Thoughts from Tuesday's practice, through the eyes of USCRipsIt....
- In the first Competition Tuesday of the fall, the defense tried its best to rename it No Competition Tuesday, as it turned in an overpowering performance to capture the final team period 17-13, a veritable blowout in Coach Carroll's scoring system. Regardless of the score, Carroll was satisfied with the effort from both sides during the inaugural competition-themed practice of the season. "Everyday you go against guys who push you to get better and make you who you are," Carroll told the players in the post-workout huddle. "Because of that, we love the guys across from us."
- With Aaron Corp sitting out to nurse a bruised knee, Matt Barkley received nearly all of the snaps, and he made the most of his chances. During 7-on-7 period, Barkley threw two 40-yard touchdowns, one to Damian Williams over the middle and the other to tailback Joe McKnight down the right sideline. "It was a good opportunity for him to dig in play after play," Carroll said of Barkley.
- Throughout 11-on-11 work, the tailbacks logged an overall stunning performance. Curtis McNeal and Allen Bradford had lengthy runs up the middle, while C.J. Gable used a vicious juke to break past a linebacker during the first set of team drills. McNeal and Bradford had additional long runs later in the practice as well. And walk-on transfer Ahmed Mokhtar, who played at Oregon State in 2007, showed off his moves and speed on several long, impressive runs in the practice.
- Wideout Damian Williams dove to catch a Matt Barkley pass for a 25-yard touchdown during team period.
- During red-zone work in team period, 6-1 cornerback Kevin Thomas leaped up and made a terrific pass deflection on a fade route to 6-5 wideout Jordan Cameron in the corner of the end zone.
- Quarterback Mitch Mustain connected with receiver Travon Patterson for a deep completion down the left sideline during team period.
- For the first time this fall, the punt return unit got the spotlight, giving the Trojans' slew of speedy returners a shot at the starting role.
- Former starting linebacker Dallas Sartz attended the practice.
University Southern California Trojans
Wednesday, July 08
Wednesday, July 08
Wednesday, July 08
Monday, July 06
