Thoughts from Friday's practice, through the eyes of USCRipsIt...
- During a cool early-morning practice to close out the bye week, the Trojans conducted a spirited 56-play scrimmage that saw several impressive plays and pleased the coaching staff. "That was an awesome morning and a perfect way to cap off the bye week on a big note," Coach Carroll said.
- Freshman cornerback Torin Harris had another standout performance during Friday's scrimmage, as he blocked a field goal and returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the day.
- On three drives, Matt Barkley went 11-for-18 for 148 yards, one touchdown and an interception. His scoring strike was a well-thrown 20-yard pass to Brice Butler, who made the catch of the day when he soared through the air for a one-handed grab in the end zone.
- Kicker Jordan Congdon connected on a 43-yard field goal, wideout Garrett Green had a seven-yard touchdown and receiver Ronald Johnson recorded a five-yard TD catch for the scrimmage's other scores.
- Mitch Mustain logged quite a scrimmage as he continues to impress the coaches. In his two nearly flawless series, the junior quarterback went 10-for-12 for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Mustain exhibited extraordinary command of the offense, as his drives went 62 and 81 yards, respectively. "Mitch is doing his thing and making a big move," Coach Carroll said. "He's picked up his game considerably and we're definitely noticing."
- Even though practice started at dawn and finished before 8 a.m., the energy and tempo was noticeably high. Players hopped around with pep and talked plenty of trash, most likely to offset the brutal early-morning wake up. "Nice play call!" linebacker Chris Galippo sarcastically yelled out after Matt Barkley executed a QB sneak for a first down. "Let's go O, put this in the end zone!" tailback Joe McKnight exclaimed on the offense's first drive.
- Aaron Corp went 2-for-3 for 33 yards in his one series.
- The leading receivers, each with three catches, were: wideout Ronald Johnson (17 yards), fullback D.J. Shoemate (37 yards) and receiver David Ausberry (57 yards).
- Because the workout was conducted without pads, the running game was minimal, as tailback Curtis McNeal was the leading rusher with 13 yards on two carries.
- Already on the recruiting trail, running backs coach Todd McNair was absent from Friday's workout to get a head start on his busy weekend of travel.
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