Sports Jabber Presents Ben Malcolmson of USC

The name may not be readily identifiable, but his program is synonymous with college football excellence. Love them or hate them, the USC Trojans are one of the most successful college football programs this century and one of the most storied in gridiron history.

Pete Carroll has rebuilt the Trojan Empire to place them consistently among the upper echelon of college football, and Sports Jabber is proud to introduce Ben Malcolmson, a former Southern California player who still works closely with the team.

Ben Malcolmson is USC’s version of “Rudy,” which we recognize from Notre Dame and film fame. Just as Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger was the long shot walk-on that earned a roster spot for the Irish, Malcolmson was the same for the Men of Troy.

In 2006, he was a writer for the Daily Trojan, a student newspaper, and in search of a story, he auditioned for a place on the team. In time, he became that attention-grabbing topic he’d searched for, achieving a place on the Trojans' roster, though he hadn’t played organized football since his grade school years.

Today, Malcolmson operates USCripsit.com and Petecarroll.com, official websites of the University of Southern California football program. His blog is often a first and repeated stop for anyone writing and following Trojan football, and I’ve been a follower for more than a year now.

With close relations to the players and coaching staff, he is the eyes and ears of everything USC football. Many Trojan blog entries, articles, and photographs that circulate the Internet originate from his personal thoughts and observations of occurrences in practice, games, and events away from the playing field.

Ben has graciously agreed to take questions from Jabberheads about himself and/or the program. With Southern Cal being such a high-profile sports institution and media spectacle, his responses may provide answers to questions of your own.

How did San Jose State end up on the 2009 schedule? Is there a coaching or administrative connection somewhere?

It’s a one-time game where USC paid SJSU a good amount of money to come to the Coliseum to fill a hole in the schedule. There aren’t any major USC-SJSU connections.

Tennessee has scheduled several home-and-home games with Pac-10 teams in the past, but we never get a meeting with the Trojans. With Lane Kiffin now the head coach for the Vols, can you see Tennessee on future USC schedules?

We’ll see. Non-conference schedules are plotted years and years in advance, so both USC and Tennessee’s schedules are pretty full for the next 10-plus years.

After spending so much time around Pete Carroll, would you say he’s completely happy with preparing young men for the next level, or does he still have the NFL itch?

Coach Carroll is very content where he is right now at USC and loves what he’s not only been able to do in the program, but also in the city of Los Angeles through his foundation, A Better LA.

Describe what it was like to walk through the Coliseum tunnel on gameday for the first time, knowing all the legends that took those same steps.

It’s purely surreal. You sort of float through the day, since it’s such a powerful feeling.

USCRipsit.com is by far the most informative and detailed site for USC football. Do you work alone or with a fairly large staff?

It’s almost essentially a one-man show, though I do have a team of student volunteers who help with everything from photography to video work to marketing.

Back in the day, USC used to be called “Tailback U” for its long string of outstanding tailbacks. Was that a function of coaching-recruiting focus? If so, is Pete Carroll one of the reasons that the nickname is no longer applied?

I don’t understand this question, but I don’t think you can totally shuck the nickname right now—USC still has some of the finest tailbacks in the country and even had a Heisman Trophy-winning tailback in the last five years (Reggie Bush in 2005).

Any tips on getting reads on your work? Tricks of the trade?

As with anything in life, it takes hard work, dedication, and doing things passionately—and that’s all easier to achieve when you love what you’re doing.

The most talented player you played with and or witnessed playing?

Tough question. The most physically daunting was Keith Rivers, but Dwayne Jarrett would make some incredible plays all the time.

When I think of all-time college football teams, the Trojans come to mind, I guess because of the many national championships and Heisman winners. Besides the talent that is in a player, what is the coach looking for in the mindset and attitude of a given player?

The team seems to permeate with a real competitive spirit. To me that is done through Coach Carroll, but how different is it from other winning teams like Michigan, Penn State, and others?

It’s all about competition at USC—day in and day out. So a player who is competitive to the core is going to be most successful because he’s never satisfied with himself or where his team is. He’ll always be competing against himself and others to get better.

What sports heroes did you look up to growing up?

Cal Ripken, Lance Armstrong, and Michael Jordan were my sports idols growing up because they were the best at what they did and worked to get there.

I’d like to thank Ben for not only sharing his time with us, but also for providing another example of how hard work, motivation, and desire can make anything possible. For many of us, it’s become too easy to give up on hope and dreams. But when you see someone succeed, despite the heavy odds stacked against them, that single story supplies the additional strength to...Fight On.

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