corner position. Two of them were on Agholor, including one at the end of the day when emotions were high and his big hit brought a huge roar from the defensive sideline.

* Anthony Brown also had a solid tackle for no gain from the corner spot.

* Josh Shaw read a screen pass from Cody Kessler to Agholor and he was able to bat the ball down.

* J.R. Tavai recorded a sack of Browne.

* Leonard Williams tracked Davis along the line of scrimmage for no gain.

Notables in attendance
Naijiel Hale, David Sills, Steven Mitchell, Nico Falah and several members of the Chaminade Eagles program.

Quotebook
“It was a slow adjustment at first for me because things are so different at this level. There were little things I could get away with in high school, some bad habits, but you need to pay attention to those techniques here. I’m getting those little things down right now. The good thing is that I get a first chance to learn everything now in spring and then I will get another camp in the fall. That will really help me learn the playbook. I’m not sure about redshirting, I’ll just work hard every day and see what happens.” -- Justin Davis

The Trojans are navigating through their share of injuries this spring. But at this time of year, as long as the injuries are not serious, they can offer a mixed blessing of sorts.

When one player is forced to sit on the sideline, it gives another player the chance for extended reps with the hope of showing the coaches he is ready for a bigger role. For the injured player, there is still plenty of time to return either in spring or in fall camp before the season begins. As quarterback Max Wittek noted after a recent knee injury, “you never want this to happen, but if it’s going to happen, better to have it happen now.”

Wittek is perhaps the most notable USC injury right now, primarily because he is engaged in a battle for the starting quarterback spot. Wittek suffered the knee sprain on March 9 prior to a scrimmage at the Coliseum and has been out ever since. He is expected to return when the Trojans practice on March 26. Cody Kessler has played well with Wittek out and any small gains by either player can end up meaning a lot in a competition that is so close.

On the same day that Wittek got hurt, Marqise Lee also went down with a “minor” knee injury and has been held out as well. There isn’t as much of an impact here as Lee certainly isn’t in any competition for his starting job. If anything, his absence gave the other receivers a chance to step up and the overall group is doing well from top to bottom. Right now, Nelson Agholor appears to be the clear leader for the starting spot opposite Lee.

A recent loss came with the news that Silas Redd would undergo surgery this week for a torn meniscus. Redd is the established senior starter at tailback, but he has only been on the USC campus for eight months, so any time spent on the field was beneficial. Instead, Redd will be out until fall camp and the Trojans are further limited at tailback with Tre Madden still not cleared for full contact due to his knee rehab. That means the remaining spring practices will be huge for guys like D.J. Morgan, Buck Allen and maybe even Justin Davis, although it remains to be seen how much a recent broken finger will hamper him.

The offensive line had been fairly healthy until the news that Chad Wheeler will miss the rest of spring with a knee injury. Wheeler had added bulk and was progressing nicely as the No. 2 left tackle.

On the defensive side of the ball, injuries are really impacting the interior depth on the line and the safety positions.

There are three linemen who have missed all of spring: J.R. Tavai, Greg Townsend and Cody Temple. All three figure to provide important depth at the three interior spots of the 5-2 defense, so it’s vital to get them back on the field. Right now, the Trojans have Kenny Bigelow as a legit reserve at nose tackle, but the other spots are being manned by players out of position such as Charles Burks. Scott Starr is also out of action until fall, and he is expected to be a key reserve behind Morgan Breslin.

In the secondary, the Trojans have a lot of talent but not much is going to be settled until the coaches figure out where to put Dion Bailey. Most speculation centers around Bailey ending up at safety rather than linebacker, but he won’t be available for spring after recent shoulder surgery. So Josh Shaw, Demetrius Wright and Su’a Cravens are auditioning for starting spots. Gerald Bowman could also be in that mix, but he is also out this spring. This means it’s likely the safety rotation won’t be determined until well into fall camp.

At corner, the top player through the early part of spring was Kevon Seymour, but he has missed the last couple of days with an ankle injury. Devian Shelton is also out with a foot injury. That means extended reps for Torin Harris, Anthony Brown and Ryan Henderson, as well as the freshman Chris Hawkins.

