Here is how some Trojans are doing at this years NFL combine:
Joe McKnight ran a 4.47 40 yard dash. This was fifth-best among running backs. McKnight had a 10'0" standing broad jump mark and 36.5 vertical leap
Everson Griffen bench pressed 225 lbs. 32 times and ran a 4.66 40, second best time among defensive linemen.
Damian Williams bench pressed 225 lbs. 19 times, fourth best among WRs. Williams also had a 38.0 vertical leap and ran the three-cone drill in 6.79 seconds, eighth best for WRs. He also ran the 40 in the low 4.5 range.
Jeff Byers bench pressed 225 lbs. 33 times, sixth best among offensive linemen.
Anthony McCoy logged the fourth best vertical jump among tight ends with a 35.5, fourth best among tight ends. McCoy also had a 4.79 40 and 19 bench reps.
Charles Brown had a 31.5 vertical leap and 21 bench press reps.
Taylor Mays ran an unofficial 4.24 40 yard dash (video above). Most scouts clocked his 40 at 4.32 seconds. They then changed the official time to 4.43. Mays benched 225 lbs. 24 times and had a 41.0 vertical leap, second best among safeties.
Kevin Thomas benched 225 lbs 19 times, third best among cornerbacks.
Stafon Johnson courageously bench pressed 225 lbs. 13 times. To watch the video, click here.
In news outside the realm of USC, Tim Tebow is at the combine, and NFL scouts report that he is still a virgin.
Taking a look at what to watch for as teams head into spring practices, officially ringing the bell on preparations for the 2010 season. Arizona Spring practice starts: March 5 Spring game: April 10 What to watch: The new coordinators: The Wildcats lost two outstanding coordinators -- Sonny Dykes on offense and Mark Stoops on defense -- and decided... more »
Senior Bowl week has gotten underway in Mobile, Ala., with four Trojans on the South roster. You can watch offensive lineman Jeff Byers, tailback Stafon Johnson, safety Taylor Mays and tight end Anthony McCoy go to work during the week's practices and in the game on Saturday at 1 p.m. on NFL Network, which is airing 10 hours of... more »
For those of you who missed the USC-BC game or would like to watch it again, TrojanWire has you covered.
OFFENSE:
Despite missing 3 starters on offense (RB Joe McKnight, TE Anthony McCoy, and OL Tyron Smith), the Trojans did not miss a beat. Matt Barkley had one of his best performances this season, throwing for 350 yards, 2 touchdown passes, and 1 interception. Damian Williams had a career-high performance, 12 catches for 189 yards. The NFL is calling for Williams, but USC fans are calling for one more year.
DEFENSE:
The defense played tough. Jurrell Casey had a monster performance and Shareece Wright's return was welcomed and a positive impact. Wright had an interception and great pass coverage the whole night.
For those of you who missed the USC-BC game or would like to watch it again, TrojanWire has you covered.
OFFENSE:
Despite missing 3 starters on offense (RB Joe McKnight, TE Anthony McCoy, and OL Tyron Smith), the Trojans did not miss a beat. Matt Barkley had one of his best performances this season, throwing for 350 yards, 2 touchdown passes, and 1 interception. Damian Williams had a career-high performance, 12 catches for 189 yards. The NFL is calling for Williams, but USC fans are calling for one more year.
DEFENSE:
The defense played tough. Jurrell Casey had a monster performance and Shareece Wright's return was welcomed and a positive impact. Wright had an interception and great pass coverage the whole night.
A focused Trojan effort should lead the Trojans to a victory over a Boston College team that plays a conservative pro-style offense, fitting right into what USC defends against the best. The Trojans also possess offensive speed, even without RB Joe McKnight and Tight End Anthony McCoy that Boston College has yet to see this year.
However, getting the Trojans to play focused and passionate in a normal bowl game will be a tall order for Coach Carroll.
Keys to the Game:
Avoid Complacency: Since 2002, the Trojans have been playing in BCS bowls so it is a foreign concept for the Trojan players to be participating in a lower tier bowl to finish the season. Typically, teams in this situation do not play with the focus and passion that is required to beat an opponent who is looking forward to knocking off a top tier program. With four losses including two where they were soundly beaten, the Trojans cannot think for a second that a pedestrian effort will win this game. Couple that with the loss of four big contributors due to academics or NCAA investigation (McCoy, Spicer, Smith and McKnight), Troy has no room for error.
On the flip side, a focused effort should result in a victory to help wash away some of the disappointment of the season.
