Thoughts from Thursday's practice, through the eyes of USCRipsIt...
- With an interception by linebacker Malcolm Smith during 7-on-7 drills, the defense captured the victory during an extremely spirited, hard-hitting workout on the first Turnover Thursday of Spring Practice 2009. "A lot of nice things happened today," Coach Carroll said in the post-practice team huddle. "We're in Day 3 and we're already playing game situations -- that's awesome."
- Matt Barkley led an 11-play, 38-yard drive that ended with a 28-yard Joe Houston field goal during a mini controlled scrimmage to close out practice. Barkley went 4-of-7 during the game simulation, but his most impressive work came during 11-on-11 team drills, when he threw a perfect deep fade to wideout Ronald Johnson before smoothly rolling out, avoiding the blitzing safety and jumping to throw to fullback Adam Goodman in the flat for a long pickup.
- Aaron Corp recorded several scrambles for long gains on broken pass plays Thursday, flashing mobility that often caught the defense out of position. "I haven't seen a quarterback run that fast!" Coach Carroll said after one run.
- On one of the highlight plays of the day, Mitch Mustain connected with wideout Damian Williams, who soared over the cornerback for a stunning catch. Offensive coaches and players wildly sprinted down the field to rejoice with Williams.
- The competitive juices were flaring up throughout the day, but they reached a crescendo during the 9-on-7 run-oriented period, when the offensive and defensive players partook in a back-and-forth battle of machismo. Between nearly every snap, the two sides rumbled, trash-talked and burst into a mosh pit in a display of energy and excitement presumably brought on by Thursday being the first day in shoulder pads this spring.
- Players took full advantage of the shoulder pads Thursday, as big hits were scattered all over the field -- and even the quarterback Corp took a jarring hit on a fumbled snap during 9-on-7 drills. One of the most crushing blows came during team period when cornerback Brian Baucham and defensive end Nick Perry combined to level fullback D.J. Shoemate on the right sideline.
- Tailback C.J. Gable had several big rushes Thursday, but none bigger than a touchdown-scoring cutback run to the left to close out the 9-on-7 period and incite a crazy celebration by the offense.
- Also, on one play in team period, Gable posted a huge block on a blitzing linebacker that allowed Mitch Mustain to step up in the pocket and complete a 25-yard pass to Brice Butler down the left sideline.
- The offense utterly dominated the 10-play 11-on-11 blitz period, winning 9-1.
- Former All-American center Ryan Kalil, who played for the Trojans in 2003-06, attended practice.
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