USC Spring Practice: Trojans Go at It in Full Pads

Earlier in the morning it looked as though rain would dampen the end of the first week of Spring Practice for the USC Trojans. 

But by 11 A.M., the skies had cleared, and a beautiful, balmy day greeted the large crowd that had packed the sidelines of Howard Jones Field.

The weather wasn't the only thing to please the USC faithful as the Trojans treated their fans to an enthusiastic, spirited practice in full pads.

It was the first time since their Rose Bowl victory over Illinois on New Year's Day that the Men of Troy donned their full battle gear,  and the adage that has earmarked USC practices throughout the Pete Carroll era was evident once again: Going against one another in practices is tougher than facing opponents on game day.

No one realized that more today than the O-line.  It was particularly tough for them going against the Trojan D-line; however, that is usually the case early on. 

Everson Griffen, Christian Tupou, and Kyle Moore put in solid defensive performances, while Gerald Washington proved to be a dominant pass-rusher in the seven-on-seven drills.

Linebackers Luther Brown and Clay Matthews, both of whom can play either off-the-line or right up on it, had exceptional days. 

Matthews looks like he is picking up where he left off at the end of last season by recording two tackles for losses during the scrimmage. 

Malcolm Smith, Steve Smith's younger brother, looked terrific against both the run and the pass.

Middle linebacker Rey Muauluga pulled a hamstring muscle, accounting for the only injury. However, the injury was apparently not that serious as he was later seen walking around without any noticeable limp.

The defensive backfield was very impressive as well. 

Cary Harris and Taylor Mays held their own against Trojan receivers while Shareece Wright had a couple of solid hits.

Nose tackle, Averill Spicer, recovering from a recent surgery, along with Brian Cushing and Josh Pinkard, recovering from injuries from last season, did not participate in any contact work.

On offense, it looks as though Mark Sanchez remains the top choice to start the season at quarterback.  He is improving at looking off receivers and finding the open man. 

Sanchez still has a tendancy to scramble sooner than necessary, and he also showed some indecisiveness on a second-and-goal from the four and overthrew an open receiver.

Aaron Corp is also improving, demonstrating that he is very fleet afoot and able to maneuver around a hard pass rush. This was best seen with his TD pass to tight-end Rhett Ellison in the seven-on-seven drills.

Mitch Mustain, the Arkansas transfer, seemed to be struggling a bit with his timing.  This was further hampered with his dificulty to throwing into the wind.  Nevertheless, he did end the practice with a 35-yard TD strike to Ronald Johnson.

Several running backs put on an impressive showing. 

Joe McKnight had a couple of exceptional cutback runs and also made some nice catches including a one-handed grab of Mustain pass.

Stafon Johnson appears to have returned to the same form that wowed Trojans fans in the Nebraska game last season.  He scored on a 20-yard off-tackle run in the scrimmage and sliced through seams in the blocking drills.

C.J. Gable also had a strong run before getting smacked him out of bounds at the four yard line. 

Broderick Green looks like he could be a load as a bruising short-yardage back.

The receiving corps is coming together slowly but very surely. 

Patrick Turner had a great leaping grab over Kevin Ellison in the receiving drills. 

David Ausberry had a solid performance as well, catching passes in the receiving drills and in the scrimmage. 

In addition, Joe McKnight, Brian Carswell, Damian Williams, and Ronald Johnson all stood out. 

RoJo caught the TD pass from Mustain that capped the day's practice. 

On a slightly bothersome note, Damian Williams limped off the field toward the end of the scrimmage.

Anthony McCoy, Rhett Ellison, and Jimmy Miller have really stepped-up at tight end now that Fred Davis is about to become a first-round selection in the NFL draft. In the fall, all three will have to battle one of the nation's top tight end recruits, Blake Ayles.

All-in-all, as practices go, Pete Carroll and his staff have to be pleased with what they saw. I know the Trojan faithful were.