FOOTBALL

USC Saturday Buzz: What Is Darwin Barlow’s Future?

It’s not logical to make comparisons between now and 15 years ago.

For example, USC had Matt Leinart, Mark Sanchez and John David Booty on the roster in 2005. That wouldn’t happen today. The transfer portal has turned college football into perpetual free agency, for better or worse.

And I wonder today what USC tailback Darwin Barlow thinks his role will be next season?

Travis Dye is No. 1. Austin Jones came to USC to play and improve his NFL draft stock.

I might be in the minority but I thought Brandon Campbell showed he could be in the mix off very limited carries last season. Raleek Brown probably fills a different role as a receiver/back type but he is a five-star and probably expects to play.

So how can everyone be happy? I think Barlow is affected most because he probably thought a month ago he might start next season.

Will he go through spring practice? Everyone gets to play in the spring so what would he learn from that? He’s got a lot of thinking to do.

  • The running back additions had one massive effect: If nothing else, USC made Oregon and Stanford weaker, right?

107 thoughts on “USC Saturday Buzz: What Is Darwin Barlow’s Future?”

    1. Good point. We need someone well over 390 pounds…
      #IHearWe’reLookingAtChip
      P. S.
      We really need to hear Ed’s “theory on Darwin”. He could make such a wonderful mess of that…..

      Liked by 3 people

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    2. Owns, the USC fans are blocking. They are blocking out the fact the O line sucks because they are giddy about the skill players. They are convinced that defense and offensive line will be okay.
      We hired Lincoln Riley but we expect Harry Potter to show up and wave the wand saying linous blockulus and we will win

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      1. I’m glad Owns is alive, too — and I was happy to find out he’s planning to enroll at USC’s School of Gynecology …..
        #…OnceTheInjunctionsRunOut

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  2. From now on we need every post to include something about (1) we need more linemen and (2) Scott is becoming overly critical.
    People can talk about other stuff —but they have to talk about those two things first…
    #I’mGonnaAskJoeBidenToMandateIt

    Liked by 3 people

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      1. I always believed Sark influenced him greatly and was the key force for Sanchez leaving early….Sark was leaving for Washington. It was a mistake as it generally is. My heart still aches for Mike Williams whose career was ruined by his youth and naivete and a greedy recruiter.

        Liked by 3 people

    2. On the roster 2005-06. He joked a while back about when they were preparing for Vince Young, that he was too slow to be Vince so they put a RB to play QB. And still, Young was unstoppable.

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. As brilliant as Pete was on defense he never came up with the right schemes to combat the Zone Read. His final solution [safeties WAIT for the run to materialize and tackle past the line of scrimmage] was a compromise that has hurt him till this day.

        Liked by 3 people

      2. however I still believe Young’s knee was down on the final drive that stole the Natty from USC…. of course, if Bush had been showing off, he wouldn’t have set up the opportunity.

        Liked by 5 people

  4. There will be some healthy competition at RB because Barlow and Campbell are really good backs. I wouldn’t be shocked if either one became the main guy. Remember Keontay Ingram gained 1560 yards in his 1st 2 years at Texas(that’s almost 800 yards a year) and then he got beat out by a freshman in his junior year. I think that RB spot is wide open.

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    1. Dye it is.
      Plus: He will instantly become A — [and maybe “THE”] Team Leader on offense. He is extremely charismatic & well spoken.
      #HeAlsoHasAsGoodOrBetterHandsThanAnyOfOurReceivers

      Liked by 4 people

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      1. Dye runs hard: full head of steam, hits tacklers, etc. Enjoyed watching him play at OU. Hope he has a great year at USC.

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  6. I could be wrong but I still think Caleb Williams is coming to SC. With a great offensive mind and QB developer like Lincoln Riley(whom he already has a great relationship with) and all the great RB’s and receivers SC is bringing in, this is becoming a QB’s dream. He’d have to be crazy to go somewhere else. I’m sure they are telling him that they will bring in other O-Linemen and also have many good O-Linemen coming back from a good O-Line last year.
    Like I said, this is becoming a QB’s dream. If he decides to go somewhere else, I’m sure there will be many great QB’s that will jump into the transfer portal just to become part of this dream. Either way they will have a great QB. With the players they have on offense and the ones that are still coming, I think Miller Moss could become outstanding. Moss is better than Stetson Bennett. He certainly was better in high school.

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    1. Lincoln is smart. Lincoln is a winner. Lincoln has a “Plan B” if Caleb doesn’t come to USC.
      [Has anyone else noticed Caleb plays with purple nail polish on both hands? We could be getting a Grade A eccentric at QB —which, after, Helton and Harrell is not exactly what we need or want]…..

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      1. I’ll take Caleb even with his nail polish. Lincoln Riley knows exactly what he is getting because Williams has already played under him for one year. But if he goes elsewhere, some other great QB will transfer in.

        Liked by 3 people

  7. Sorry to bring politics into this wonderful Saturday…but… I just listened to Biden and he sounds very close to declaring war on…… Viet Nam.

    Liked by 2 people

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      2. the democratic media foisted that retard on us and all the gullible democrats just voted as they were told.

        has anyone noticed that democrats have become the new nazis? glad to do whatever BS they are fed by the mass media complex.

        Liked by 3 people

      1. Cara,
        I’m doing what I can to generate traffic on a mellow Saturday….but in ways that probably give Scott a knot in his stomach….
        #I’mAMixedBlessing

        Liked by 3 people

      6. Isn’t Jill’s PhD in education? The only PhDs I’ve known who want to be call “Dr” are either education PhDs or Social Work PhDs.

