Pete
Carroll might have moved on, but Ricky Rosas--who was the "Special
Assistant to the Head Coach" during the final few years of Carroll's tenure--still
makes appearances in the Trojan football offices and at practice.
The 4-foot-8, 100-pound Rosas gained national attention
while helping out the Trojans. He is developmentally
disabled as a result of juvenile cancer, but he made a 90-minute bus ride from
his home in East L.A. to USC nearly each day for those past few seasons to perform
various duties for the Trojan football program, including handing out water at
practices and running errands for the coaches.
He is now a 21-year-old sophomore at
His academic schedule has somewhat limited his ability to
get to USC as often as the past few years, but he still shows up to help whenever
he can...still taking that long bus ride.
And he's truly excited about the new coaching staff--he got
to know new USC head coach Lane Kiffin during Kiffin's first tour of duty at
Troy--and the 2010 Trojans.
"The coaches are great guys and I'm glad they're here," said
Rosas, as he prepared to go out to today's spring practice. "I'm looking forward to another great season. I can't wait.
The team looks good. They all
look like they've gotten better. And the
new players are everything people said they'd be."
Rosas has a message for Trojan fans: "I want to thank all of them for supporting
me in everything I have done here. USC
means the world to me and everybody here means everything to me. They're like family to me."
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