USC coach Lane Kiffin said after Saturday’s scrimmage that the time off for spring break this week was coming at a good time for a team looking to get a few bodies back. The Trojans return to the practice field next Tuesday and having some of those injured players on the field will go a long way toward helping to determine starting spots.

Kiffin also acknowledged that the extra hitting in practices so far this spring -- done to achieve his goal of returning to a more physical style of play -- has played a part in having so many injuries. He said the team will continue to practice with full hitting for the rest of spring but gave no word on if there will be any changes in philosophy beyond that point.

With the loss of starting safeties T.J. McDonald and Jawanza Starling, there was more than a fair amount of anticipation heading into spring practice when the search for their replacements officially began.

And while it’s a unit currently low in terms of numbers with both Gerald Bowman and Dion Bailey -- who will potentially move to the secondary from linebacker in 2013 -- out for the spring due to injury, USC’s safety group has performed solidly throughout the team’s five practices, thanks in large part to a pair of veterans running primarily with the first group -- redshirt junior Josh Shaw and senior Demetrius Wright.

With Shaw at strong safety, and Wright at free safety, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast has two experienced contributors with tons of athleticism manning the center of the defensive backfield in his new scheme.

“I feel like we’re coming along good,” Wright said. “Me and Josh have known each other since our junior year in high school, so we already had that connection. We’re working together, we watch film together, and the communication between me and him is going really good right now.”

But it hasn’t just been Shaw and Wright who have stood out. In fact, over the course of the last week, it’s been freshman early-entrant Su’a Cravens who has emerged as a budding star. Lining up with the second unit at strong safety, as well as at nickelback in the team’s nickel package, he was particularly stellar on Tuesday, collecting two interceptions. And on the other side, it’s been another freshman, Leon McQuay III, who has drawn notice after spending the first week at cornerback.

Once a major question mark, the safety positions now appear to have been at least somewhat solidified, particularly when you consider the team will be getting reinforcements in the fall -- a time that figures to see the competition heat up even more.

“All of the safeties aren’t even here right now,” Wright said. “We’ve still got a couple of guys hurt, so it’s going to be a real competition come fall training camp. We’re going to have a lot of depth. Anybody can go with the ones or twos, so we don’t really look at who’s starting. We’re out here competing so everyone is good to play.”

It’s easy to notice the upbeat style of play through the first two days of USC spring ball, and it was evident on Thursday with a team drill that featured some explosive plays from the offense.

The team drill started off strong for the defense, as the offense was backed up near its own goal line on the south end of Brian Kennedy-Howard Jones Field, and the defense had some stops, led by the interior front with Antwaun Woods, George Uko and Leonard Williams.

After the offense switched to the north end of the field, however, things began to change. Max Wittek hit Nelson Agholor for a short gain, and Agholor showed his burst of speed to outrun the secondary and make it a long gain. With the ball placed again deep in the offense's end, Silas Redd took a handoff and went 85 yards down the left sideline before being driven out at the 10-yard line by Kevon Seymour.

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Entering spring practice, there wasn’t a bigger question mark in the USC defense than at the cornerback spot, where the Trojans lost both of their primary starters from the 2012 season -– Nickell Robey to the NFL, and Josh Shaw to strong safety.

But with two workouts now under their belts playing under new USC defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Clancy Pendergast, the open battle for the two starting positions has led to a spirited atmosphere marked by more-than-solid play at times, particularly from Kevon Seymour and Anthony Brown – who found themselves running with the first-team defense on both Tuesday and Thursday.

“We’re all competing out here,” Seymour said. “We’re all great athletes and we can all play. We have a lot of work to do, but we’re gaining confidence.”

It’s Seymour, in fact, who put in arguably the two top back-to-back performances of the week, highlighted by a couple of impressive pass deflections during the 7-on-7 and team session on day one.

Nothing is set in stone, however, as there are plenty of other players still in the mix. On the left side behind Seymour, it’s been early-entrant freshmen Chris Hawkins and Leon McQuay III who have received the most reps with the second unit. Two players whose arrival on campus was heavily anticipated, Hawkins, in particular, has shown flashes of standout play, while McQuay certainly has the raw talent, but is still adjusting to a new position after coming in as a safety.

