March 2009 Archives

Check out this slideshow of images from Tuesday's practice, courtesy of USCRipsIt staff photographer Po-He Tseng:

Mitch Mustain throws during individual drills.

Taylor Mays goes up to break up a pass play during individual drills.

Matt Barkley passes over the middle in 7-on-7 work.

Aaron Corp takes the shotgun snap during 7-on-7 period.

Tailback Marc Tyler receives the handoff in team period.

For the first time in more than three months, competition is on the hot seat this afternoon on Howard Jones field.

A competition-themed practice is about to begin, pitting the offense against the defense, position against position and player against player.

"What's Competition Tuesday?" Coach Carroll asked during this afternoon's team meeting. "It's about battling your tail off all day long."

Today's workout comes on the heels of the opening of Spring Practice on Saturday, during which the offense triumphed with an 18-17 victory in the final team period.

"We won the other day, now let's win again today," offensive coordinator John Morton said this afternoon. "The great ones win day after day after day."

We'll return with a report following the helmets-only practice.

Nobo Hamabe, the assistant head coach for the Waseda University American football team in Tokyo, has spent the last year with the Trojans, embedded in meetings, practices and every team activity as he aimed to soak up knowledge of the game to take back to his squad.

Coaches Pat Ruel and Rocky Seto met Hamabe on a trip to Japan in 2007, and soon thereafter set up the year-long exchange program that Hamabe concludes today. Ruel hosted Hamabe at his house for his entire stay in the U.S.

"This has been the greatest experience of my life," Hamabe told the Trojans during this afternoon's team meeting.

Nobo Hamabe, an assistant coach for the Waseda University American football team in Tokyo, speaks to the Trojans this afternoon after his year-long stay with the team comes to a close today.

Here's the schedule for the remainder of Spring Practice. Most practices are open to the public.

The day's business is about to get underway with a special teams meeting in Heritage Auditorium. Here's a look at the schedule for the afternoon:

2:15 p.m. • Punt team meeting
2:45 p.m. • Team meeting
3 p.m. • Offense/defense meeting
3:15 p.m. • Position group meetings
4 p.m. • Competition Tuesday practice

The NFL Network's "Path to the Draft" will be on location at USC during Pro Day on Wednesday, with Paul Burmeister, Charles Davis and Mike Mayock providing the coverage. The show will air Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. on NFL Network.

New season tickets for the 2009 campaign will go on sale online at 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Not only will 100-plus NFL personnel be attending USC's Pro Day on Wednesday, but about 60 media members have been credentialed for the pre-Draft showcase.

And just a reminder, Pro Day is closed to the public (only USC students with a valid ID can attend), though the RipsIt Blog will be bringing you inside the festivities with wall-to-wall inside coverage throughout the day.

A Tuesday's a Tuesday in the world of Trojan football -- no matter if it's the last day of March or the middle of the season.

So what does that mean, exactly? Hello, competition.

"This is officially Competition Tuesday!" Coach Carroll said during this morning's staff meeting, eliciting hearty cheers from his assistants.

Today's practice, the second one of the spring, is open to the public and will begin at 4 p.m. on Howard Jones field. The Trojans will be in only helmets this afternoon before going to half-pads on Thursday.

Business gets started for the players with a punt team meeting at 2:15 p.m.

Always a stickler for classroom success, Coach Carroll took it upon himself today to ensure his players are making the most of their academic pursuits.

Carroll and senior associate athletic director Mark Jackson stopped by two classes this morning -- a sociology class and an exercise science lecture -- to check attendance and see if the handful of enrolled players were attending their classes.

Attendance was 100 percent, and with his mission accomplished, Carroll returned to Heritage Hall to resume watching film and preparing for this afternoon's practice.

"It's good to get out there and show that we really care about schoolwork," Carroll said. "This stuff is very important, and it sends a positive message to our players when we do something like that."

Coach Carroll pops his head in a sociology lecture on campus this morning as he checks to see if his players are attending class.

Coach Carroll looks out over an exercise science lecture this morning, making sure his players are going to class.

Wednesday's Pro Day is lining up to be bigger than ever.

More than 100 NFL personnel are expected to attend the pre-Draft showcase that starts at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, director of football operations Matt Capurro said. Last year, a record 88 NFL scouts and front-office staffers came to USC's Pro Day, so this year's workout should easily surpass that number.

And as an interesting side note, 40 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts have been ordered for Wednesday's breakfast. Football types notoriously love donuts, but 480 of them for about 100 people? Expect to see some sugar-highs at Pro Day.

The following five students have been added to the roster as walk-ons following Saturday's tryout:

- WR Robert Balmeyer
- WR Steve Blackhart
- DL Eric Childs
- WR Joe Gibson

- P Peter Roepke

The coaches just split from an hour-long staff meeting, a bulk of which was spent reviewing Saturday's opening practice by going player-by-player through the depth chart and analyzing their performances during the workout.

