When I frequently mention the USC offensive line being a weakness, there is another issue that goes hand-in-hand with it and doubles the Trojans’ dilemma. Kedon Slovis hates pressure. When I say that, I mean defensive pressure. He’s not especially mobile and has played behind a porous line his first two seasons. This leads to injuries and happy feet. A troubling aspect of spring I’ve … Continue reading An Issue Continues With Kedon Slovis

WINNERS USC baseball team Stuck it to Mike Bohn and Co. with a public statement in support of women’s soccer team. That never happened to Lynn Swann. Baseball will be on double-secret probation for the rest of the season. USC basketball A slap on the wrist from NCAA, Coach Bohn pretended there was no wrongdoing and Memphis guard Boogie Ellis will transfer in. Warning: Has … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Winners And Losers Of The Week

Former USC offensive lineman Chris Brown has died, according to Clay Helton. He was 24. Brown attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles and enjoyed his best season in 2017, when he was All-Pac-12 honorable mention and the USC offensive lineman of the year. He played left guard that season. Brown is the second recent offensive lineman to die in the past year. Max Tuerk … Continue reading Former USC Offensive Lineman Chris Brown Dies

The USC spring game confirmed a lot of suspicions about the Trojans. The quarterbacks were sacked at least eight times. The defensive line won the line-of-scrimmage battles. Three of the four scholarship QBs also threw interceptions, including Kedon Slovis. The offense had five turnovers. Defensive end Drake Jackson was dominating in the time he was on the field, knocking down a Slovis pass and sacking … Continue reading USC Spring Game Report

The spring game is today. Hurray! You have two options: Buy a ticket or watch on the Pac-12 Network at 1 p.m. JB Long and Yogi Roth are the announcers, which means you won’t hear any criticisms. The USC baseball team courageously offered a statement of support Friday for the women’s soccer team not getting the chance to host as many fans as the spring … Continue reading USC Saturday Buzz: It’s Game Day!

It’s been a crazy week. USC is in Week 3 of a fairly uneventful spring practice but I’ve posted a lot less this week because I’ve spent so much time dealing with sources ranging from USC security to football players. They all want to talk about the homeless guy. Everyone seems to have their own story where they interacted with him and I won’t list … Continue reading If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column

It is Thursday and USC still has tickets available in three sections for Saturday’s scrimmage at the Coliseum. No fans since 2019 and still tickets available and only 5000 are allowed to attend? I’m sure most of you are not surprised by this fact. Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Tickets Available!

A USC football player sent me this photo that is making the rounds among the athletes. It is allegedly the person that was returning punts two weeks ago and posing as a football player at USC practice. Continue reading The Next Chapter In Story That Won’t Go Away

It’s funny how things happen by chance. I haven’t heard much about Lynn Swann, then he attended the Masters last week. And Monday I came across this show Peyton Manning does for ESPN+, and he apparently does a whole episode on Swann (Heaven help us!). No questions about USC, I’m guessing. I didn’t watch but Swann looks happier than the time he missed the Board … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Lynn Swann Surfaces Again

USC is going to allow 5,000 fans at its spring game on Saturday at the Coliseum. The 5,000 will consist of family members, guests and fans. Football season ticket holders will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets.    How many season-ticket holders will want to go? That’s a key question. Now here’s the other twist: Clay Helton has turned the spring game into a glorified … Continue reading USC Allows 5,000 To Spring Game

If you missed Friday’s newsletter, there was a look back at USC’s 15-15 tie with Cal in 1974 that featured some memorable comments from John McKay. :Our team ought to listen when a coach tells them that the other team can beat them,” McKay said. “This is a team playing in the past, without a future.” There are more McKay quotes in the newsletter link, … Continue reading USC Sunday Buzz: When John McKay Didn’t Hold Back

What a shock the offensive line struggled today in scrimmage-like situations against the defense. Well, not really. But then again, four starters return. So should they get dominated? The alibi will be that they are learning a new system from offensive line coach Clay McGuire. But that ignores the real limitations from this group. It will be a team weakness next season, no matter what. Continue reading An Obvious Fact Arises At USC Spring Practice