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With two spring practice sessions in the books for the Trojans, it’s time to take a quick look at how a team depth chart might look if it were released today.

Quarterback
Max Wittek (6-foot-4, 235 pounds, RS So.) OR Cody Kessler (6-1, 215, RS So.) OR Max Browne (6-5, 215, Fr.)

Kessler opened up spring camp with a big performance on Tuesday, but Wittek has certainly had his moments, and even the young freshman, Browne, has caught USC coach Lane Kiffin’s eye, making this battle too close to call. And that’s the way it could stay throughout the spring, as Kiffin revealed he’s in no hurry to name a starter.

Tailback
Silas Redd (5-10, 200, Sr.); D.J. Morgan (5-10, 190, RS. Jr.) OR Tre Madden (6-1, 220, RS So.) OR Javorious Allen (6-1, 210, RS So.) OR Justin Davis (6-1, 215, Fr.)

With a full season under his belt at USC, Redd looks comfortable and focused as the starter. Morgan showcased a couple of big plays this week, while Madden looked much sharper than you might imagine a year removed from his knee injury. Davis, meanwhile, has been perhaps the hit of the early-entrant group so far, making the most of his limited carries in practice.

Fullback
Soma Vainuku (6-0, 250, RS. So.); Jahleel Pinner (5-11, 225, So.)

Two of the team's hardest workers, Vainuku and Pinner alternated as the team’s primary fullbacks. It remains to be seen, however, if they’ll take on a bigger role in the offense.

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LOS ANGELES -- Linebacker Dion Bailey knew the statistic and cited it quickly while walking out of CenturyLink Field following USC's' 10-point win over Washington last weekend.

"Two picks for Josh Shaw," Bailey said, grinning wide. "He's creeping up."

Bailey has four interceptions this season, leading the USC team. Shaw, the little-used safety who made his cornerback debut against the Huskies, is now tied with safety Jawanza Starling for second with two.

Bailey was joking, obviously, but most jokes spawn from some truth. Shaw could indeed be a real threat to his mark if he keeps playing at the same level.

As a team, USC already has 11 picks in six games this season. The Trojans had only nine all of last season, so there has been marked improvement in that category.

Shaw is part of that, bringing instant, proven playmaking ability to the secondary. A redshirt sophomore transfer from Florida, he was a big-time recruit out of nearby Palmdale as a prep. USC was after him then and again last winter when he announced he was transferring away from the Southeast to be closer to home.

His hardship waiver was granted late in the spring, but his initial practice appearance was delayed because of injury. He finally started participating in fall camp, practicing as a corner before switching back to safety for the next two months.

When starting corner Torin Harris continued to struggle this season, USC coach Lane Kiffin and his staff decided to give Shaw some practice time at the spot. He made his game debut there the same week, when Harris went out because of an apparent head injury.

His play -- and reaction to being thrown into the mix -- impressed the Trojans' staff.

"He didn't get flustered," Kiffin said. "A lot of that goes to his experience. We went with him over some other kids based off of his experience, playing at Florida and playing in big games, even though he was playing at safety at the time.

"I think he did a good job."

Shaw is continuing to take repetitions at corner in practice this week.
Kiffin is refusing to name a specific starter across from Nickell Robey for the Colorado game, but the smart money says Shaw will get another opportunity.

He said Wednesday he believes he can start the rest of the year at the position.

Shaw's also an intelligent player. Coaches say he makes real adjustments to his game on a week-to-week basis, and he backed that up with his comments Wednesday.

"Watching the film, I noticed more mistakes I made during the game that I didn't really notice while I was playing," Shaw said when asked for an assessment of his play. "There's a lot of little things that I'm looking forward to cleaning up."

We'll see if he gets the opportunity.

SEATTLE -- USC Trojans coach Lane Kiffin addressed the media in his normal day-after game conference call Sunday night, discussing several topics pertaining to Saturday's 24-14 win over Washington and looking forward to the rest of the Trojans' season.