Welcome to the new RipsIt Blog! USCRipsIt has now joined with USCTrojans.com to bring you more in-depth info, take you closer to the action and allow to you experience Trojan football even more so than in the past. This is an exciting time, and we're glad you're on board!

As you've already noticed, the RipsIt Blog has changed locations -- but don't worry, the content will remain the same. If anything, it'll only get better as we now have more resources to bring you closer, including upgraded video capabilities (which we plan to take full advantage of for your viewing pleasure).

Also, there's a new one-stop shop for Trojan news on the revamped and relocated USCRipsIt.com, which is now the official web site for Trojan football. This is the place to go for all features, video pieces, news stories, roster updates and the schedule (not to mention the RipsIt Blog).

So, what exactly is changing then? For one, the URL has changed, so please update your bookmarks and such. Also, we've made several improvements to make the site more user-friendly. There's now an RSS feed for the RipsIt Blog and there will soon be a working comments section for all of the Blog entries. Additionally, each blog entry is now more linkable, as you can now link to individual posts instead of only the Blog as a whole.

We hope this will be a positive change for everyone on all fronts, so please send in your feedback with any comments or suggestions. Thanks for your continued support of USCRipsIt.

The NFL Network's "Path to the Draft" will be on location at USC during Pro Day on Wednesday, with host Paul Burmeister and analysts Charles Davis and Mike Mayock providing the coverage.

The show airs Monday through Friday at 3:30 p.m. on NFL Network.

The campaign carries on.

Coach Carroll is not relenting in his efforts to get Will Ferrell on Twitter, as he appeared on ESPN 710's "Mason and Ireland" show for a few minutes this afternoon to talk Twitter (and a little spring football on the side).

Join the movement by checking Carroll's Twitter page and/or e-mailing wewantwillferrellontwitter@gmail.com.

Coach Carroll does an interview with Sam Farmer of the L.A. Times outside of Heritage Hall this afternoon.

The Trojans second practice of the spring will be Tuesday at 4 p.m. on Howard Jones field. The helmets-only practice is open to the public, though all guests must bring an ID to check in and photography is not allowed during the workout.

Coach Carroll and Newtonian physics must have something in common.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. And in Carroll's case, for every pep talk, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Carroll spoke to the 10th-ranked USC women's tennis team before facing No. 8 Cal on Friday. And what happened next?

You guessed it.

The Women of Troy rode the inspiration to a 4-3 upset victory, and women's tennis coach Richard Gallien is singing Carroll's praises today.

"It had an incredible effect," Gallien said of Carroll's five-minute pep talk. "You should've seen the looks on their faces. They were pumped."

On Mondays and Wednesdays through Spring Practice, the Trojans will go through snappy 40-minute strength and conditioning sessions that focus on agility, flexibility, maintaining strength levels gained during winter workouts and preparing for the next practice. Players have the option of attending one of five workouts -- 6:45, 8, 9, 10 or 11 a.m. -- with the first one conducted this morning.

Cornerback Kevin Thomas does the bench press this morning, with wideout Brice Butler spotting.

With more than five months until the next game, you'd think Spring Practice doesn't carry that much weight for the Trojans.

But then you'd be thinking wrong.

"Practice is everything," Coach Carroll said. "This is the only place where we make us. If we practice poorly, we play poorly. It's where we make who we are. It's about today, it's about the next drill, the next step."

That's why a late-March practice can have just as much pop and excitement as a late-season workout -- every practice counts in the bigger picture at USC.

Just a reminder that photography (still or video) is not permitted during any USC practice. You can take pictures following practice.

Take a look at a slew of helpful tips for when you attend practice in this USCRipsIt article from last fall.

Coaches are split into offensive and defensive staff meetings right now as they pore over film from Saturday's practice. It's the first time they've been able to look at fresh practice tape in three months.

Coach Carroll speaks to a "motivation and learning strategies" class on campus this morning.

USC's Pro Day will be Wednesday, when NFL-bound Trojans will audition in front of dozens of scouts and general managers at Heritage Hall and Cromwell Field. The day will begin at 10:30 a.m., when Coach Carroll will welcome the NFL personnel at a meeting in Heritage Auditorium. Body measurements and weight room testing will start at 11 a.m., while on-field running and drills will commence at 11:45 a.m.

Because of relatively new NCAA regulations, the pre-draft showcase is closed to the public. Only USC students with valid IDs, credentialed media and NFL personnel can attend the Pro Day festivities.

Be sure to read Matt Leinart's touching tribute for Ryan Davidson, who passed away last month after a nearly 10-year-long battle with cancer.