USC Football: George Farmer Injury a Big Problem for Lane Kiffin's Trojans

Last week, we touched on the Robert Woods injury and his slow recovery en route to returning to the practice field for the Trojans. Not a big deal, as Woods will have most of summer to get up to speed and return to the elite wide receiver that we've watched play the last two seasons.

Woods' injury was supposed to give guys like George Farmer, De'Von Flournoy and Victor Blackwell time to get up to speed to be serious contributors for the Trojans.

Well, thanks to a pulled hamstring that has lingered through spring, Farmer has yet to take advantage of the opportunity in front of him. Of the three players vying for time, Farmer is the only one to catch a pass in a game for the Trojans, although Flournoy has played on special teams for the last few seasons. Blackwell is the newcomer of the group, a redshirt freshman who made a bit of a splash on the scout team.

This is a bit of a double problem because both the player (Farmer) and the team are going to suffer as the hamstring might push the rising sophomore out of spring ball altogether. Farmer was poised to make a move up the depth chart with the Brice Butler transfer and the natural progression of a freshman growing into his position. Now, it is a waiting game as the tricky injury that is the hamstring pull must be nursed back to health.

For Lane Kiffin and Southern Cal, that means not knowing if Farmer is ready, physically and mentally, to step into the full-time role as the third receiver. Unlike Woods, who has proved he can carry the load as the No. 1, Kiffin needed this spring to grow confident in Farmer's ability to understand the pro-style offense and perform on the BCS stage. 

With Heisman candidate Matt Barkley coming back, solidifying the depth at the wide receiver position is second only to offensive line cohesion for the Trojans this spring. Flournoy and Blackwell will continue to get reps, but losing Farmer for so much—and possibly the rest—of spring is a serious blow to the Trojans getting their depth chart set for the 2013 BCS National Championship push.