The Trojans conduct their Friday walk-thru under the unwanted microscope of Omaha onlookers.
By Ben Malcolmson
USCRipsIt
OMAHA — The Trojans had their normal pre-game walk-thru in some very abnormal circumstances Friday.
The team arrived at Omaha’s Westside High School like foreign dignitaries coming to town, as a police cars escorted them to the field, hoards of curious onlookers tried to get a glimpse of the Trojans and a slew of reporters bombarded Coach Carroll as if he were the president of a nation.
USC pulled up to the high school around 12:30 and began warming up on the school’s main football field, but it was too out in the open and too many people could look on. Friday walk-thrus are the most guarded on-the-field sessions for USC football, so spectators are forbidden.
So the team had to adjust to the circumstances.
Within minutes, the Trojans moved to an adjacent baseball field at the high school that was more protected from random onlookers. The field still had FieldTurf and was painted with football boundaries, so not much changed in terms of the preparation.
Even with the change of locale, though, unwanted observers still watched from the nearby hills, the adjacent classrooms and around the field as if the Trojans were some famous celebrities.
And maybe they are around here. The walk-thru was just another of those one-of-a-kind experiences for USC that adds to the Nebraska lore.
Dozens of people stood outside the football stadium at Westside High School in Omaha, hoping to get a glimpse of the Trojans.
More than 100 spectators watched as the Trojans conducted their walk-thru at Westside High’s Phelps Field on Friday.
John David Booty and his offensive teammates begin to conduct the Friday walk-thru on Phelps Field, Westside High School’s main football field.
Some beautiful foliage — and some unwanted spectators — provided the backdrop to the start of the Trojans’ walk-thru Friday.
The Trojans move from Westside High’s football stadium to its adjacent baseball field.
Kicker David Buehler and the rest of the Trojans carried on with the walk-thru on the new field as if nothing changed.
Spectators lined a hill trying to get a peek at USC’s walk-thru, even after the team moved locations.
As offensive linemen
Michael Reardon,
Kristofer O’Dowd,
Jeff Byers and
Chilo Rachal watch the walk-thru, spectators stood in the distance hoping to see the Trojans.
John David Booty (middle) tosses a pass during the walk-thru.
Who says you can’t play football on a baseball field?
The deep blue Nebraska sky was the background to the Trojans’ walk-thru on a chilly day in Omaha.
Just before leaving Westside High, Coach Carroll is surrounded by several local reporters as if he were an international rock star.
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Ben Malcolmson is the Director of Online Media for USCRipsIt.com. You can contact him at Ben@USCRipsIt.com. 