Stuff RB Montel Harris early: Boston College Running Back Montel Harris has rushed for 1,355 yards this season and accounts for about 70% of BC’s offense when they win. He is a strong straight ahead runner who also possesses good break away speed. When Harris is running well, especially early, it allows BC to play it safe in the passing game and avoid turnovers. It will be interesting to see how SC fares against Harris. BC runs a very simple offense with uncomplicated blocking schemes which should play right into the Trojans hands. Against similar schemes this year, the Trojans were successful stopping the run but those teams didn’t possess a back like Harris.
It will be bad news for the Trojans If Harris runs the ball around 30 times and rushes for over 150 yards. . .
Confuse the BC Quarterback: 25 year-old freshman Quarterback Dave Shiniskie has had a solid year for BC throwing for 1,831 yards with 14 touchdown passes in a run happy offense. However, he has also thrown 13 interceptions and played awful against teams that mixed things up defensively and possessed team speed like the Trojans. Against Virginia Tech and North Carolina, both games that BC fell behind early and had to throw, Shiniskie was 13 for 31 with 6 interceptions and only 1 td pass. He ended up being pulled in the second half of both games. He does not do a good job of throwing the ball away against pressure and will literally throw it up for grabs at times. The BC coaches have been working with him on just taking the sack or throwing it out of bounds but the Trojans should still get opportunities at multiple interceptions if they contain the running game.
*Offensive keys to the game, players to watch and a little inside the locker room info after the break
Disappointment? Distractions? Declining performance? Controversy and allegations? Criticism and even ridicule? All are words or phrases one could associate with USC's football program at present. Yet none seems to touch Matt Barkley. Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesUSC quarterback Matt Barkley is focused on Saturday's Emerald Bowl against Boston College.Perhaps one big reason that coach Pete Carroll is such a fan of... more »
The notion that USC merely reloads talent ad infinitum despite the departure of a bevy of starters was cast into doubt this season, and it will be tested further -- unexpectedly -- in the Emerald Bowl on Saturday. With starting running back Joe McKnight's eligibility for the bowl game against Boston College already in question due to an alleged... more »
Senior tight end Anthony McCoy has been ruled academically ineligible for the Emerald Bowl against Boston College, thus marking the end of his career as a Trojan. McCoy's most notable performance this season was against Notre Dame, where he racked up an astonishing 153 yards on 5 catches. Below is a TrojanWire highlight video of Anthony McCoy making a statement for why he should play on Sundays.
The Trojans held their annual end-of-the-year awards ceremony at the Nokia Club Sunday night. This years MVP is Damian Williams. Williams finished the season with 58 receptions for 821 yards and eight total touchdowns. Williams has until January 15th to decide if he will forgo his senior season to enter the NFL draft.
Other Trojans receiving awards were:
Most Inspirational Player: Stafon Johnson
Linemen of the year: Jeff Byers (offense); Christian Tupou and Jurrell Casey (defense)
Special teams player of the year: Garrett Green
Service team players of the year: Michael Reardon (offense); Marquis Simmons (defense)
Player of the game versus Notre Dame: Anthony McCoy
Player of the game versus UCLA: Allen Bradford
Jack Oakie "Rise and Shine" Award (year's biggest hit): Taylor Mays
Howard Jones/Football Alumni Club Academic Award: Garrett Green
Bob Chandler Award (underclassman with outstanding athletic ability, academic achievement and character): Christian Tupou
John McKay Award (underclassman with the most competitive spirit): Devon Kennard
Courage Award: Josh Pinkard
Co-Lifters Award: Jeff Byers, Will Harris, Taylor Mays Best Fan Website: TrojanWire
Favorite Thing to Look Forward to on Mondays: Song Girl Monday by TrojanWire
So, the team is back at it this week as they go into bowl prep. A couple of interesting story lines are taking shape as the season comes to a close. I noted yesterday that Safety Josh Pinkard is out for the Emerald Bowl because of a knee injury. That makes things very interesting as Pete Carroll will now... more »
Damian Williams, Jeff Byers, Charles Brown and Taylor Mays were all named to the All-Pac-10 first team. Williams was selected twice as a wide receiver and punt returner.
Everson Griffen, Josh Pinkard, Kevin Thomas and Garrett Green were selected to the All-Pac-10 second team. Green made the team as a special teamer.
Trojans receiving honorable mention were Allen Bradford, Jurrell Casey, Chris Galippo, Will Harris, Butch Lewis, Anthony McCoy, Joe McKnight, Tyron Smith and Christian Tupou.
To see full list of the All-Pac-10 teams click here.
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