Pete Carroll Looking to See What Fits in Spring Practice

While the media concentrates on what might be the most spectacular quarterback competition in college football, head coach Pete Carroll of the USC Trojans focuses on the big picture.

In an interview Tuesday on the "Heritage Hour" from Heritage Hall at USC, Carroll commented on how the coaches prepare for Spring Football in the Trojan War Room.

"After recruiting is over we take a big focus on the past season. And we evaluate every single snap that we had. How things worked out, how it didn’t work out. How people played us, how we attempted to play our opponents. And all of that is taken into account."

According to Carroll, Spring Football is as much an evaluation of the coaching staff’s scheme as it is an evaluation of individual players.

"When we come back to spring football, the conclusions that we’ve made at the end of that analysis are put into practice," Carroll said. "There are a few wrinkles here and there, a little adjustment of personnel from different stuff (we’ve evaluated). We look for things from people that maybe we have not looked for in the past."

This does not mean that Carroll and offensive coordinator, Steve Sarkisian, are downplaying the quarterback competition.

"You can’t overlook the quarterback spot," said Carroll. "That’s going to be a great open competition. Mark (Sanchez)’s got a lot of experience on the other guys (Mitch Mustain and Aaron Corp), but we’re gonna try to even it up as much as possible and see where everybody fits and take our time doing that."

Of course, choosing a quarterback from among these three contenders is an enviable task that most Division 1 head coaches would kill for.

In 2004 Mark Sanchez led Mission Viejo High School to a CIF Championship and was named "Player of the Year" by major college recruiting services. He also quarterbacked the 2005 U.S. Army All American team. Last year, as a redshirt sophomore he started three games for USC in place of the injured John David Booty.

In 2005 Mitch Mustain led Springdale High School to the Arkansas Class 5A state title. He also received the Hall Trophy for National High School Player of the Year at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and was named Gatorade and USA Today National Player of the Year.

After going 8-0 as a starting quarterback for the Arkansas Razorbacks, Mustain transferred to USC last year along with Razorback wide receiver Damian Williams.

In 2006, Aaron Corp was the Orange County (CA) Offensive Player of the Year and led his Orange Lutheran team to a state title. A dual threat with his legs as well as his arm, he completed 68% of his passes for 2,750 yards and ran for another 1,197 yards.

Obviously talent isn’t a concern among these three. What Carroll and Sarkissian will be monitoring is leadership and consistency in running plays and adjusting to defenses.

The same is true of the offensive backfield in general. With a stable full of running backs that could start for most Division One teams, the coaching staff doesn’t have to look very hard to find talent. What they are looking for is consistency.

More of a concern for Carroll and the Trojan staff is the O-line, where only one regular, Jeff Byers, returns from the 2007 squad.

"The offensive line is a very competitive spot and will continue to be in Fall camp when a bunch of young guys come in," Carroll pointed out. "That’s a spot where we have to see where it fits. We have a lot of guys we’re very excited about. They can play football, but we just have to see how it fits together. We’ll be shuffling guys around at times and seeing how that works out."

There are a couple of huge shoes to fill on the D-line as well, where graduation took nose tackle Sedrick Ellis and defensive end Lawrence Jackson. Both are expected to be first day picks in the NFL draft.

"The defensive end spot’s going to be interesting," stated Carroll. "Kyle Moore’s going to move over to the strong side. Maybe he and Everson (Griffin) will wind up playing those spots.

"Clay Matthews is going to be playing that same spot as Everson to see if we can get some flexibility in moving Everson around and on and on. So, there’s a lot of stuff happening and we’ll never be too quick to judge in this, and we’re just going to take our time."

With the concentration of four and five-star linemen in this year’s recruiting class, is it possible that a couple of them could crack the starting lineup?

"It depends on how the guys hold their spots," Carroll concluded. "We always open up to the freshmen to make sure where they fit in right off the bat. And these guys will all have a good look when they come in."

"Spring football is so important for the guys that are here. They’ve got to make some noise for their spot and start to solidify where they fit in. We’re very competitive, very upbeat and charging ahead."

Fitting in and not rushing to judgment were recurring themes with Carroll.

"The evaluation process continues on throughout. We’re on track now for things to start with Spring Ball, and there are a lot of interesting things to see. Part of it’s the players and part of it’s the scheme, and we’ll just see how we continue to progress."