USC Trojans

2013 NFL Draft: Khaled Holmes

By Jordan Moore on April 27, 2013 10:31 AM | No Comments

NFL Draftee: Khaled Holmes

Round Selected (Overall): 4th round (121st pick)

Team: Indianapolis Colts

USC center Khaled Holmes was selected with the 121st overall pick in the 4th round by the Indianapolis Colts.

The Trojan captain will snap to Andrew Luck if he stays on the ball, but he provides versatility as a former guard at Troy. He is the highest drafted USC center since Ryan Kalil was taken in the 2nd round in 2007.

2013 NFL Draft: Matt Barkley

By Jordan Moore on April 27, 2013 8:43 AM | 1 Comment

USC QB Matt Barkley was selected with the first pick of the 4th round (98th overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles, who traded up to get him. Barkley will be coached by former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly who saw the QB throw for 807 yards and 9 TDs in the last two games against the Ducks.

While Barkley slipped down the draft significantly from where he was projected to go, the all-time Pac-12 TD pass record holder joins the likes of fellow USC QBs Rodney Peete (6th rounder), Paul McDonald (4th rounder), Rob Johnson (4th rounder), Vince Evans (6th rounder) and Pat Haden (7th rounder) who all enjoyed prosperous NFL careers.

Here is a look at what the Eagles are getting in Barkley:

2013 NFL Draft: T.J. McDonald

By Jordan Moore on April 26, 2013 6:20 PM | No Comments

USC All-American safety T.J. McDonald was selected 71st overall in the 3rd round by the St. Louis Rams. He was the second Trojan taken in the 2013 NFL Draft.

McDonald will play for former USC defensive back Jeff Fisher, the head coach of the Rams. He is the highest Trojan safety drafted since Taylor Mays (49th overall) in 2010.

Tim McDonald, T.J.'s dad, was also a USC All-American and drafted by St. Louis. He played one year in that city before the Cardinals moved to Arizona.

T.J. McDonald led the Trojans with 110 tackles in 2012. He had eight career interceptions.

2013 NFL Draft: Robert Woods

By Jordan Moore on April 26, 2013 4:30 PM | No Comments

USC WR Robert Woods was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the second round with the 41st overall pick. He was the first Trojan taken in the 2013 NFL Draft, and he becomes the 477th USC alum selected all-time (more than any other school).

Woods will join the Bills which currently do not have any other Trojans on the roster. He is the highest drafted Trojan receiver since Mike Williams was selected 10th overall in 2005.

He leaves USC as the school's all-time receptions leader and a 2011 All-American.

Dual Meet Info

By Jordan Moore on April 26, 2013 2:59 PM | No Comments

USC is hosting the annual Dual Meet with UCLA at the Loker Track Stadium this Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. PT on campus. Tickets ($10 for adults, $5 for students with ID) can be purchased at the gate in cash.

The live stream will begin at Noon PT. Click here to view the live stream.

Due to the March of Dimes for Babies walk, several streets around campus will be closed until 1 p.m. We recommend that you approach campus from the west side (Vermont Ave.) and use entrance 1 (Exposition and Watt Way), entrance 5 (Jefferson and McClintock), entrance 6 (Vermont and 36th) or entrance 8 (Jefferson and Orchard).

Click here for a Dual Meet preview.

(Photo by Kirby Lee)

Ready, Set, Rivalry

By Jordan Moore on April 26, 2013 2:00 PM | No Comments

Co-written by Sarah Bergstrom and Andie Hagemann, USC blog contributors

The USC-UCLA Dual Meet is a tradition rich in history. Like the other programs at USC, the rivalry match-up with the Bruins is a date that is circled on the calendar every year. Emotions run high as athletes who have competed against each other for years, both in college and elsewhere, look to defend their side of LA. After splitting the meet last season, USC is looking to take down their crosstown rival at Loker Stadium on Saturday (starting at 11 a.m.).

"We've battled each other and have traditionally at the NCAA, conference, and Dual Meet levels," said Ron Allice, Director of Track and Field. "There have been periods of history, in the early years, that USC absolutely dominated, and then UCLA's track program really started to flourish and things changed. It has kind of alternated back and forth. Things started to change because of Title IX. Men's scholarships dropped from 30 all the way down to 12. The women's scholarships went from zero to 18."

This year, the USC men's team is ranked No. 9 and the women's team is ranked No. 23. Both UCLA men's and women's teams are ranked No. 13.

"They are favored this year on both the men's and women's sides," Allice said. "You can be a certain type of team. You can be a Dual Meet team, conference team, or an NCAA team. The setting we have here at USC, a private school with high tuition and the inability to give partial scholarships, hurts us because our depth and balance is not what it used to be. I'm not making any excuses, that is just the way it is."

Though the Bruins are favored, the Trojans are not out of the race yet. In the past, some meets have come down to the performances of non-scholarship athletes. "People do things they don't normally do," said Allice. "There has been a history of people who weren't even supposed to be in the picture making a difference. Someone scores a point in an event they've never done before and we end up winning the meet by one. That's the beauty of the sport, you never know."

Allice thinks the marquee events on the men's side will be the 100m, 200m, 400m and intermediate hurdles. Bryshon Nellum and Aaron Brown (pictured by Kirby Lee), two of this season's biggest stories for the Trojans, will be featured in these events. Nellum currently has the third fastest 200m and 400m collegiate time in the country, while Brown has the fastest 200m and seventh fastest 100m time.

On the women's side, Allice says all the events should be incredibly competitive as the higher number of scholarships allows for a more balanced array of talent in different events.

"We will dominate certain areas and they will dominate certain areas," Allice said. "And in the events where we are both competitive, those events will determine who wins the meet."

