- USC greats Mark Sanchez and Lawrence Jackson were invited to speak to the team this morning at practice. If you scroll down to the next post, you can see a photo gallery.
- As you can imagine, hearing from NFL stars like Sanchez means a lot to the guys. "Shout out to Mark Sanchez for coming back to where it all began and cluing us in on what it is all about to be a Trojan," LB Dion Bailey tweeted after practice.Â
- Jackson had some advice for the few healthy Trojans getting extensive reps this spring. "You have to take this opportunity and squeeze every drop out of it," he said.
- As for the current Trojans, Christian Tupou missed practice today after banging up his knee Tuesday, but he is expected to participate in some capacity Saturday, according to Lane Kiffin.
- JC transfer Jeremy Galten went down with a knee injury, which will be evaluated today. "That would hurt our ability to practice to lose another offensive linemen," Kiffin said.Â
- Our spring storyline later today will profile the battle for the second safety spot next to T.J. McDonald, but the secondary on the whole looks like a much more solidified unit than last season. "We've got to step it up from last year," said McDonald. "I want to be that group that's out there making plays and is proud to be DBs." Â
- McDonald is the undisputed leader of the secondary and he has raised his game to another level this spring. "I've got a lot more swagger than I had last year as far as knowing the game and being able to jump routes and take chances. I'm a lot more comfortable taking those chances because more often than not, they will pay off for me."
- McDonald has an All-American pedigree as the son of Tim McDonald, who had a great NFL career as well. (Note: We'll have a video interview with McDonald Sr. on USCTrojans.com coming soon.) Tim is back in school after years as a player and coach to get his degree. "I get to stay around my family a little bit more and talk football with him," said T.J. about seeing dad around campus. "He did take one class that I took, so I helped him out with some notes."
- LB Will Andrew continues to make plays. He caught notice earlier this spring with a string of interceptions and stripped Curtis McNeal today.
- WR Kyle Prater casts an impressive figure on the sidelines. He has bulked up this offseason and looks the mold of Mike Williams and Dwayne Jarrett. "He is the one guy we have on our roster of that stature," said Kiffin, but he cautioned that Prater "hasn't done anything yet."
- On a windy day, here is Lane Kiffin (sorry about the bad audio at the end)...
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