Lane Kiffin Sends a Message to 2012 USC Football: It's About "Prep Not Hype"

As most everyone knows by now. USC started spring ball on Tuesday, which means a lot of people want to know a lot of the same things:

Did they look good?

Of course.

What were the new coaches like?

Energetic.

So are they going to win the national championship?

Well, wait a second.

For those counting down the days to the season opener, please
remember the purpose of spring ball: It keeps the boys in
shape and helps the fans suffering from withdrawal.

And for those who are already crying that USC doesn’t deserve the
hype, realize that the facts alone warrant at least an eyebrow raise.

A Heisman trophy candidate, two All-Americans and five Freshman
All-Americans are part of 19 returning starters from a 10-2 squad.

But both ends of the spectrum should exercise

caution when coming to any conclusions over the next month.

In fact, a great example of how to approach this year’s spring ball was
on the field on Tuesday.

Greeting everyone coming through the gates of Howard Jones Field were
three words painted on the grass:

PREP NOT HYPE.

“I think it’s refreshing really, to our fans and to our players [to be
bowl eligible], but it doesn’t change anything that we do. We aren’t
all of a sudden preparing different or coaching our players any
different or getting ready for our opponents any different,” said Head
Coach Lane Kiffin. “We’re going to do the same thing that we’ve been
doing.”

So nothing changes?

“Of course we are going to get that much more attention just because
we are eligible this year, but I’m not going to look differently than
any other year we’ve had,” said QB Matt Barkley. “Yeah we can play for
a bowl game, but our preparation can’t change just because of that.”

Nope.

“I think we have to have the same mentality of wanting to prove
something. Even though we know that we have something to look forward to, we
can’t get caught up looking forward to that right now,” reiterated
Barkley. “We just have to focus on the now and what can we get better
at right now.”

You know what they say. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. And for the
first time in three years, it’s pretty safe to say USC isn’t broken.

“Just thinking back to two years ago being on the same field--we’ve
come a long way,” noted Kiffin. “As we look around at our players, the
way they look and how they run and so we have to give credit not just
to our assistant coaches and our recruiting, but to our strength
staff.”

Sure, the pundits could sit here and tell you that OT Aundrey Walker looks 60 pounds lighter and therefore 60 pounds faster, but no one can tell you for sure if he'll still be at right tackle come September.

Yes, RB Curtis McNeal is a precious commodity that can't afford to be broken right now, but no one can tell you who is going to be his backup at the season opener, much less how reliable that backup will be.

George Farmer looked like he could make the best receiving duo in the nation the best trio this fall, but it's only day one.

And on "Day One," you can't accomplish much and you sure as heck can't speculate much. But what you can do is send a message. And, in this case, paint it on the grass in all-capital letters.

If USC prepares in 2012 like they did in 2011, then the Trojans will
find themselves in the BCS National Title game in January with, or
without, the hype.

But probably with.