The electronic crowd noise on Howard Jones Field this morning was loud enough to wake up the entire campus.
- Just like last week, the Trojans will go through two "Thursday" practices thanks to the extra day of preparation for Washington.
DB Josh Shaw (pictured) is the defensive story of the week. He is moving from safety to cornerback. "I'm getting back into the swing of things," Shaw said. "Any way to help contribute to this team, I'm all for it."- The challenge with corner is "you're out there on the island," said Shaw. He embraces the competition that creates, especially in practice with guys like Robert Woods and George Farmer, who Shaw has been battling since they were kids.
- "The island" has exposed CB Torin Harris at times this season, but DB coach Marvin Sanders is not worried about the junior's confidence. "You have to have that belief that you are better than the guy across from you," he said. "Torin is a very confident person. I promise you, you'll start seeing the little things that he's improving on."
- Marvin Sanders jokingly encouraged the media to convince Kiffin to let Marqise Lee play both ways. He would relish the opportunity to coach the uber-talent, but he'd be surprised if he ever gets the chance. "If coach wants to offer him up, I will take him," Sanders said. "It's not happening, but he is one of the best conditioned athletes you will see anywhere."
- On the defensive line, Leonard Williams started over Antwaun Woods at defensive tackle last week based on performance. The true freshman is second on the team with 6 tackles for loss and 4 sacks.
- When J.R. Tavai returns to health, he could take snaps at both defensive end and defensive tackle. With the emergence of Morgan Breslin at end, depth is not as big of an issue there as during fall camp.
- Andre Heidari had not missed a kick this season until Utah when he missed three (one was saved by a penalty). "Andre had a really bad Thursday," Kiffin said his kicker's struggles were mental. "Andre did not handle it very well. He was kinda yelling at the fans...got really upset...showed some emotion on the sidelines."
- Heidari explained that he had a mechanical issue with his plant foot, but he did let the crowd get in his head. "I just got distracted. I wasn't really in the right mindset for the game."
- Zach Banner, who is redshirting this season, will make the trip this week to his home state. USC can travel 70 players, and with the scholarship losses, there are extra spots for walk-ons or redshirts. "The good thing about the sanctions is that Zach gets to go on a trip home," Kiffin said with a smile.
- Lane Kiffin was asked about calling plays as the head coach today and told an interesting story about a conversation he had with Pete Carroll upon taking the Raiders job. "He said the worst thing I could do was give that up because the players feel that from you and the relationships it creates. That's kind of always sat in the back of my head when I thought about it."
- Here's the rest from Lane Kiffin...
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