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A look ahead 04-19-2008 6:13 p.m.
With Saturday’s Trojan Huddle, Spring Practice 2008 has come to a close. Players will resume offseason workouts this week, and coaches will take all day Sunday and Monday morning off before returning to work Monday afternoon.
Only 133 days until the Trojans take the field in Charlottesville, Va., for the first game of the 2008 season.
Coach Carroll just left the office after watching film from the scrimmage for the last few hours.
But he didn’t leave without expressing his joy for how the day turned out and his thoughts on one of the day’s biggest impact players — freshman quarterback Aaron Corp, who went 13-for-16 for 158 yards and the winning touchdown pass in double overtime.
“Aaron was just great out there today,” Carroll said. “He wasn’t getting lucky; he was good. He threw with zip and was just really impressive.”
Inside the numbers 04-19-2008 5:19 p.m.
See the notable performances from Saturday’s scrimmage:
- Mark Sanchez: 16-for-24, 203 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT - Mitch Mustain: 6-for-10, 111 yards, 2 TDs - Aaron Corp: 13-for-16, 158 yards, 2 TDs - Leading rusher: Stafon Johnson, 58 yards on 13 rushes, 1 TD - Leading receiver: Travon Patterson, 100 yards on six catches, 1 TD - Leading tackler: Chris Galippo, 9 tackles, including 6 tackles-for-loss, two fumble recoveries and one touchdown - 12 players scored for the Trojans - 97 plays - Attendance: 22,000
For the record 04-19-2008 5:18 p.m.
Get the full stat sheet from the Trojan Huddle here.
Looking nice 04-19-2008 5:04 p.m.
The Coliseum grounds crew just finished laying sod over what used to be a baseball diamond 24 hours earlier, but the Trojans experienced very few ill effects of the new grass.
Players remarked how pristine the field looked, and the kickers especially had high praises for the turf.
“This is amazing,” David Buehler said.
“They did such a good job,” Joe Houston said while kicking 45-yard field goals from where second base used to be. “It’s down so well.”
The only noticeable difference with the grass was that it was cut shorter than it is during the season.
Kicker Joe Houston kicks a field goal during warm-ups from the place that second base used to be for the Dodgers-Red Sox exhibition game three weeks ago.
Always competing 04-19-2008 5:02 p.m.
In a potentially unprecedented move for spring games in college football history, the Trojans played into overtime to break a 27-27 tie at the end of the regulation.
Not only did the crowd cheer when the public address announcer said the team would play extra football, the coaches were loving every minute of the bonus ball.
“This is great — spring football at its finest,” Coach Carroll said to offensive line coach Pat Ruel during the first overtime.
“You can’t script this,” Ruel replied with a huge smile.
After the two teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime, Carroll wasn’t content with a tie.
“Let’s keep playing!” he belted out. “All day long!”
An Aaron Corp touchdown pass to Travon Patterson provided the winning score for the white team, who charged the field in celebration to cap off the game and the spring for the Trojans.
A special place 04-19-2008 5:01 p.m.
During the days leading up to Saturday’s scrimmage, Coach Carroll made a special emphasis about revering the opportunity to play in the Coliseum.
They players sure seemed to take his words to heart.
In the locker room before the scrimmage, players screamed, danced and chanted as if it were a Saturday in the fall.
“We’re back in the Coliseum!” one coach yelled. “We’re back in our house!”
Then, as players walked down the tunnel, they bellowed “War time” like they were marching toward a huge home game in November instead of an intrasquad scrimmage in April.
Spotlight 04-19-2008 5:01 p.m.
See some of the players who made an impact Saturday:
- Cornerback Daniel Harper blocked the potential game-winning 46-yard field goal at the end of regulation. - Linebacker Luthur Brown had a right-place-at-the-right-time interception and then posted a 45-yard return. - Receiver Brandon Carswell had a 55-yard touchdown catch that included a nifty cut back move that crossed him from the left sideline to the right sideline before crossing the goal line. - Mark Sanchez connected with Ronald Johnson on a 37-yard touchdown-scoring bomb in the right corner of the end zone. - Linebacker Chris Galippo scooped up a fumbled sweep play and returned it untouched for the touchdown.
