TrojanWire - Kyle Williams

Which Pac-10 players will step out of the shadows?

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:56:34 -0800

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

We had no idea who Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was at this time last year. Heck, he hadn't even signed, much less played for the Ducks.

Masoli didn't step out of the shadows, though. He was immaculately conceived.

But we did know who Mark Sanchez was. And Jahvid Best. And Brian Price. We just didn't know who they'd become.

We're thinking about guys taking the step up from being a good player to being a star player.

We're thinking about guys stepping out of the shadows and into the light and, to paraphrase the immortal words of Norma Desmond, saying, "All right, College GameDay, I'm ready for my close-up."

Arizona

WR Delashaun Dean: The junior will form a solid tandem with senior Terrell Turner. At 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, he's got the size that makes things easy on a first-year starting quarterback. Caught 13 passes for 173 yards with two touchdowns in the Wildcats' season-ending wins over Arizona State and BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Arizona State

WR Kyle Williams: The senior ranked fourth in the nation in punt returns last season (17 yards per return) and sixth in the conference in all-purpose yards, but he needs to break out as a receiver in 2009. While he only ranked sixth on the Sun Devils with 19 receptions last year, four of those went four TDs and he averaged over 19 yards per catch.

California

DE Cameron Jordan: He stepped into the starting lineup when Rulon Davis got hurt, and he didn't play like a sophomore. He finished with 11 tackles for a loss, four sacks and an interception. He and the underrated Tyson Aluala might be the best DE tandem in the Pac-10.

Oregon

FS T.J. Ward and DE Will Tukuafu: These two seniors played well last year but mostly in the shadows of rover Patrick Chung and DE Nick Reed. Ward led the Pac-10 in solo tackles (64) and is a lights-out hitter, while Tukuafu recorded 7.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for a loss (fifth most in the conference).

Oregon State

LB Keaton Kristick: Sure, he was second-team All-Pac-10, but it sure was hard for a LB outside of USC to get much attention last season. Kristick, a senior, had 14 tackles for loss among his 82 total stops in 2008. He will lead an LB corps that should be the strength of a rebuilding defense in 2009.

Stanford

LB Chike Amajoyi: The junior regressed a bit last year after hanging up impressive numbers as a freshman, but he has all the physical tools to be an outstanding linebacker. He's expected to step in for Pat Maynor at weakside linebacker.

UCLA

FS Rahim Moore: Moore ranked fourth on the Bruins' defense last year with 60 tackles and tied for the team lead with three interceptions as a true freshman. There's no doubt who the Pac-10's best free safety is -- USC's Taylor Mays -- but Moore may be the second-best guy as a sophomore.

USC

WR Damian Williams: He's hardly unknown -- he was the Trojans' leading receiver last year -- but Williams was merely honorable mention All-Pac-10 in 2008. In 2009, the junior transfer from Arkansas will be the best receiver in the Pac-10.

Washington

WR D'Andre Goodwin: Sure, he was the Huskies' leading receiver last year. But that's like being the leading scorer for the Washington Generals. But with a new pro-style offense being installed and the return of a healthy Jake Locker, Goodwin should see more balls and get more opportunities to show his stuff.

Washington State

LB Louis Bland: The undersized freshman -- he's listed at a cornerback-like 5-foot-10, 203 pounds -- was second on the team with nine tackles for loss, and he played a key role in the triumph over Washington in the Apple Cup. His quickness will make him a playmaker on the Cougars' defense in 2009.

USC Briefly Makes the Grades

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 10:01:42 -0800

An Intermediate Spanish 3 class at Los Angeles Trade Tech, a community college near USC, has become the latest embarrassing episode for the Trojans. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Spanish class was not even going to be offered by Trade Tech until offensive lineman Kyle Williams and linebacker Dallas Sartz began recruiting other athletes to pressure the community college into offering the five-unit class last summer. The five-week course, like many other community college courses, would qualify for transfer credits to USC and fulfill undergraduate language requirements. The efforts by Williams and Sartz proved successful, and 20 athletes and one notable Song Girl — Natalie Nelson, who became famous for the above photo of her apparently cheering for a Texas score in the 2006 Rose Bowl — were among the 25 students enrolled. The Times reports that of the 25-student class, 20 students received a grade of A and five received a grade of B. The grade distribution set off an investigation at USC, and officials notified students late last year that transfer credits of the Spanish 3 class from Trade Tech were rescinded and disallowed. Song Girl Nelson, for one, defended the class, telling the Times that USC's national prominence — "being at the top" — makes its athletes easy targets for criticism. "Obviously, someone assumed something was wrong with all those players getting good grades and ... others jumping on the bandwagon," she said. "But I saw those athletes do the work."

NEWS BY PLAYER updated

Mon, 01 May 2006 13:18:15 -0800

Now that spring practice is over and the dust has settled from the biggest NFL draft in USC's history, we thought it was high time to update the offensive and defensive starters for the Trojans.

And introduce you to the guys that we haven't talked about before, but soon will be: Kyle Williams, Chilo Rachal and Chris Barrett.

NOTE: The NEWS BY PLAYER nav is built in Flash (which tends to cache in your browser). So if you are still seeing Matt Leinart listed as the QB, you need to clear your cache.