The offense got off to a strong start, but they were inconsistent and fumbled more than they should have, but on the bright side, coaches opened up the playbook and allowed Matt Barkley to complete some deep passes. However this offense, and the receiving game in particular, needs to play better. Trojan fans eagerly await the return of the fastest receiver, Ronald Johnson, who suffered a shoulder injury in the scrimmage game in August.

This defense is impressive. They almost held the Cougars to a shutout if it were not for Aaron Corp's fumble late in the game. Defensive back Marshall Jones and defensive tackle Hebron Fangupo each suffered season ending injuries in this game. Injuries are part of the game, and this is why it never hurts to have depth like USC does. Pete Carroll and coaching staff "stockpile" talent, and given the current waves of injuries, this is when the depth is tested.

*Freshman QB Matt Barkley has had a tough week following his 5-18 scrimmage performance in which Coach Carroll threw him into the fire against a heavy rush and disguised coverage's. The hope was that Barkley would bounce back fairly quickly from the performance but even Coach Carroll admits the expectations for Matt from everybody, coaches included, might have been too high.

The spotlight shined very bright on Matt since Corp went down and he has received nearly every first team snap to get him ready. In the process, they may have overloaded him. However, all this work will pay off in a big way for him in the future. He may have struggled but he never quit and has handled himself "beautifully" as Coach Carroll would say. Barkley will continue to get opportunities and may see significant time in the San Jose State game in a "platoon" situation. He has so much talent and moxie that they want to get him on the field sooner rather than later.

Also, the coaches have not ruled out the thought of a "platoon" system this year while they bring along Barkley. Carroll says he is opened to it but I don't think it fits his coaching style. We'll see... it worked with Chris Leak and Tim Tebow at Florida.

In the meantime, if Corp heals properly from his injury, in the near term, Corp gives the program the best chance to win.

Running Back situation after the jump...

Two things revealed themselves at USC's spring game: Aaron Corp is the clear No. 1 quarterback for a reason heading into the off-season and the defense is not exactly going to stink next fall.

Eleven sacks? Come on!

Corp completed 14 of 23 passes for 157 yards with a touchdown and, again, no interceptions, though he had a couple of dubious tosses. Corp threw one pick over the entirety of spring practices.

Freshman Mat Barkley, who draft guru Mel Kiper already is touting as a future No. 1 overall NFL draft pick, completed 12 of 20 for 124 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

A third interesting sidebar emerging from USC's spring: The tailback position is no more clear and perhaps even more crowded than last year. While injuries limited the lead names on the depth chart from a year ago, Curtis McNeal and Marc Tyler turned in impressive springs.

So, for those keeping scoring at home, there's Stafon Johnson, Joe McKnight, C.J. Gable, Allen Bradford and McNeal and Tyler. And one ball.

Which means Pete Carroll will roll his eyes at me and every other reporter this summer when we write this story again.

Ever wonder what a coach might say about a quarterback competition the day before he announces a pecking order?

You're in luck!

USC coach Pete Carroll stopped by for a chat with the Pac-10 blog on Monday, the day before he announced on his Web site that Aaron Corp would emerge from spring practices No. 1 on the quarterback depth chart, ahead of true freshman Matt Barkley and Mitch Mustain.

	Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
	Pete Carroll boasts an 88-15 record since arriving at USC.

That bit of stolen thunder aside -- and the announcement was mostly a foregone conclusion -- it's never a bad time to talk with a coach who's 88-15 in eight years at USC and has finished ranked in the top four of the AP poll seven consecutive seasons.

After all, he's got a new book deal to benefit his charity, A Better LA, and a new Web site for kids.

And he's got a football team that likely will be favored to win its eighth consecutive Pac-10 championship and again compete for a national title.

Word on the street is you guys have an intense quarterback competition going on over there: Where does that stand?

Pete Carroll: Guys have really battled hard and done well. We're pleased with the play at the quarterback position. The competition is going to continue. We'll name a guy who's going to start the spring game for us and then the competition will just continue. We've got to call something here after a month of playing. We'll find out what happens when we get back to camp in the fall.

You've told me in the past you prefer to anoint a quarterback as early as possible to allow him to develop into a clear leader: How will that be a part of the decision in the fall?

