As an unseasonably cold August wears on, the Trojans practiced deep into the night.
- The injuries continue to pile up. Most notably, LB Marquis Simmons had to have his appendix removed tonight.
- Demetrius Wright (toe), Kevin Graf (shoulder) and Marc Tyler (groin) were all removed from practice early. Ronald Johnson's back is worn down with all the extra reps, so he was given a night of rest before tomorrow's scrimmage.
- Stanley Havili sported a yellow jersey for a portion of practice, which means no touching. He dislocated his shoulder last night, had it popped back in on the sidelines by the doctors and then returned immediately to the drill. I would have been out 2-4 weeks. Needless to say, Havili is tougher than me.
- RB coach Kennedy Pola breathes fire and discipline. Expect that unit to be greatly improved.
- Turnovers were an issue tonight. "We've got to take care of the ball, all of us on offense, or its going to be a long year," Kiffin said to the huddled media after practice. Whenever a QB throws a pick or the ball is put on the ground, the offending player is forced to run a lap. Matt Barkley, Allen Bradford, Dillon Baxter and Markeith Ambles all took the jog of shame today.
- As a unit, the offense was forced to run wind sprints after a long practice, so the message was clear.
- On the positive side, the defense is forcing turnovers! Brian Baucham, Nickell Robey and Torin Harris were all singled out for having great practices. However, Kiffin says it's too early to handicap the battle for the second corner spot.
- It's also too early to wager a guess on the Devon Kennard/Chris Galippo middle linebacker battle, according to LB coach Joe Barry. "They are both pushing each other in a very positive way," Barry said.
- Quote of the night: "Regardless of who becomes the starting mic linebacker, Chris [Galippo] is the one guy that I've been dual training at all three positions because in an emergency situation, he's the one guy that I really feel comfortable putting that load on," Joe Barry. Considering how thin the linebacking corps is, that's a scenario that could easily play out.
- With Nick Perry out, Derek Simmons moved from defensive tackle to end. He's built more like an inside guy, but Kiffin believes that the Pac-10 has become more of a power running league, so he wants an over sized front four.
- With all the time spent on special teams (and there has been a ton of it), punt returner is an interesting competition. "That's a hard transition from high school to college because in high school returners take it and they go all over the place and they are better than everybody else. At this level, you've got a lot of fast players that you are playing against," Kiffin said. Judging by that comment, you'd have to give the edge to Ronald Johnson because he has much more experience than Dillon Baxter, Robert Woods, Curtis McNeal and Nickell Robey.
- Staying on special teams, Joe Houston has nosed in front in the kicking battle. Saturday's pressurized scrimmage will be much more telling than practice though.
- The 2010 roster has one more addition. Walk-on K.C. Pola has joined the team. He'll play fullback like his father Kennedy did. He'll also wear #43 at USC like his cousin Troy Polamalu did.
- Here is your photo gallery for the night.
- And of course, a word with the head coach...
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