USC Trojans Football: Grading Each Unit, Spring Edition

For a team such as the Trojans, one that has national championship aspirations, the work to attain that goal starts early.

So it begins for the 2012 edition of the men of Troy, and spring camp is where the coaching staff begins to get a glimpse of how the team shapes up for its start of play in September.

Although the Trojans return a young but veteran team, formulating a depth chart starts now, and for those players with aspirations of seeing playing time this season, the time to leave impressions in their coach's minds starts in April.

With that in mind, this slideshow will look at how the individual units performed so far this spring and offer a very early grade for each group.

However, it is still very early, and certainly, the depth chart will undergo changes between now and the first game against Hawaii on September 1.

So let's get started on this very early grading period for what its fans hope is a BCS national championship contender.

Quarterbacks

For the coaching staff, this spring was all about the future.

That meant that Matt Barkley saw little action, and though what playing time he did experience resulted in a few interceptions, it was of little concern to Lane Kiffin and quarterbacks coach Clay Helton.

Instead, Cody Kessler and Max Wittek got to show their continued maturation, and neither disappointed.

Kessler continued on a strong freshman campaign and didn't throw a single interception until the very end of the scheduled practices.

For Wittek, his progress was apparent in his new-found control of the huddles and increased mastery of the playbook.

Both quarterbacks continued their growth, and they seem ready to take their place on the big stage in 2013.

In fact, neither has distanced themselves from each other, and the decision by Kiffin as to who will back up Barkley has yet to be revealed.

Unfortunately, the other quarterback in the equation, Jesse Scroggins, continues to experience academic woes and was excused from the spring session.

Grade: B

Running Backs

A depleted unit of running backs took a hit when newly-converted linebacker Tre Madden went down with a torn ACL.

Prior to his injury, Madden was becoming a force despite only having a few practices at the position.

2011 1,000-yard rusher Curtis McNeal worked on honing his pass catching ability out of the backfield, and his progress there is notable.

Meanwhile, backup D.J. Morgan had a steady, if unspectacular, spring session.

Perhaps the biggest news (other than Maddens injury) was the emergence of Javorious (Buck) Allen, who finally shook a hamstring injury and showed flashes of the ability that got him recruited in the first place.

Grade: C+

Receivers

With Robert Woods being held out of spring practice to let his surgically repaired ankle to heal, Marqise Lee was given the opportunity to learn all three receiver positions.

Like everything Lee does—including long jumping for the track team—the young wideout excelled everywhere.

Because of the dearth of receivers during the spring session, Da'Von Flournoy and redshirt freshman Victor Blackwell both were given opportunities in practice, and both did well, especially Flournoy, who may have played his way into the rotation.

However, the tight ends were a group that was often MIA for the spring.

All four candidates—Xavier Grimble, Randall Telfer, Christian Thomas and Junior Pomee—were injured for most of the session, with Grimble only recently returned.

Grade: C+

Offensive Line

Two things stood out for the offensive line during spring practice.

One, it looks as though true sophomore Aundrey Walker will take over for Matt Kalil at left tackle. Though still raw, Walker will be given every opportunity to protect quarterback Matt Barkley's blindside after the experiment to move last year's right tackle, Kevin Graf, didn't pan out.

However, both tackles were "spotty" during the spring and will need improvement.

Also, the value of center Khaled Holmes became even more apparent after Holmes was forced to miss some time due to injury. Without Holmes, the line suffered, although replacement Abe Markowitz did a serviceable job.

Both guards, Marcus Martin and John Martinez, had solid camps, and some clarification was offered for backups after guards Cyrus Hobbi and Nathan Guertler had some good practices.

It will be interesting to see what comes out fall camp though when the three highly-regarded true freshmen (Zach Banner, Jordan Simmons and Max Tuerk) arrive.

Grade: B-

Defensive Line

Of all of the question marks surrounding the 2012 version of the men of Troy, the one requiring the most solid answer belongs to the defensive line where three starters will need replacing, including both on the interior.

Defensive end, Devon Kennard—the only returning starter—has had a good camp, and so has Wes Horton, the anticipated other starting end.

With both tackles, Christian Tupou and Da'John Harris, from last year graduating, it will fall to George Uko to take one of the spots, and the other is a toss-up between J.R. Tavai and Antwaun Woods. All three have had solid camps, but depth remains a worry.

Grade: B-

Linebackers

All three starters—Dion Bailey, Lamar Dawson and Hayes Pullard—have had a good camp, which would come as no surprise to anyone who follows the program.

The real action during spring was to determine the backups, and to that end, true freshman Scott Starr will likely spell Dawson, while redshirt freshman Anthony Sarao will do the same for Pullard.

The big news came toward the end of the camp when safety Tony Burnett was moved to linebacker and will likely back up Dion Bailey.

Grade: B

Defensive Backs

Possibly the strongest unit on the team is the defensive backs, and a large part of the reason why is safety T.J. McDonald and cornerback Nickell Robey, both of whom had excellent spring camps.

At cornerback, Anthony Brown and Ryan Henderson had solid camps, although Henderson was hobbled some of the time.

Meanwhile, Demetrius Wright is challenging Jawanza Starling for the starting safety spot opposite McDonald.

Josh Shaw, the transfer from Florida, is waiting for both a broken rib to heal and clearance from the NCAA to play this year, while cornerback Torin Harris is on the mend from a shoulder injury.

Grade: A-

Special Teams

Not to be forgotten is the special teams unit, where kicker Andre Heidari has had a good camp, which is to be expected since he had such a solid true freshman year.

Unfortunately, punter Kyle Negrete has lost time to injury, but redshirt freshman Kris Albarado has had a nice camp as well.

Flying under the radar but of particular importance is long snapper Peter McBride, who will be replacing Chris Pousson, a player who never had a botched snap in his Trojan career.

Large shoes to fill for sure, but Trojan fans will be happy to know that McBride has been snapping lasers all camp long.

Grade: B

Conclusion

As stated in the opening slide, it is still very early in the process, and changes to the depth chart will certainly be forthcoming.

Still, it does give the coaching staff a preview of what to expect for fall camp, and more importantly, a starting point by which to mold the roster.

Like those given at school and the grades associated with it, they can be improved, and the important report card will come at the end of the year when the 2012 season is wrapped up.

For fans of the program, spring camp is just the start of what they hope is a very satisfying process.

At the end of the season, the work began in spring, fans hope, will culminate in the raising of that crystal ball found in the opening slide.

And if that were to happen, the only grade to be expected would be those of the "A" variety.

Just the way the fans like it of course.