USC Football: 10 Benchmarks for Spring Success

The USC football team just finished its first week of spring ball. Now as they go on spring break with the rest of the university, the rest of us can sit back and pick apart the little bit of information that has been laid before us.

You know the coaching staff will be doing the exact same thing this week. They will be taking notes and setting a few goals. Here are 10 that Lane Kiffin and Co. might want to consider.

A No. 2 Running Back Steps Up

Curtis McNeal emerged as the Trojans' top back last season, but after Marc Tyler graduated and Dillon Baxter and Amir Carlisle transferred, the depth at running back started to look rather shallow.

The most obvious contender seems to be redshirt sophomore D.J. Morgan, who started the season opener in 2011. The problem was he didn’t really seem like the speedster he used to be after a full year off recovering from knee surgery.

He also put the ball on the ground a few too many times for Kiffin’s liking.

“He seems to be a little more comfortable which is normal after an offseason. He seems to be a little bit more healthy. He’s making cuts a little bit better,” said Kiffin after Thursday’s practice. “It will be almost two years removed from his knee surgery. It still seemed to affect him last season. He looks better and our track coach says that too.”

Javarious “Buck” Allen hasn’t been healthy the first week of practice for any sort of evaluation yet, but hopefully he will add to the Trojans’ options as well.

Curtis McNeal Stays Healthy and Consistent as a Full-Time Starter

Yes, McNeal, who is looking better than ever, is the Trojans’ current starter. But does he have the consistency to last a full season?

Lane Kiffin thinks so.

McNeal has stayed out of academic trouble for an entire year, had his first 1,000-yard season and is finally looking like he believes he's really USC’s go-to guy.

“You can see in the parts of his game that have been his weaknesses, in the pass game in catching the ball and route running. He’s really getting better in being an all-around back,” said Kiffin after Thursday’s practice.  

Matt Barkley's Successor Emerges

Redshirt sophomore Jesse Scroggins fell behind after requiring thumb surgery early last season. Freshman Cody Kessler and Max Wittek, both of whom who enrolled early last spring, not only have a full year underneath their belts, they haven’t missed a beat.

Both have progressed over the last season, staying neck and neck most of the way.

Wittek is precise and calculated. Kiffin called Kessler a “gamer” last year because he starts to come alive when the lights are brightest. That trait put him just ahead of Wittek in 2011, but not enough to claim the prize permanently.

One of these young signal-callers needs to start pulling ahead in the spring so the coaches know which one to start to prepare come fall. To preserve Barkley and give the young pups more experience, Kessler and Wittek will take extra snaps during team drills.

Hopefully this will give the coaches a better idea of who can handle the job best in a game-time situation.

Matt Barkley Stays Healthy

The only thing Barkley needs to do to progress is stay healthy. He’s made significant progress every year and there is no reason to think he will slow down now with one last shot at a Heisman Trophy and a bowl game on the line.

This means the staff will a tad more cautious with him this spring. He doesn’t need the physical repetition as much as he needs to be able to play this fall.

“The injuries happen to your quarterback in the team stuff because there are people around him, someone falling around him or hitting his thumb,” explained Kiffin, who informed the press that Barkley will be used more in 7-on-7 drills than team situations.  'Even though we tell people to stay away from him, we can’t control that completely.”

Essentially, you can’t win the Heisman in March.

Matt Kalil's Replacement Is Finalized

As of now, redshirt junior and last year’s starting right tackle, Kevin Graf, is Matt Kalil’s replacement, but if he doesn’t pan out they are willing to try sophomore Aundrey Walker.

The 6’6” monster played in 11 games as a freshman and right now looks like he will play right tackle. If these two don’t seem to fit their spots, then the staff will have to rearrange things again.

Though the offensive line is much further ahead than it was in 2011 (they were still switching personnel around several weeks into the season), it still lacks depth.

It would benefit everyone, especially Barkley, if they could spend the spring with an intact starting unit and improve the skill level of their second unit. Only a few members of their current second team have any sort of game-time experience.

Freshman Chad Wheeler enrolled early and the Trojans have three more prep All-Americans arriving in the fall, but none of them has experience. For now, offensive line coach James Cregg will have to use a few walk-ons to help bolster their ranks.

Nick Perry, DaJohn Harris and Christian Tupou Are Replaced

The defensive line may have suffered the most loss, but coach Ed Orgeron has the most options to choose from. Senior ends Wes Horton and Devon Kennard were co-starters last year, but now they can each have a spot of their own. Sophomore George Uko is currently at tackle.

Sophomore J.R. Tavai and redshirt freshman Antwaun Woods are currently battling it out for the other spot. Tavai is smaller and hoping to use his athleticism to garner attention. Woods is actually losing weight (so far 25) pounds and Kiffin says he is “coming a long way.”

Soma Vainuku Steps Up at Fullback

Last season, tight end Rhett Ellison had to spend time at fullback because Soma Vainuku wasn’t exactly ready to carry the weight that comes with being the starting fullback. Following in the footsteps of Stanley Havili, who was voted USC’s Most Inspirational Player the season before, didn’t exactly help his cause.

Now Ellison is gone as well so Vainuku will be forced to step up. Fortunately, it already looks like he is starting to.

The first day of spring ball, Vainuku completed a stellar diving catch that Matt Barkley described as “Stanley-esque,” It was one of the highlights of the first week of spring ball and a sign of good things to come.

The Early Enrollees Get Acclimated

Every year, a few transfers or freshmen come on board early to try to acclimate themselves before the rigors of fall camp and their first full season. This season freshmen LB Scott Starr and OT Chad Wheeler join DE DeVante Wilson, who postponed his enrollment in order to recuperate from torn knee ligaments.

DE Morgan Breslin transferred from Diablo Valley Junior College (Pleasant Hill, CA) and S Josh Shaw comes to USC by way of Florida.

Wheeler and Wilson likely won’t be participating at all during spring ball, but they can at least get adjusted to the academic load before things get busy. Shaw is currently not playing due to a back injury and there is no timetable for his return.

Hopefully Breslin and Starr can make some good headway while the others prepare themselves academically or otherwise.

The Players Respond to the New Coaches and Their Techniques

USC welcomed three new coaches this season. Scottie Hazelton  takes over for departing linebackers coach Joe Barry (now with the San Diego Chargers), Tee Martin will be training the receivers after spending the past two seasons at Kentucky and Marvin Sanders will be coaching the secondary.

Sometimes it can be rough adjusting to new coaches and techniques, but so far these three seem to be fitting in just fine, bringing a great energy to the program.

“They are good teachers and they’re confident and I think that comes out,” said Lane Kiffin. “The players seem to really take to them, including special teams as well.”

Now let’s see if the players make any progress under their leadership.

Robert Woods Is Pain-Free and Playing 100 Percent

The most amazing part about Woods’ performance last year is he did it all on a bum ankle that never fully recovered after a rough game of pickup basketball. Offseason surgery was successful, but now that it’s time to get back on the field, the coaching staff isn’t going to take any chances.

“With Robert, we’ll definitely move very slow. We know a lot about Robert. We know who he is, we know how he is as a player,” said Kiffin.

That’s his way of saying, it’s better for him to be safe than sorry. They don’t need Woods pushing himself to the limit before that ankle is ready. The Trojans now have a week off while the university is on spring break, which will give Woods and few others even more time to heal up.

The rest of spring ball will let the Biletnikoff finalist get back into proper form, and hopefully get even better without the pain.