Of USC's most notable alumni, there's no one quite like Will. With Will Ferrell's new basketball movie Semi-Pro on the way, Sports Illustrated's Arash Markazi sat down to interview him about the new flick, USC, basketball and more... Here's an excerpt from the interview, when Pete Carroll dressed Ferrell up in Trojan uniform a couple years back, and introduced him to the team as a new walk on tight end.

So, they drove me out in the golf cart and they were practicing for the Rose Bowl against Michigan for the national championship and I could see the guys looking and thinking, "Who is this guy?" Then I stepped out and took off my helmet and they all start laughing. We then ran a play. We ran a go-pattern, yeah, I know the terms, it was just down the sideline and [Matt] Leinart threw the ball, but he kind of underthrew me so I had to sort of lay back. It was silent for a second and then when I made the catch and I got a weird, pathetic cheer. Caroll was just laughing and he said, "I was afraid [Darnell Bing] was going to lay you out."

Check out the interview in its entirety at SI.com.

Bing is back wearing cardinal and gold. It didn't take him any time at all. Not a week after being cut from the Oakland Raiders, Bing packed his bags and moved across town. He's been added to the San Francisco 49ers' roster.

A fourth round pick in 2006, Bing was heavily recruited by San Francisco. But as the story goes, he was passed over for a Penn State's Michael Robinson. He ended up going the very next pick, #101, finally landing in Raider country. Bing wanted to play safety, the position that brought him to prominence at USC. The Raider higher-ups had a different plan, testing him in exhibition games as an outside linebacker, before he suffered a season ending neck injury. With an influx of free agent safeties showing up on the Oakland's 2007 roster, it looked like Bing was getting pushed further and further back on the burner.

Pete Carroll is very enthusiastic about the Oakland Raiders' promise under new head coach Kiffin, reports Cam Inman of the Contra Coast Times. Before his NFL debut, Lane Kiffin worked under Carroll for five seasons with the Trojans, coaching tight ends and wide-receivers as well as being credited for recruiting some of the best collegiate talent in the country. Carroll stopped by the Oakland Raiders' practice last Thursday and found promise in a team that face-planted with 2-14 record last season. With familiar Trojan players on Oakland's roster like Darnell Bing, William Buchanon, Justin Fargas and Mike Williams, and with the number one draft pick JaMarcus Russell, the Raiders have the weapons to make some big improvements.

"That's really exciting. And it should be exciting for everybody who loves the Raiders...He's (Kiffin) got such a plan, such a philosophy that can generate that new sense of urgency and attention to detail, the stuff it takes when you're trying to turn a program around," Carroll said.

Madden NFL '07 hit stores yesterday, and with it we get our first look at how the Trojan Class of 2006 shapes up under the pixelated spotlight of the Madden stage.

Based on initial testing, Leinart and LenDale are alright (Thunder will be better once we get the codes to unlock his new grill and spitting & fighting abilities). But Reggie's rookie year Madden doppelganger is already well on his way to Bo Jackson Tecmo Bowl levels of greatness. TrojanWire's own Maddenologist has him just a notch below LaDanian Tomlinson overall and says he "might be even better at breaking tackles and juking." As anyone who played recent versions of NCAA Football knows, the score-tweaking geeks over at EA Sports are definitely Reggie fans. But they've definitely hooked him up, making him the best rookie we've ever played with. (Now let's just hope they keep him off the cover).

If you've played Madden '07 and tried out any of the Trojan rookies (Reggie, Leinart, LenDale, Dominique Byrd, Darnell Bing), send us your full report -- in the absence of any real football, this is just about all we've got.

Bing, a two-time All-American safety at USC, is making the transition to linebacker at the Raiders' training camp in Napa.

And in other "Trojans in the NFL" news... Reggie's first practice...

Bing may be a natural at outside linebacker [San Francisco Chronicle]
Bush learns in first day in Saints' camp [The Vicksburg Post]

• Reggie Bush – 2nd overall to New Orleans
• Matt Leinart – 10th overall to Arizona
• Winston Justice – 39th overall to Philadelphia
• Deuce Lutui – 41st overall to Arizona
• LenDale White – 45th overall to Tennessee
• Frostee Rucker – 91st overall to Cincinnati
• Dominique Byrd – 93rd overall to St. Louis
• Darnell Bing – 101st overall to Oakland
• David Kirtman – 163rd overall to Seattle
• LaJuan Ramsey – 204th overall to Philadelphia
• Fred Matua – 217th overall to Detroit

Perez has long been mature for his age. He was forced to grow up quickly when, at 9 years old, his 23-year-old brother, Louis, was shot dead after falling in with the wrong crowd.

With the departure of Darnell Bing and Scott Ware, and the inexperience of Kevin Ellison and Will Harris, the New Jersey-native has a good chance to start at safety for the Trojans this season.

Without a safety net [San Bernadino Sun]

Leinart recorded a 37 inch vertical. Nice.

Old commrades, Norm Chow and Pete Carrol talk shop.

