So USC is about to steal safety Cameron Williams, who decommitted from Oregon on Sunday night.
I asked a recruiting source at USC about the other six players from Southern California committed to the Ducks?
“If we wanted them all, we’d get every single one,” he said.
I’ve never doubted USC could get anyone it wanted from Southern California. I guess the real question is why it’s taking longer for USC to come after someone from Bakersfield like Williams than offer three-star recruits from Hawaii and Washington?
Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned how USC has had a habit of offering scholarships and then withdrawing the offers?
Wouldn’t you know it that one of the MVP’s at the USC Rising Stars camp was wide receiver Melquan Stovall. He is the younger brother of Melquise Stovall, who committed to USC three years ago and four months later was sort of encouraged by USC to go elsewhere.
InsideUSC with Scott Wolf 
Where are all the Lotts? I complained(forgive me) last year, Scott, because the safety position at USC has been a pittance of what it once was yet I see them celebrating like they were meeting their obligations. I see the roster and the young players’ potential and am encouraged to put it mildly, but they need to come onto the scene in a big way every game!!!!! What I’ve seen for years at this position ailes me! The instincts and first steps getting to the ball were slow and misguided….unacceptable…..gaping shortcomings because the middle of the secondary seems so vulnerable to exploitation! The hitting, from what should be a hitters paradise, is inconsistent if not downright soft! Too many times they have been out of position to be the enforcers and gladiators they’re supposed to be…omg…have we settled into talent and a system that can’t produce anymore Lotts? It pains me!!!! Therefore, anything the coaches and players can do to alleviate my suffering lol within reason is aok with me…..recruiting, game planing, scheming, coaching whatever it takes omg please! Just fix it…I said last year Biggie should become a safety but he and his dad say otherwise…ok…down with that to a point…running a 4.5-40 in a straight line is no way to justify because corners rarely run forward in coverage but rather back and sideways and every other angle known to mankind, so the idea that just because you can run 4.5 in a straight unchallenged setting doesn’t translate to the real deal….I’m a big fan of Biggie Marshall and he has a ton of character and dedication but his positioning on the field corner or safety lingers as a question for me.
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Thats Pendergast and Ronnie Bradford.
They aren’t getting any of the DBs to play up to their potential.
Put Tell in a defense at Miami or Wisconsin.
Put Marshall in a defense with Stanford or FSU.
The results would be higher in my opinion.
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Stephan,
It is called coaching. When you have great players talent wise, the only thing left is coaching. The db coach is not up to snuff. Would you allow a corner to mouth off all game long? Would you not want to put your best talent at cb if they are playing man to man? Marshall needs to play either rover lber or safety. He is too big and slow for a corner position. But coaching will see that, yet they don’t. SC will get burned by Stanford on the corners because of coaching. Helton should have cleaned house by getting rid of the oline coach and the db coach.
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Can’t say I disagree with anything you just said…and it hurts…the sack numbers and the pressure defense is nullified by the pourous nature….the ball club elevated a safety and rewarded him with years of playing time and even captained him and he didn’t come close to getting drafted because he was so physically limited and had way to high an opinion…I even watched our media play to his whims…..embarrassing….USC is not a care league place on the fields or on the courts…if you come and can’t perform at a high level or live up to expectations, fine. There is no shame…it happens, I know….next man up,because people watch USC to see the best and to perpetuate mediocrity on this stage is not right because they have too many resources.
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And if you need a quick fix, just go back and watch Pete Carrol’s defense after his first year and before the late years…he personally coached the defense when he was initially hired as head coach!!!!! Double duty….Copy that scheme or implement something to assist us now…I saw him take at least one tailback and put him in the secondary for success…means his scheme was good…rarely did you see the opponent take the top off our defense…Now, even with the frantic pressure, teams expose us down the middle and other places with regularity…it’s not a matter of if, but when……yikes….
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Should have gotten rid of the OC Tee Martin as well.
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I agree with the posts today and would like to add my 2 cents. (Some might say scents as in stink and double stink)
In the last decade or more I have noticed more plays being signaled in on defense. I mean full on cards and hand signs. In this same time I’ve noticed the defense being out of position more often. I get the idea of using statistics to guess the opponent’s next move, but how about a better contingency? Nowadays if the defense is playing the run you pass and vice versa. That’s what makes the RPO work so well.
The reason the past defenses were so much better was the players being taught to read the “tells” of the offense. If a player does ‘this’ on the line before the ball is snapped be ready for ‘that.’
Instead we have a gaggle if number crunchers with slide rules telling the defense where to go. Teach reactions defense and let the safety do his job. Also when we blitz more often we get better results.
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This is my opinion, but the most important positions on the team are:
1. oline
2. dline
3. lbers
With those positions and with the best coaching and best talent, you will win 70% of your games. These guys can make up for deficiencies in the backfield on both sides of the ball. We have 2/3rd’s of the need, but the oline coach is lacking. When you play oline, you cannot pus#yfoot around. You need to be physical and determined. They are not. They are soft and indecisive. They will lose games that they should win and plays that they should win. a very good oline will give up a sack per game but also run 350 yards against anyone including bama and ohio st. Until that time, SC will always be a 9-3 team.
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Hard work beats skill, but when elite skill works hard, you can’t beat that.
Will Gomer get his players to work hard ? Can this staff of W. Kentucky boobs coach these kids up ?
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Check me if I’m wrong, but Scottie just threw Clay a bone! He can get any recruit any time he wants? Wow…. Nice concession, scottie
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