USC Football
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USC Football now a Year-Round Obsession
Everybody loves game day. Flagpoles get kicked, cardinal-clad fans enjoy bacon-wrapped hot dogs while tailgating and the Coliseum becomes turbocharged with the adrenaline of tens of thousands of football fanatics.
Apparently, there's love to spare, because it's the middle of April and the other football season is providing just as much excitement as the fall - for better or worse.
The second season starts with recruiting, which turns every casual fan into the Nostradamus of high school football. Suddenly, Joe Random from across the hall takes a break from his essay on the relationship between Homer's "Iliad" and MySpace to tell you why C.J. Gable is going to be the next Troy Polamalu. The information flood caused by Web sites such as www.scout.com and www.rivals.com ensures that USC's football pulse will never flatline.
These recruiting sites are refreshed constantly to show which recruits have made their decisions, which are enrolling in the summer and which ones are already being proclaimed "The Next Reggie."
As we welcome our newest Trojans, we also take part in the annual exodus of our elite players to the NFL Draft. This all comes with the added creepy bonus of grown men salivating over shirtless men running 40-yard dashes. USC's Pro Day had a larger attendance than most basketball games, which is both awe-inspiring and absolutely embarrassing. The joy of every Reggie Bush juke, hop and burst is whittled down to tenths of seconds and a couple bench press reps, and we consume every bit of it.
This year, the NFL Network aired footage from the league's combined workouts in their entirety for the first time. I know this because the hours of coverage prevented me from doing any actual work, and trust me, you haven't truly experienced football until you've seen A.J. Hawk trip over himself during a shuttle drill.
Then, of course, there's Trojan Huddle, the annual spring scrimmage where all our prognostication can either pan out or blow up in our faces. If you were clamoring on and on about how Ryan Powdrell was going to be an impact player on offense, then you've earned bragging rights for the summer. If you were like me, however, and you thought Whitney Lewis was finally going to make an impact, it's back to the message boards.
Pete Carroll's magical run over the past four years has created a passionate thirst for football on campus that absolutely cannot be quenched. I came to this school knowing the team was good and that games would be fun. I'll leave knowing entirely too much about Matt Leinart's nightlife and all the celebrity mayhem that comes along with it.
But is all this good? Is it healthy to have an undying desire to find out if Scott Ware will pan out as a potential seventh-round steal like Matt Cassel a year ago, and if Jamere Holland's track speed will translate on the football field next season? Probably not, but that doesn't mean that there's any change on the way.
If an NFL scout has a higher opinion of Darnell Bing than the majority of analysts, they will know about it.
If Mark Sanchez jams his finger on an Xbox controller in his apartment, they will hear about it.
If LenDale White gets his picture taken at a party, they were probably behind it.
They are USC football fans, and they just can't get enough. The season ended more than three months ago but football is still in the air, and you have them to thank (or blame, depending on your opinion).
Me? I'm just trying to find out if Jovan Bush has signed a letter of intent yet.
Pinkard faces surgery
USC cornerback Josh Pinkard is the latest Trojan facing surgery this spring to repair a sports hernia that has bothered him for the past six weeks.
Pinkard said he will undergo surgery April 18 for the injury and is expected to be out about two months.
"It will affect me as far as not getting reps in the offseason and being in the flow of things but I'll still come back and play for the season," Pinkard said.
The hernia has hindered Pinkard during spring practice but he has attempted to practice anyway. After playing safety and cornerback last season, Pinkard said he will play cornerback next season, especially because he is the Trojans' most experienced player at that position.
"I feel like it's my natural position now," Pinkard said. "I'm getting better like I thought I would be, even though I've been sore."
With Pinkard hurt and Terrell Thomas recovering from torn knee ligaments, sophomores Kevin Thomas and Cary Harris receive most of the playing time. Thomas intercepted two passes in last week's scrimmage at the Coliseum.
Reed hopeful: Tailback Desmond Reed said he was upset by Internet speculation that he would not play next season. Reed stretched a nerve in his knee when he tore ligaments against Notre Dame and there is no time table for his return.
"There's a slight chance I might not play but I'm not sure," Reed said. "I'm very surprised people are saying I won't be back. But I read on the Internet before I had my surgery that I already had three operations. I think I'll be back."
Out for spring: Offensive guard Matt Spanos and tight end Gerald Washington will miss the remainder of spring to concentrate on academics. Washington also has a pulled hamstring. Spanos' departure is significant because he was the starting guard for the first time in his career.
Defensive tackle Travis Tofi is also out for the rest of spring with a sprained foot. Linebacker Dallas Sartz (shoulder) practiced Friday but said he would not participate in Sunday's scrimmage. Linebacker Clay Matthews is also doubtful with a sore groin.