PC: We'd like to do that [name a starter], but you've got to do the right thing and let the competition play itself out. What that means is, in the past when we named Matt Leinart over Matt Cassel, it meant that Leinart was going first and Cassel was battling him. The competition remained on. It will be the same situation. It's a very hard-fought, close competition and in fairness it's going to take longer to know exactly what we are going to do for the long haul.

It seems like running backs Curtis McNeal and Marc Tyler have asserted themselves this spring: Have they done enough to eclipse the established guys?

PC: I don't think there's any question Curtis McNeal has. Marc Tyler has been hurt most of the spring -- he's only had a couple of days when he's full speed. He's done well. But McNeal has taken advantage of the opportunity to be out there every day and he's really been effective.

<!--more--> You guys are pretty much rebuilding your front seven: How has that gone so far and who is having a great spring?

PC: Malcolm Smith, Chris Galippo and Mike Morgan, our linebackers have really jumped to the front and given us really good play. They've been out there every day battling. They give us good speed and athleticism and they've all played the last couple of years. Now they take over, they look like they are going to be really nice players for us. We're really excited about them. [Defensive end] Everson Griffen has had his best camp by far. Armond Armstead, we moved to strongside defensive end, has had a great camp too.

It seems like, on paper, this is your most experienced and talented secondary. How good is this secondary going to be?

PC: Led by Taylor Mays, such a solid guy playing in the middle back there, and Kevin Thomas had a great year at corner playing for us last year. Shareece Wright was a starter for us before he got hurt, and Josh Pinkard returns and he started at corner last year and is playing safety now and can play some corner for us. Also, [safety] Will Harris who's started a bunch of games is back. So it's as good a secondary as we've had since we've been here. We have really high expectations for these guys to be aggressive and really be a factor.

What does Rocky Seto, promoted this offseason to defensive coordinator, bring to the defense?

PC: He's been around since the outset of this program, so Rocky brings us great continuity and really in-depth direction of the littlest things that we are doing to the biggest things we are doing. He's been a big factor. He's had a great spring with these guys. I think we are as good as we've ever been at hawking the football, which is great. He has the most background of anyone I've been around in our specific stuff. He gives us great insights and great leadership there.

With Jeremy Bates and John Morton now running the offense: What have they changed this spring?

PC: Nothing has changed. Nothing's changed on defense really. We're just continuing to try to recapture the spirit of the offense and make sure we're utilizing our personnel well. The familiarity between Jeremy and the rest of the guys has been going along beautifully. When you're developing a quarterback, a lot of the focus goes to the quarterback position and Jeremy has done a good job of making sense of all that, so those guys have performed well. And we've also continue to do our installation like we have to do to keep this thing going. They've gotten along great. Jeremy has called all the plays in our scrimmages and our practices that isn't normal scripted stuff so he can work at it and practice at it, too. He's totally up to speed and has done a great job so far.

Running the Pac-10 blog, it seems like a rivalry has developed between the SEC and USC: Any chance we're going to get a matchup between the Trojans and an SEC power any time soon?

PC: I don't know. We've played a bunch of SEC schools over the years -- well, not a bunch -- we've played SEC schools and when we do we enjoy that matchup [USC went 4-0 in home-and-home series with Auburn and Arkansas, winning by a combined margin of 167-48]. There's nothing we can do about schedules that are already set. At the end of the year, if we are fortunate enough to play against those guys, we'd look forward to it.

Are you learning to live with the BCS process, or are you ready to lead a march on Washington to get the system changed?

PC: I don't have a better system for it. I advocate a playoff. Everybody in America wants a playoff -- in any sport, at any level, no matter where you are, to find out who the champions are. We want to do the same thing.

Heard about your new book deal that's going to benefit your non-profit, A Better LA, anything you want to get the word out about?

PC: We've been hard at it to help fight the violence and things that are going on in the streets here and make sure we're doing our part. We've been very active for a number of years and have worked hard to continue to generate funds for the foundation, so we do have a book thing we are working on to bring proceeds to "A Better LA" and to enhance our fundraising efforts as we go along.

Enter redshirt freshman, Venice High running back Curtis McNeal.

Which Pac-10 newcomers might make a name for themselves this spring and put themselves into position to start or see significant action in 2009?