Dispatch from the Coliseum 04-19-2008 5:00 p.m.
Thoughts from Saturday’s scrimmage, through the eyes of USCRipsIt…
- Saturday’s thrilling 39-36 double overtime scrimmage was the ideal conclusion for possibly the most competitive spring in Coach Carroll’s eight years at USC. “This was the perfect ending for our spring,” Carroll told the team after the scrimmage. “Let’s be grateful we have each other to compete against.” - The white team, composed of the second-team offense and the first-team defense, captured the double-overtime victory against the cardinal squad, which was made up of the first-team offense and second-team defense. The game was very evenly matched since the top lines and the second-stringers were always facing off against their counterparts. - The scrimmage went 97 plays and for about two hours Saturday, much longer than anticipated. But it got to the point late in the game where the Trojans were having fun and simply playing football instead of fitting into a regimented format. “That was awesome, just awesome,” Carroll said after the game.
Game time 04-19-2008 10:16 a.m.
It’s game time for the Trojans, as they’re about to leave Heritage Hall and head to the Coliseum for their end-of-spring scrimmage. The roughly 80-play intrasquad game should go about two hours, and it’ll be followed by an autograph session.
If you can’t be at the Coliseum for the Trojan Huddle, you can watch it live by subscribing to USCTrojans.com.
We’ll return this afternoon with a full, behind-the-scenes report from the Huddle.
It feels good 04-19-2008 9:45 a.m.
The Trojans just finished the special teams film review that doubles as a rowdy pump-up session. All signs point to today's scrimmage being a regular game for the team.
“This is the last time we get to go down that tunnel until the fall,” Coach Carroll said during the team meeting. “Let’s get it going out there today.”
Players are now in position group meetings before the clap session at 10:20 a.m.
Getting ready 04-19-2008 8:52 p.m.
Sleepy-eyed Trojans (from left to right) Shareece Wright, Clay Matthews Jr. and Cooper Stephenson wait to get their ankles taped by head athletic trainer Russ Romano (left) this morning in the athletic training room. Meetings start at 9 a.m.
One last time 04-19-2008 8:24 a.m.
The coaches are now gathering in the War Room for a staff meeting for the final time this spring. During this meeting, they’re discussing final adjustments for today’s scrimmage, including moving players up and down the always-fluid depth chart.
On the agenda 04-18-2008 6:40 p.m.
Saturday’s Trojan Huddle at the Coliseum starts at 11 a.m. and gates open at 10 a.m. Tickets are $10, but USC students and children 12 and under get in free. Here’s the team’s schedule for the end-of-spring game:
9 a.m. • Team meeting at Heritage Hall 10:20 a.m. • Clap session at Heritage Hall 10:30 a.m. • Buses leave USC and head to the Coliseum 10:45 a.m. • Team arrives at the Coliseum and warm-ups start 11:15 a.m. • Scrimmage kicks off 1:30 p.m. • Autograph session begins
The players and coaches spread some Trojan family love after Friday’s practice.
Immediately after Friday afternoon’s workout, Coach Carroll led the team to the USC-UCLA men’s tennis match at the adjacent Marks Tennis Stadium, where the players, still in uniform, cheered on the Trojans for a few minutes as they battled their cross-town rivals.
Linebacker Chris Galippo and cornerback Kevin Thomas watch as USC faces off against UCLA in a men’s tennis match at Marks Tennis Stadium.
Coach Carroll looks out over the USC-UCLA men’s tennis matches following Friday’s practice.
Dispatch from Howard Jones 04-18-2008 6:05 p.m.