        Liked by 3 people

      1. “Admiral Corn Pop’s navy is trapped in the deep end of the pool …. they are without supplies and morale is low….”
        #”….They’llBeWaterloggedByMidnight!”

        Liked by 1 person

  8. They say that it is down to 2 schools for Caleb Williams: 1) USC 2) LSU. Both schools are on the semester system. That means that to participate in spring ball Williams will have to enroll somewhere around January 28(it’s January 28 for SC). So if it is really between those 2 schools, we should know his decision next week.

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    1. If not….. let’s get another guy.
      Caleb is really good —but we can’t be strung along by one player — it’s not in the best interest of Riley or his program.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. I would think that if Caleb doesn’t make a decision by January 28(which would mean that he couldn’t participate in spring ball) Riley would go in another direction. But I would also think that Brian Kelley over at LSU will do the same. If he waits too long to make a decision, he may end up playing at Weber State.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. Caleb’s dad says their priority is NFL development and not NIL. Brian Kelly never developed any NFL QB talent at Notre Dame. LSU’s new OC is from Cincinnati. Lincoln Riley and USC hands-down. Fight on SC in 22✌️

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      1. To me, “There will be Blood” the best movie of the last 20 years. I know there’s other movies I’m not thinking of. “The Revenant” was a good one.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. I love you Charles but may I disagree? Americans think they have to say “Oh, fuck me, Daniel Day-Lewis is so amazing” but there’s always somebody who deserves the best acting award more than he does (that year it was asshole George Clooney for Michael Clayton).
        And to show you what I mean, after losing dipshit Clooney said, “Oh Daniel –you are so amazing. You show us how it’s done.”
        [The only more overrated actor is Tom Hanks —who now thinks he really fought in World War Two and orbited the moon…and is happy to read the scripts Big Pharma gives him urging us to get boosters every other month]…..
        #ILikeHowMuchThisPostSoundsLikeTalkRadio

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  10. Unless I miss my guess, USC has to agree to a transfer. So Riley knows who’s coming. Like Owns keeps asking, who’s blocking might be what Caleb Is asking before he signs.

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    2. If that’s the question Caleb’s asking, Riley should be up front and say “no one.”
      #”Oh,LookAtTheLittleBabyWhoWants5GuysProtectingHim!”

      Liked by 1 person

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  11. wolf stirring up his witches brew of discontent…growing up in the 40’s-50’s…I was delighted to just make the teams, and work my way up…guess I was content until my work was rewarded, I felt I was owed nothing,just had the opportunity to improve.

    Liked by 2 people

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  12. Scott Wolf (or someone) please explain to me Caleb Williams’ background. He went to HS in Washington DC, but I’ve read he’s from Dallas. The father seems to know what he’s doing … he’s talking to Pete Thamel, but not doing on-the-record interviews. In no way, can you compare Mr Williams to LeVar Ball.

    Liked by 3 people

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      1. I’ve seen some comments from Bryce Young’s father … very smart and restrained. I see Carl (?) Williams as being the same.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. that lighten up jazz is what enabled that guy who screwed sc football, whose name we no longer utter,and he is about to continue in a state in the deep s/e…

        Liked by 1 person

    1. There is ample data (PFF, etc) that the USC O-line was pretty good last year. To the eye test, they run-blocked pretty well and the pass protection was pretty good. A fair number of O-linemen return from the group.

      The defense was indeed deplorable. If Grinch can get them up to #40 in the country, then USC wins a lot of games in 2022. He’s worked such magic since 2016, so I’m thinking the defense will be “pretty good” in 2022.

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      4. Well…I believe one of our favorite trolls proved they were produced by ESPN and starred O. J. Simpson and Barbara Streisand in old “Space Patrol” helmets….
        #TheBarrenMoonscapeWasReallyTheUCLALawLibrary

        Liked by 3 people

    3. Regret this comment. I don’t want to insult any Trojans that are gay or have family members or friends that are.

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  16. Would you fucking idiots stop talking about the USC Offensive Line. The line was much better than expected last year and if you look at any of the statistics/metrics, was one of the top offensive lines not only in the PAC 12 but nationally. They return 6 lineman who started multiple games last year and brought in the highest graded offensive lineman in the Portal. They also hired one of the best offensive line coaches in the nation. Please do your homework and STFU talking about the USC Offensive Line. They will be a strength of the team. The USC offense will be one of the best and most explosive in the country. Speed at every position and with the best offensive mind in the country calling plays, we will drop half a hundred on at least half of the teams on the schedule.

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  17. The 2005 QB situation is not similar.

    You would have to compare it to 2007 when USC had that infamous SI cover photo with all of their tailbacks standing side by side. If I remember, USC had 10 scholarship RB’s on the team. Pete Carroll simply let them compete week to week to see who wanted the job. Those who couldn’t keep up simply transferred out – e.g. Broderick Green, Emmanuel Moody.

    #JustLetThemCompeteAndLetTheChipsFallWhereTheyMay

    Liked by 3 people

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      3. Drev probably wasn’t “that bad.” I’m thinking the Tee Martin/Tyson Helton/HC CH/Harrell connection was just so overwhelming that Drev couldn’t produce a decent product.

        Anyway, I think Drev’s best days are behind him and the UCLA line will be average at best. More interestingly, 57% of UCLA’s catches have portalized (Cota, Dulcich, etc), so DTR will need to develop a whole new crew of WR’s.

        Like

    1. Ancient rule for kickers — probably best not to take that extra half second to set up for your kick when you’re in your own endzone ….
      #BetterToGetOff25YardQuickKickThanGetBlocked

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. Please add — “like” after “looks” —I’m thinking of suing this site for not allowing edits…
        #How’sAGuySupposedToBeImpulsiveInThisSystem?

        Like

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