Let's take a look.

Arizona

• QB Nick Foles & OT Phillip Garcia: Foles is a sophomore transfer from Michigan State who will compete with Matt Scott and Bryson Beirne to replace Willie Tuitama. Garcia was a JC transfer last January, but the 6-foot-7, 340 pounder hurt his knee and missed the season. He's in the mix at left tackle.

Arizona State

• S Keelan Johnson, RB James Morrison, DE Dean DeLeone: Johnson, a redshirt freshman, is the sort of athlete who could end up playing both ways. Morrison was a true freshman walk-on destined to play last year before he broke his ankle. He's back this spring. The 25-year-old DeLeone, a JC transfer, is already drawing raves for his weight room work.

California

• WR Marvin Jones & LB Mychal Kendricks: Jones was a touted true freshman last year but hurt his knee and never broke through. Kendricks had 16 tackles and a sack as a true freshman and is a frontrunner to fill one of the three vacancies at linebacker.

Oregon

• DE Zac Clark & WR Lavasier Tuinei: Oregon has big-time needs on the D-line and at receiver, and these JC transfers will be given an opportunity to immediately ease those needs. Tuinei, at 6-foot-5, should give the Ducks receiving corps some size, while Clark will be eyeballing the vacancy left by Nick Reed.

Oregon State

• WR Jordan Bishop & OT Colin Kelly: Receiver is a need area for the Beavers, and Bishop, a redshirt freshman, impressed on the scout team and during Sun Bowl practices. Kelly, a redshirt freshman, is in the mix on an offensive line that lost both starting tackles.

Stanford

• QB Andrew Luck, OG David DeCastro, TE Konrad Reuland: Luck almost lost his redshirt last year while Tavita Pritchard struggled, and he'll have a good chance to win the starting job. DeCastro is presently No. 1 on the depth chart, while Reuland is a transfer from Notre Dame.

UCLA

• QB Kevin Prince & TE Morrell Presley: Prince, a redshirt freshman, is the most likely candidate to unseat returning starter Kevin Craft. Presley, a true freshman, could make an immediate impact as a hybrid TE/WR.

USC

• QB Matt Barkley, DE Nick Perry, RB Curtis McNeal: Barkley, the nation's No. 1 recruit in 2009, could jump over Mitch Mustain and Aaron Corp in the quarterback competition, while Perry, a redshirt freshman, is almost certain to be in the mix at end or perhaps outside linebacker. McNeal, a redshirt freshman, was a late arrival last year but made an impression with his explosiveness.

Washington

• LB E.J. Savannah, C Mykenna Ikehara , WR Anthony Boyles: Savannah is not a newcomer -- he was the Huskies leading tackler in 2007 before finding his way into Tyrone Willingham's spacious doghouse and getting kick off the team. Pencil him in as a starter. Ikehara, a redshirt freshman, could replace Juan Garcia at center. Boyles, a redshirt freshman, was a touted recruit who didn't break through last year but is expected to be sharper this spring.
  

Washington State

• DT Bernard Wolfgramm, CB Brandon Jones, RB James Montgomery: It's not unreasonable to go ahead and pencil in all three of these guys in as starters. Wolfgramm is a 2008 JC transfer who redshirted last year, while Jones and Montgomery both transferred from California.

McNeal had several impressive rushes Thursday, showing quick feet and natural run instincts.

Of course, he is the seventh-string running back for the Trojans, who probably have the deepest assemblage of tailback talent in the country. So why come to USC?

“As soon as I got offered, I was going to come,” McNeal said. “I just fell in love with the coaching staff. I met a few guys. I just wanted to be part of the Trojan family, so that’s what I did.”

Related links:

• Wright and wrong: Carroll uses CB’s case as cautionary tale
• Injury updates on USC’s Williams, Havili, Turner

The scene was on court at the Galen Center again, where a couple times Pete Carroll expressed his desire to see Tim Floyd's bunch hand the Bruins another loss this year.

Carroll said this class was about "bigs" not "flash" and he felt fortunate that the Trojans were in a position to play it this way, this year. Joe McKnight was sure excited about the 5 solid offensive line prospects.

After the jump are some notes from last nights event.