Written by Dave Dulberg, USC blog contributor
The first morning practice of fall camp was more or less an up-tempo, run-through without pads, coming in at a shade under two and a half hours.
- The injury list has grown: LB Chris Galippo missed practice this morning and will have an MRI on his right shoulder later today. QB Jesse Scroggins was also a no-show and plans to see a hand specialist sometime this week, after spraining a ligament on his throwing hand during Monday's scrimmage. Freshman OG Aundrey Walker (who began practice with the first team O-line for the second straight day) suffered a hip strain during the morning session, although Lane Kiffin didn't believe it was all that serious. S Tony Burnett (ankle) and RB Amir Carlisle (quad) also left practice early.
- Although the last session of summer school ended on Tuesday, sophomore WR Markeith Ambles will be held out of practice until his grades come back.
- Special teams training reigned supreme Wednesday morning, and freshman PK Andre Heidari took full advantage of the extra work. Heidari- who Kiffin said would be the starter after his performance in Monday's scrimmage- made five-of-six attempts inside of 50 yards. The punter job is still up for grabs according to the head coach, as freshman Kris Albarado and redshirt junior walk-on Kyle Negrete vie for the final nod.
- Sophomore return men Nickell Robey and Robert Woods took part in an early morning competition, to see who could catch and hold onto more balls at once without a single drop. Both maintained four with ease, but No.5 ultimately did them in, ending the battle in a draw.
- Kiffin acknowledged that he has spoken to RB Marc Tyler, who is currently not with the team due to off-field behavior. "Nothing has changed, and he is still trying to get himself right." The coach went on to reiterate that there is no timetable for his return to camp.
- Quarterback Matt Barkley was Mr. Efficiency during the two-minute drill. The junior connected on seven-of-eight attempts and drove the offense 70 yards down the field in just over 90 seconds. The drive was capped off by a 10-yard touchdown grab from redshirt senior Brandon Carswell (pictured above).
- Speaking of Carswell, Kiffin lauded the wide receiver for his consistency and work ethic during camp to this point. He even went as far as to dub No.80 "the front-runner for the MVP of camp" through the first week.
- Carswell on his place in USC's talented receiving corps: "I'm not really worried about being talked about or anything like that. I am just trying to go out here and do my job, as well as making sure everybody around is doing there job, so we can win games."
- Today's two-a-day continues under the lights of Howard Jones Field at 6 p.m. Here's the coach after the no-pads portion of practice.
Leave a comment