Clay Helton said today he wants a No. 1 tailback to emerge in 2021. “We’d love to have a guy that can touch the ball from 22-25 times per game and a second guy comes in to spell him with 12-15 touches,” Helton said. If I went based on what USC coaches tell me about spring practice performances, I would nominate Texas-transfer Keaontay Ingram for … Continue reading USC Wants A No. 1 Tailback

The L.A. media is not interested in the football imposter story but it’s picking up nationally. Ironically, this is about the only way USC makes national headlines in football these days. And now Washington State coach Nick Rolovich is commenting. I got sideline passes for him if he can get on that charter in mid September. https://t.co/Dd1PlV9Jlt — Nick Rolovich (@NickRolovich) April 9, 2021 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js … Continue reading Saturday Buzz: USC Finally Makes National Impact

I hear there is a photo floating around of the football imposter using a jacuzzi at the McKay Center. “He’s pretty young looking and could pass as a college student,” said a member of USC campus security, who did not wish to be identified. “He is about 5-10 but I heard he wore No. 87 at practice. The guy who really wears 87 is 6-4, … Continue reading If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column

This football imposter is becoming more and more amazing. I’ve had several conversations with a USC campus security source the past 2 days and was told the following based on conversations with the imposter: 1.) The imposter actually shared a jacuzzi at the McKay Center with other football players. 2.) He ate at the football dining facility without issue. 3.) He also slept for some … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Imposter Did Even More Than Thought

USC has been telling its fans that the season-ticket deadline was March 26th. But fans who did not renew — and even fans who did renew — have been getting this message in April: I suspect the deadline will go right up to the first game of the season, especially when demand is so low. Maybe there is a double-secret deadline. Meanwhile, Petros Papadakis has … Continue reading Morning Buzz: Just What Is A USC Season-Ticket Deadline?

The New York Jets Jets traded QB Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers for a 2021 sixth-round pick and second- and fourth-round picks in 2022, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Continue reading Former USC QB Sam Darnold Traded

With so much feedback Friday about the imposter story, I had to call by campus security for some more details. Here is how the incident was recorded in the security log. So the imposter apparently showed up at the McKay Center and found his way inside to the locker room. He then grabbed a helmet, jersey and cleats. At this point, give him credit for … Continue reading USC Saturday Buzz: More Details On The Imposter

Be sure to sign up for the USC newsletter. Today, it includes a UCLA coach liking my story about the imposter who showed up at practice yesterday and a long-time USC booster giving up his season tickets. Three-star offensive lineman Dylan Lopez of Bradenton, Fla., has decommitted from USC. And now for some history: I was amazed to find out Linda Ronstadt performed a concert … Continue reading USC Friday Afternoon Notes

Some people don’t believe me when I say USC is a circus. I got a call last night from a USC campus security source telling me what happened at Thursday’s spring football practice at Howard Jones Field. And you will find it hard to believe. A guy showed up off the street who wanted to be a walk-on and found his way inside the McKay … Continue reading If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column

Defensive tackle Ishmael Sopsher, the transfer from Alabama, has been getting around USC recently on a portable scooter after undergoing surgery for compartment syndrome. He will miss spring practice. Meanwhile, I’ve heard some glowing early reports about the attitude of tailback Keaontay Ingram, the transfer from Texas, and coaches fully expect a significant role for him. USC is deep at tailback (Vavae Malepeai, Stephen Carr, Kenan … Continue reading Wednesday USC Notes: Quick Look At Transfers

I’ll have more on basketball, but football demands some coverage here. OK, maybe one basketball note: I guarantee you Coach Bohn had some mixed emotions when UCLA won Tuesday night. It added to the Pac-12’s financial haul (more than $35 million for the payout period) but he was pretty bitter when Mick Cronin left Cincinnati for UCLA and that had to hurt watching him get … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Plenty To Say About Football