Because of the storied rivalry between USC and UCLA, the Dual Meet attracts fans that do not necessarily follow track and field regularly. "There are a lot of people who attend the Dual Meet that normally will not attend meets throughout the course of the year just because of the rivalry," Allice said. "We will get a lot of football-based fans because Marqise Lee is going to jump. If a football player is going to put a pair of shorts and a singlet on and show that he can do something else that will attract a crowd."

With pride and PR's on their minds, the Trojans will take to the track at 11 a.m. at Loker Stadium on Saturday April 27.

Volley for the Environment

By Jordan Moore on April 26, 2013 1:17 PM | No Comments

No. 4 USC women's sand volleyball will prepare for the AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championship by taking on the USA Junior Beach National Team featuring 2012 captain Geena Urango in an exhibition Saturday at Merle Norman Stadium.

Click here for the full story.

The match will be a Zero Waste event with the focus on recycling and composting all garbage so that it does not end up in a landfill. The Women of Troy are doubling down on their environmental commitment by doing a beach cleanup today in Santa Monica at the Annenberg Beach House.

Sam Hirschmann and Kirby Burnham doing their part today.

Not Again Taj

By Jordan Moore on April 26, 2013 11:18 AM | No Comments

USC men's basketball great Taj Gibson seems to save his best dunks for the postseason. He made a name for himself by posterizing Dwyane Wade two years ago, and last night, he abused Kris Humphries (insert Kim Kardashian joke here) en route to a Bulls victory and series lead.

Stronger People, Stronger Athletes

By Jordan Moore on April 26, 2013 11:07 AM | No Comments

By Sarah Bergstrom, USC blog contibutor

The USC-UCLA Dual Meet is this Saturday (April 27) starting at 11 a.m. PT at Loker Track Stadium on campus.

The throwing events included in the sport of track and field are all about strength. When someone pictures a typical hammer thrower, an image of a giant, intimidating and physically strong, comes to mind. Without a doubt, it takes incredible physical strength to power a heavy, metal object through the air for hundreds of feet. However, it's not often that people notice or applaud the mental strength that is also required for these athletes to be successful on the field.

The USC women's throwing squad has a storied history and has continued to be incredibly successful this season. Their dominance has been across multiple events but most notably in the hammer throw where USC has had 12 female athletes score at the NCAA Championships in the past 14 seasons. These women have assuredly been strong, but head throwing coach Dan Lange has learned that good marks always begin with great character.

"I think we are successful because we go out and get the right girls. We emphasize personal development first with the theory that better, stronger people make better, stronger athletes. We've also gotten leadership from some of the better athletes to create a cohesive environment of success," says Lange.

All but one of the top ten male and female hammer throwers in the school's history have been coached by Lange and all but one of the record-holders in men's and women's hammer, discus, javelin and shot put have been coached by Lange as well. This legacy has included international throwers, Olympic throwers, and throwers of all shapes and sizes, but one constant has been the establishment of individual character and strength within his athletes.

Jenny Ozorai fits this description to a T. A two-time All American from Hungary, Ozorai followed in the footsteps of former Trojan greats like Eva Orban, Balazs Kiss, and Julianna Tudja by coming to USC to compete in the hammer throw. Lange says the continued success of recruiting in Eastern Europe can be attributed to the positive reports Hungarian athletes have sent home after coming to school at USC.

According to Lange, the Trojans have had an athlete from Hungary on the squad every year since 1992. Ozorai's success as a Trojan began immediately as she finished sixth and fourth in the hammer throw in her freshman and sophomore seasons at the NCAA Championships, respectively. She also finished 3rd and 2nd at the Pac-12 Championships in those seasons and is second all-time on the female throwers list with a throw of 223-4.

This year, the junior started her season winning the Trojan Invitational with a throw of 204-0. She later won the Cal State LA Invitational with a season best throw of 209-5 (63.84m) winning for the second time in two meets. Her goal is to chase down the top spot on the USC all-time hammer throw list, beat her current collegiate PR of 223-4, and place in the Top 3 at NCAAs.

Continue reading Stronger People, Stronger Athletes.

Hurdling the Pack

By Jordan Moore on April 26, 2013 11:02 AM | No Comments

Written by Andie Hagemann, USC blog contributor

The USC-UCLA Dual Meet is this Saturday (April 27) starting at 11 a.m. PT at Loker Track Stadium on campus.

Breaking records isn't anything new to Reggie Wyatt. During his fours seasons at USC, Wyatt has consistently edged out the competition, proving to be one of the top 400m hurdlers in the country.

As a freshman, the hurdler and sprinter moved into ninth place in USC history with a time of 49.97 in the 400m IH during the Pac-10 Championships. Aside from other accolades during his first year with the USC track and field program, Wyatt earned bronze while representing the United States at the U-23 NACAC Championships.

The immense success for Wyatt was not a case of beginner's luck.

During Wyatt's sophomore and junior seasons, he continued to break records. In 2011, he set a then-personal record in the 400m IH with a time of 49.41 at the Pac-10 Championships. The improvement moved Wyatt to the eighth spot on USC's all-time list. In 2012, he continued his streak of three consecutive seasons as a two-time winner at the USC-UCLA Dual Meet. On Saturday, Wyatt hopes to extend that streak to four.

"This is my last Dual Meet. It has been a great journey and Saturday will be a lot of fun," Wyatt said. "I'm not focusing on the streak. I am going to go out there, go all out and enjoy it."

Hailing from Riverside, the Dual Meet has always held great importance to Wyatt. "Before I even decided to come to USC, I would watch this specific track meet," Wyatt said. "Watching the rivalry then and now being a part of it feels so different. I take it seriously."

Wyatt credits his success throughout his past four seasons to the high level of competition at USC and within the conference.

Continue reading Hurdling the Pack.