University Southern California Trojans
Trojan Football Reaches Midpoint Of Spring Practice
April 06, 2002 | Football
April 6, 2002
LOS ANGELES-USC fullback Chad Pierson scored 3 times on 1-yard runs to highlight an 85-play intrasquad scrimmage at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday (April 6) as the Trojans reached the midway point of spring practice.
Troy also got short touchdown runs from quarterbacks Carson Palmer (5 yards) and Matt Cassel (1 yard), a 29-yard TD pass from quarterback Matt Leinart to wide receiver Devin Pitts and a 23-yard field goal by David Davis.
Palmer completed 80% of his passes (12-of-15) for 137 yards and Cassel was 4-of-6 for 89 yards. Leinart hit 2-of-7 passes for 41 yards (but threw an interception) and fellow redshirt freshman Billy Hart was 3-of-10 for 28 yards. Wide receiver Keary Colbert and tight end Alex Holmes each caught 5 passes for 59 yards.
The Trojan running game was led by tailbacks Darryl Poston, who gained 86 yards on 11 carries, and Sultan McCullough, who had 42 yards on 13 tries.
Safety DeShaun Hill had a game-best 7 tackles and an interception, safety Troy Polamalu and linebacker Melvin Simmons each had 6 stops, safety Jason Leach added 5 tackles and defensive tackle Shaun Cody got 3 sacks for 20 yards.
"We're so far ahead of where we were at this time last year," said second-year USC head coach Pete Carroll. "We've made a lot of progress and you could see that in this scrimmage. I'm pleased. We didn't make a lot of mistakes. This was the best offensive performance I've seen here. We ran the ball well, we caught it well and Carson Palmer was really on the money. The only disappointment is we were not able to stop the offense well today. Now, we need two more good weeks of spring practice."
USC, which concludes spring drills on April 20, opens its 2002 season with a Sept. 2 home game against Auburn.
| RUSHING | NO | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
| McCullough | 13 | 42 | 3.2 | 0 | 13 |
| Palmer | 5 | -2 | -0.2 | 1 | 6 |
| Cassel | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 1 | 4 |
| Colbert | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leinart | 3 | -18 | -6.0 | 0 | -5 |
| Poston | 11 | 86 | 7.8 | 0 | 29 |
| Hart | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 | 17 |
| Kirtman | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Candela | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 0 | 18 |
| Pierson | 4 | 7 | 1.8 | 3 | 4 |
| Byrd | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 0 | 5 |
| PASSING | PA | PC | PI | PCT | YDS | TD | LG |
| Palmer | 15 | 12 | 0 | .800 | 137 | 0 | 22 |
| Cassel | 6 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 89 | 0 | 20 |
| Leinart | 7 | 2 | 1 | .286 | 41 | 1 | 29 |
| Hart | 10 | 3 | 0 | .300 | 28 | 0 | 11 |
| RECEIVING | NO | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
| Holmes | 5 | 59 | 11.8 | 0 | 22 |
| McCullough | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mattos | 2 | 32 | 16.0 | 0 | 17 |
| Guenther | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 0 | 20 |
| Pierson | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 0 | 13 |
| Colbert | 5 | 59 | 11.8 | 0 | 17 |
| Hancock | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 0 | 13 |
| Hale | 2 | 52 | 26.0 | 0 | 41 |
| Pitts | 1 | 29 | 29.0 | 1 | 29 |
| Candela | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 0 | 9 |
| INTERCEPTS | NO | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
| Hill | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| ? | |||||
| FIELD GOALS | FGA | FGM | LG | SEQ | |
| Davis | 1 | 1 | 23 | 23 |
| DEF | TAC | TFL | SAC | DFL | FC/FR |
| Pollard | 2 | ||||
| Hill | 7 | 1 | |||
| Cody | 4 | 3/20 | 3/20 | ||
| Polamalu | 6 | ||||
| Leach | 5 | 1 | |||
| Torgan | 1 | ||||
| A. Bottom | 1 | ||||
| Udeze | 2 | ||||
| Patterson | 2 | 1/5 | 1/5 | ||
| Simmons | 6 | 1/8 | 1/8 | ||
| M. Fletcher | 1 | 1 | |||
| Graham | 4 | ||||
| Rideaux | 2 | 1 | |||
| Allmond | 4 | 1/6 | 1/6 | 1 | |
| Matthews | 2 | ||||
| Single | 3 | ||||
| Webb | 3 | ||||
| Jackson | 4 | 1 | |||
| Daye | 2 | ||||
| Ashton | 2 | ||||
| Johnson | 3 | ||||
| Lemos | 2 |
SCORING
Davis 23-yard field goal
Palmer 5-yard run (Davis kick)
Pierson 1-yard run (Davis kick)
Pierson 1-yard run (Davis kick)
Pierson 1-yard run (Davis kick)
Pitts 29-yard pass from Leinart (Davis kick)
Cassel 1-yard run (Davis kick)
PENALTIES
4 (3 offense, 1 defense)
TURNOVERS
1 (interception)
PLAYS
85
DRIVES
| PLAYS | YDS | RESULT |
| 12 | 74 | FG |
| 5 | 36 | 4th down |
| 3 | 2 | 4th down |
| 11 | 75 | TD |
| 11 | 75 | TD |
| 5 | 22 | TD |
| 7 | 27 | TD |
| 2 | 29 | TD |
| 3 | 24 | TD |
| 4 | 1 | failed 4th down |
| 7 | 30 | 4th down |
| 3 | -5 | interception |
(7-ON-7 PASSING)
Palmer 1-of-2, 5 yards
Hart 3-of-3, 16 yards
Cassel 1-of-2, 28 yards
Leinart 3-of-3, 31 yards