Thoughts from Friday’s practice, through the eyes of USCRipsIt…
- On a day that felt much like a pre-game Friday practice, the Trojans bounced through a snappy 70-minute practice that focused extensively on special teams work. - Mark Sanchez had another highly effective performance Friday, running the offense smoothly in the limited snaps he got. He even threw a touchdown bomb to receiver Ronald Johnson that went about 60 yards in the air. - Friday’s other notable performances: Kicker David Buehler drilled a 46-yard field goal that had 15 yards to spare, cornerback Daniel Harper recorded an acrobatic interception, linebacker Nick Garratt had a pick and tailback Stafon Johnson reeled off a lengthy juke-filled run up the middle. - Following practice, the players for cardinal and white teams for Saturday’s scrimmage split up and jumped around in separate huddles to get pumped for the end-of-spring game. Then they playfully charged toward each other Braveheart-style while chanting “We ready!”
Off to work 04-18-2008 4:02 p.m.
The Trojans have taken the field for their second-to-last practice of the spring. It’ll be a short one, as the team is interspersing short sets of team plays between a heavy review of the special teams. We’ll return in a few hours with a report from Howard Jones.
Two-deep? Deep-six it 04-18-2008 4:01 p.m.
USC’s two-deep depth chart came out today, but don’t think anything is set in stone for the Trojans.
Coach Carroll sure doesn’t think so.
“We couldn’t be more about competition and the fluidity of the depth chart,” said Carroll, who, along with his coaching staff, puts essentially no stock in the most recent two-deep. “There’s a long way to go until things come together on Aug. 30.”
Heavy reading 04-18-2008 3:52 p.m.
In case you wanted to read a Trojan football version of “War and Peace,” check out the full-length transcription of Coach Carroll’s end-of-spring press conference from this afternoon, courtesy of the USC Sports Information Department.
Review day 04-18-2008 3:36 p.m.
Coaches are hailing Saturday’s end-of-spring scrimmage as final exam day, so that makes today the review session.
And that’s especially important during this afternoon’s position group meetings, where players have individualized attention from coaches as they watch film and go over the plays they’ve learned this spring.
For a good read… 04-18-2008 3:05 p.m.
Check out this article about Mark Sanchez as the starter from SI.com today.
Coach Carroll on the quarterbacks 04-18-2008 2:47 p.m.
See Coach Carroll’s thoughts on the quarterbacks and what went into the decision to name a starter in the newest video feature from USCRipsIt, produced by Mark Haas:
Game-like feel 04-18-2008 1:24 p.m.
The Trojans are treating Saturday’s end-of-spring scrimmage like a game in almost every sense. Let’s count the ways:
- Coaches will be on headsets, with some positioned in the press box like they are on Saturdays in the fall. - The Trojan Marching Band will play before and during the scrimmage, including a pre-game performance of the national anthem. - The team will retreat to the locker room and then take the field prior to kickoff. - Artificial crowd noise and music will play over speakers to fill the Coliseum with gameday-esque noise.
Same as it ever was 04-18-2008 1:18 p.m.
The Coliseum has transitioned back to a football field just in time for Saturday’s Trojan Huddle. See the culmination of the transformation in the newest feature from USCRipsIt.
Plugging along 04-18-2008 12:57 p.m.
Coach Carroll just finished his end-of-spring press conference about 45 minutes after it started. It's now time for some final practice preparation before football meetings get started at 2:15 p.m.
Watching the lists 04-18-2008 12:14 p.m.
Offensive lineman Jeff Byers and defensive lineman Fili Moala have been named to the Outland Trophy watch list. The trophy annually goes to the best interior lineman.
It’s a busy second-to-last day of Spring Practice for Coach Carroll — he’s been watching film all morning, his end-of-spring press conference is at noon and team meetings begin at 2:15 p.m. before practice at 4.
Limited quantities of new USC Trojan autograph books will be available at Saturday’s Trojan Huddle. The cool 38-page books, which are $5 each, are perfect for the youngster who wants to get autographs from his favorite Trojans after the scrimmage. Only 2,000 have been made, so be sure to get yours tomorrow at the Huddle.
Here’s a look at the cover, which includes 10 of USC's top players:
Almost there 04-18-2008 8:50 a.m.
The next-to-last day of Spring Practice is getting underway now with a staff meeting in the War Room. Welcome to Day 14 of spring ball. Read the previous blog page here.