Norm Chow and Jeff Fisher of the Tennesse Titans.

Reggie may have run the fastest time, but nobody got more applause than Deuce.

Other notes:
- Nobody could believe that a 320-pound man recorded a 39 inch vertical. Winston Justice baby.
- Darnell Bing was all-around impressive but he didnt run below his listed 4.5 in the 40.
- Hate to pick on LenDale because we love him, but he only did 15 reps on the bench. (Punter Tom Malone did 14 and cornerback Justin Wyatt did 16.)

Trojan Pro Day Report [USCFootball.com]
USC's Pro Day like 'mini-combine' for players [MSNBC]
Leinart, Bush work out for NFL coaches, scouts [FoxSports]

The two Heisman Trophy winners, along with LenDale White and Darnell Bing, among others, will showcase their talents in front of NFL scouts and executives.

The running and lifting portions of the event are scheduled to begin on Cromwell Field a little after 11 a.m., with fans welcome to watch from the stands. The individual workouts will follow on Howard Jones Field but are closed to the public.

[DailyTrojan]

Darnell leads off with how he can't wait for USC's Pro Day on April 2nd, where he will run the 40 for NFL scouts. And he inexplicably leaves Huff off his list of "other safeties" out there.

I know that some people have others ranked higher right now at the strong safety position and that is fine. I respect the other safeties out there. Donte Whitner, Daniel Bullocks and the others are good players. I am confident in my own abilities, though.

We have to side with our man Darnell Bing here.

It certainly has helped that I faced the best offense in America every day in practice for the past three years. The best part is how versatile our offense at USC was. I'm confident that I can handle the faster, quicker backs of the NFL because of practicing against Reggie Bush. I feel the same way about stronger, more physical backs because of LenDale White.

And just look what happened to the last top safety to come out of USC (Troy Polamalu).

Hey, I'm good too [Fox Sports]

I was so glad when the owners and players reached a new agreement on the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The NFL can continue to thrive and the media could stop scaring me with all this talk of a league lockout. I was asked so many questions about the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement this past week, I felt as if I was a team owner!

USC's pro day is coming up fast on April 2nd. Every NFL scout from here to Timbuktu is expected to be in LA that day.

Worrying about CBA [Fox Sports]

1. Reggie Bush to the Texans
2. Matt Leinart to the Saints
16. Winston Justice to the Dolphins
17. LenDale White to the Vikings
31. Darnell Bing to the Broncos

Of course draft predictions are far from an exact science (Kiper predicted Mike Williams to go #1 two years ago). And these predictions will change after the Senior Bowl and again after the NFL Combine.

Bush, Leinart projected in top two [ESPN]

Darnell Bing S USC Junior
Cornell Brockington RB Connecticut Junior
Reggie Bush RB USC Junior
Brian Calhoun RB Wisconsin Junior
Antonio Cromartie CB Florida St Junior
Vernon Davis TE Maryland Junior
Maurice Drew RB UCLA Junior
Ray Edwards DE Purdue Junior
Anthony Fasano TE Notre Dame Junior
Charles Gordon WR/CB Kansas Junior
Willie Hall OT Middle Tennessee Junior
Devin Hester CB/KR Miami Fl Junior
Santonio Holmes WR Ohio St Junior
Chad Jackson WR Florida Junior
Omar Jacobs QB Bowling Green Junior
Johnathan Joseph CB South Carolina Sophomore
Winston Justice OT USC Junior
Brandon Kirsch QB Purdue Junior
Greg Lee WR Pittsburgh Junior
Danieal Manning DB Abilene Christian Junior
Laurence Maroney RB Minnesota Junior
Richard Marshall CB Fresno St Junior
Derrick Martin CB Wyoming Junior
Fred Matua OG USC Junior
John McCargo DT North Carolina St Junior
Stanley McClover DE Auburn Junior
Tony McDaniel DT Tennessee Junior
Derek Morris OT North Carolina St. Junior
Haloti Ngata DT Oregon Junior
Kai Parham LB Virginia Junior
Bernard Pollard S Purdue Junior
Leonard Pope TE Georgia Junior
Drouzon Quillen WR Louisiana-Monroe Junior
Ko Simpson S South Carolina Sophomore
Ernie Sims LB Florida State Junior
D.J. Smith WR Iowa Junior
Rob Smith G Tennessee Junior
Demetris Summers RB South Carolina Sophomore
Stephen Tulloch LB North Carolina St Junior
Marcus Vick QB Virginia Tech Junior
Dee Webb CB Florida Junior
LenDale White RB USC Junior
Donte Whitner S Ohio State Junior
Mario Williams DE North Carolina St Junior
Michael Williams DE Texas College Junior
Ashton Youboty CB Ohio St Junior
Vince Young QB Texas Junior

Underclassmen in the 2006 NFL Draft [Fanblogs.com]

Second Team:
QB Matt Leinart
G Deuce Latui

Third Team:
RB LenDale White
T Sam Baker

Bush headlines AP All-America team [ESPN]