TrojanWire - Khaled Holmes

Rising up with the morning sun

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:38:03 -0800

The end is near.

And with it, so too is the beginning.

The entire team hustled through an hour-long Trojan Run workout early Friday morning, completing their sixth week of the summer program and leaving just 10 more workouts before Fall Camp and the 2009 season officially kick off.

Through agility and conditioning drills under the watchful eye of the USC strength and conditioning staff, the Trojans finished off the fifth competition-based Trojan Run workout of the summer, with the defense capturing the victory today. Team-wide workouts such as this morning's foster the endurance, strength and, most importantly, chemistry that'll play itself out on football fields in L.A., Ohio, South Bend and up and down the West Coast this fall.

Check out some photos from today's 6:30 a.m. workout on Cromwell Field:

The Trojans churn through their warm-up on Cromwell Field.

Players shuffle through agility bags as the morning sun rises into the sky.

Defensive lineman Christian Tupou hustles around the cone.

Under a beautiful morning sky, (from left to right) fullback Adam Goodman, fullback Stanley Havili, quarterback Aaron Corp and tailback Allen Bradford jump up during drills.

Tailback C.J. Gable changes direction during drills.

Aaron Corp shuffles around a cone.

Wideout David Ausberry leaps up during a drill.

Quarterback Matt Barkley sprints out during a conditioning drill.

Defensive back Josh Pinkard jumps up at the end of a conditioning drill.

Wideout Ronald Johnson runs out of his break during this morning's workout.

Tailback Stafon Johnson hops over the agility bags, with quarterback Mitch Mustain closely behind.

Offensive lineman Tyron Smith sprints out of an agility bag drill as fellow linemen Matt Kalil (left) and Khaled Holmes (middle) follow behind.

Linebacker Jordan Campbell and tailback Allen Bradford race through an agility bag competition.

2009 USC Recruiting Dinner

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 10:00:57 -0800

Here are our thoughts on the guys that stood out in last nights presentation. Full bios and direct quotes from Pete Carroll after the jump.

John Martinez, OL, 4-STAR
Just a nasty, pancake blocking guard. He can get down field too (a la Jeff Byers). Highlight after highlight he would pull from his guard position, run and then just destroy someone. They want him to play center. He will be a cornerstone of a future O-line group.

Kevin Graf, OL, 4-STAR
This guy is 6'6" and 315 pounds. He looked like the green giant against his high school peers.

Matt Barkley, QB, 5-STAR
Not much needs to be said. #1 player in the country. Big arm. Can read defenses. Dedicated. His eyes were nearly popping out of his head when he spoke to the coaches following Mark Sanchez's departure.

De'Von Flournoy, WR, 4-STAR
Holy cow. Not sure if we have ever seen a highlight reel like his. There were over 20 plays. And not one that didn't go for a touchdown. Very impressive speed and sense of other players around him.

Jacob Harfman, K, 2-STAR
A little shorter than David Buehler but definitely of the same mold (a big, physical kicker). He can do it all — placekicking and punts. He was 3 for 3 over 50 yards and has kicked a 70 yarder in practice. He has incredible hangtime on his kickoffs if anyone ever does decide to take it out, they will be met with the Trojans special teams before getting to the 20. The ball just explodes off his foot.

Hebron Fangupo, DT, 4-STAR
Great penetration up the middle, even while drawing double teams on every play.

James Boyd, DE, 4-STAR
An incredible athlete that was actually the starting QB for his high school too. He is a freaking defensive end! He plays basketball too (and averages 25 points and 22 rebounds).

Devon Kennard, DE, 5-STAR
A prototypical freak defensive end. Hopefully with a more malleable attitude than Everson Griffen.

Frankie Telfort, LB, 4-STAR
He ran a 4.39. He is a cerebral player. He wants to major pre-med. He has a cool name. He has potential to be a really, really special player.

Jarvis Jones, LB, 4-STAR
A mean hitter that doesn't take any wasted steps before blowing up his opponent. Impressive.

Jawanza Starling, DB, 4-STAR
Another mean hitter. He is going to play baseball for SC too.

Injury updates on Havili, Morgan, Brown

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:17:53 -0800

** Fullback Stanley Havili suffered a neck stinger when he collided with guard Khaled Holmes on the final play of practice. Havili lay on the ground for several minutes but said he plans to play Saturday. ** Linebacker Michael Morgan sat out for the second consecutive day after suffering a concussion against Oregon last week. ** Linebacker [...]

Tackle Time

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:32:53 -0800

I mocked the depth chart released last spring because it showed Charles Brown and Butch Lewis at left tackle while Alex Parsons started at right tackle. And it took about five minutes in training camp for Lewis to take over at right tackle. He and Brown are established starters right now.
Pat Ruel said Nick Howell's been inconsistent so far and Parsons is moving around to different positions, including center with Michael Reardon out. All three freshmen (Matt Kalil, Khaled Holmes, Tyron Smith) are potential candidates to not redshirt. So far, Kalil would be the top candidate.

Player workout photos

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:43:35 -0800

In the most recent players-only senior practice the entire team came together on a typical sunny Southern California afternoon to run drills and throw the ball around. Inside: Nearly 100 action photos of the team on the field including incoming freshmen Khaled Holmes and Blake Ayles

2008 Recruiting Dinner

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:54:04 -0800

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.