Here are notes and quotes from the call:

BCS standings of little importance

The first BCS standings of the 2012 season, released Sunday evening, feature USC as the No. 10 team, and predictably, Kiffin downplayed their importance.

"First off," Kiffin said in response to a question about them, "they do mean nothing right now, whether you want to believe that or not."

He did eventually allow for some value to be taken away from the news, saying USC obviously wants to be in the national-championship conversation "after two years of not being there" because of NCAA sanctions.

USC will face both Notre Dame and Oregon next month, and both teams are currently above the Trojans at No. 5 and No. 3, respectively.

So there will be opportunities to improve.

The three concerns

Kiffin had an interesting observation Sunday night. He said he has three primary concerns about his team with half the regular season remaining.

In order, they are: third-down efficiency on offense, penalties in all phases of the game and pass defense.

The first two are obvious. The third is less so, because the Trojans haven't had serious issues there this season.

But the competition is going to get tougher and USC's secondary will be facing significantly better passing offenses in the coming weeks.

"We know what's coming," Kiffin said.

Shaw not locked in yet

Redshirt sophomore Josh Shaw made his corner debut for the Trojans in the second quarter of Saturday's game and performed well, but Kiffin is not ready to hand the No. 2 corner job to him just yet.

Shaw was just the fourth corner on the depth chart entering the game but was pressed into duty when Torin Harris and Kevon Seymour went down with injuries. He "played about as good as you could expect," Kiffin said.

The second corner spot has been USC's most problematic position all season. Shaw spent some time at the position in fall camp but was almost exclusively a safety until the last week of practice.

He now has two interceptions on the season after recording one in the fourth quarter against Washington.

Final notes: Kiffin cited Bill Belichick's New England Patriots and their Sunday loss to the Seahawks in asserting that CenturyLink Field is a difficult place to play. ... Twenty-one of the Trojans' 22 sacks this season have been made by a defensive linemen. Backup linebacker Anthony Sarao has the other. Kiffin pointed out that stat Sunday. ... Left tackle Aundrey Walker's effort wasn't an issue against Washington, Kiffin said, but his technique needs work. Walker was whistled for a false start on multiple occasions. Freshman Max Tuerk could still challenge him despite switching to No. 84 and playing as an extra lineman/tight end on Saturday.

SEATTLE -- Here are notes and quotes from No. 11 USC's 24-14 win over Washington that won't make it into our other coverage from the game.

Defensive prowess

Nickell Robey was beaten badly on Kasen Williams' 17-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, and he wasn't too happy about it.

As he ran off the field, he pooled coach Lane Kiffin and secondary coach Marvin Sanders together and told them he had a declaration to make.

"He's not gonna catch another pass the whole game," Robey told his coaches.

Sure enough, Williams didn't make another appearance on the stat sheet. He finished with 22 yards on two catches, the other five-yard catch coming just before the touchdown.

After the game, Kiffin said Robey led the way for what was another sneaky-good performance from USC's defense.

Two years ago, the Trojans were downright bad. Last year, they were good at times and bad at others.
Now, they're just good -- especially in the turnover department, forcing another four from the Huskies on Saturday.

And, perhaps most important, they weren't just good for three quarters, either. They held up all the way through the fourth, not allowing Washington any points in the final 20 minutes.

"For three years, that's been our issue: Fourth-quarter defense," Kiffin said. "I thought our guys really played well and closed the game out."

Defensive back Josh Shaw, who made his debut at cornerback Saturday and had an interception, said he heard his teammates discussing just how much improvement they've made over the past year. He didn't see any of it because he transferred from Florida in January, but he believes it.

"I wasn't here last year, but the talk is that this defense is much improved," Shaw said after the game. "We're looking pretty good."

Really, USC's defense has been more consistent than its offense, allowing no more than 22 points in a game when not counting garbage-time TDs from Syracuse and Utah.

Asked if he agreed with that assertion after Saturday's game, receiver Marqise Lee nodded his head.

"As of right now, you could say that," Lee said. "I'm not even gonna lie."

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