Football

• Check out this classic 1932 USC billboard. [Conquest Chronicles]
• Ted Miller interviews Steve Sarkisian, who wants to be a head coach but isn't "in any rush." [ESPN]
• Despite losing his first two season openers at Virginia, Al Groh is glad to have USC first on the schedule. [Roanoke Times]
• Lawrence Jackson inks an $11.25-million deal in Seattle. [AP]
• A Notre Dame commit guarantees three straight victories over USC. Too bad Carson doesn't play for Indy, because they could have some great conversations. [Conquest Chronicles]
• Here's a comparison of USC commit Matt Barkley and Georgia prospect Aaron Murray. [ESPN]
• David Baker, father of Sam, is stepping down as AFL commissioner. Could the Pac-10 gig be next? [Conquest Chronicles]
• Pat O'Hara is moving into the AFL -- as the L.A. Avengers head coach. [Avengers]
• Offensive administrative assistant Al Dorsey is headed to the Raiders, at least for a couple of weeks. [USCRipsIt]
• Yup, still the offseason ... tomorrow you can vote for whether USC or Florida State has the better helmet. [ESPN]

Hoops

• USC ranks 132nd in ESPN's list of prestigious basketball programs since the 1984-85 season, just after Iona and Austin Peay. Ouch. The Trojans are seventh in the Pac-10. [ESPN]
• Highly touted recruit Lance Stephenson has an impressive week in Vegas. [LA Times]
• Tyler Honeycutt and Renardo Sidney aren't too shabby, either. [LA Times]
• What's the big deal about a high school hoops tournament, anyway? This article explains. [LA Times]

Elsewhere

• USC song girls are so hot it's newsworthy. Yes, Deadspin counts as news. Speaking of which, Facebook photos also surfaced from a trackster and soccer player. I'll let you do the oggling Googling. [Deadspin]

Q: With regard to receivers, how do you rate them on your depth chart?

A: Barring injury, Vidal Hazelton and Patrick Turner should start in the coaches' eyes. The No. 3 spot will be most intriguing initially because it could be Ronald Johnson, David Ausberry or Damian Williams. Each is different. Johnson will be the fastest receiver so there is always going to be some role for him. Ausberry's size makes him attractive while Williams could be the best total package. And there's no reason each of them could not become a starter.

Q: Do you know why Matt Barkley won't be attending? Is there truth to the rumor he'll be coaching?

A: I've seen conflicting information on whether he will be attending. I'm not sure why he wouldn't. Of course, there's always been a rivalry between his passing coach, Steve Clarkson, and the camp's passing guru, Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson. I'll find out next week if there's more to it.

Q: Are the USC Fly Girls selected under a different criteria than the Song Girls?http://www-scf.usc.edu/~flygirls/

A: They are a completely different dance team and not under the direction of the IM-REC dept. or the selection process that governs the song girls. They do practice at Heritage Hall but that's about the only similarity.

Q: Where do you see D.J. Shoemate fitting into the rotation this year, whether it be with the running backs or the wide receivers? Any chance he will be playing defense, perhaps corner? As always thanks for the blog!

A: There's always a chance someone with his ability could play defense but initially he will be a wide receiver, ideally in a slot back role. He could easily line up at tailback and catch passes out of the backfield. When he first committed, that was considered to be his top role. But he's versatile, so USC will probably try to move him around the field. The question is whether he is good enough to actually merit having that done. We will find out.

Football

• Dennis Dodd wrapped up his series of position coach evaluations by naming Pete Carroll top head coach in the land. [CBS Sports]
• The Matt Barkley hype is up to another unprecedented level. USC's future quarterback is the first junior ever to be named high school athlete of the year -- out of all male sports. No pressure, kid! [LA Times]
• Thomas Williams inked his first NFL contract. [AP]
• Chilo Rachal signed as well. [RF365]
• Hey ladies! Taylor Mays is a football star, funny, and apparently single. Check out this interview. [Video on USCFootball.com]
• USC is an early 18 point favorite over Virginia. [Vegas Insider]

Hoops

• DeMar DeRozan is good to go. [LA Times]
• O.J. Mayo made the US Select team to prep for international competition. [AP]
• SI dubbed O.J. Mayo the #8 breakout freshman of 2007-08. [Sports Illustrated]
• Davon Jefferson says he has no regrets. [Riverside Press-Enterprise]

Elsewhere

• Another publication tried to re-rank the top school in all sports from last year. USC was seventh. [Sports Illustrated]
• A trio of Trojans made Sports Illustrated's gallery of best college photos from 2007-08: Desmond Reed, Vidal Hazelton, and Janessa Currier.

People might tell you differently, but the truth is Nike's football camps are to college, as the NFL combine is to the pros. Okay, maybe it's not that extreme. Nike is no longer allowed to test its athletes at the events. There's no longer any 40-times or bench press at the events (Nike holds separate events for test scores). And although negative performance might not hurt you as badly as it would at the combine, a fantastic performance at a Nike camp could grab you the national attention, press and the scholarship offers that come along with it.

And at USC's Nike Camp this past Sunday there were some very strong performances. Not surprisingly, it was the number, size and skill of the '09 USC commits that seemed to leave the biggest impression.

While much of the country hasn't begun to thaw out, the Trojans started spring practice under beautiful SoCal skies. At first it seemed like there might be a little rust, but then Joe McKnight would take a fast step or Christian Tupou would show some muscle and the team looked sharp as always.

All eyes are on the battle at quarterback battle but there's little to report on that front. Mark Sanchez is still the leader and Mitch Mustain is hot on his tail. Aaron Corp, who used to look pretty lanky, seemed much more solid (he's added 18 pounds since coming to USC). Coach Pete Carroll remained noncommittal on whether he'll even name a starter by the end of the 15-session camp. Regardless, the fact that USC has a trio of five-star recruits competing for quarterback should frighten the bejebus out of their opponents in 2008.

Yet another five-star quarterback, Matt Barkley, was also on the practice field. He was just stopping by since he's only a junior in high school. The youngest ever Gatorade National Player of the Year has already committed to the Trojans.

There will be several other compelling position battles to watch. Ricky Rosas, special assistant to Pete Carroll and Gatorade bartender extraordinaire, said he plans on paying special attention to the tailbacks and wide receivers. Similar to last year, USC has an embarrassment of riches in their backfield. In the receiving corps, transfer Damian Williams from Arkansas was a breath of fresh air and looks ready to make a big impact.

Speaking of Ricky and Barkley, both are nominated in the 2008 Southern California Sports Awards put on by ESPN 710.

LA Times football writer Gary Klein stopped by after practice to talk shop -- click play to get some more reflections on USC's first day back in the trenches:

You can also catch a few minutes from Pete Carroll's post-practice media gaggle:

UPDATE: If you listen to the audio above, Carroll doesn't get pinned down on naming a quarterback by the end of camp, merely saying, "That'd be nice ... I don't care when it happens." But offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian left little doubt that it will happen by April 19. I wouldn't call that a discrepancy, just more specificity.

From Rivals.com:

There is no change at the top of the list, with Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei quarterback Matt Barkley remaining at No. 1 overall. There also weren't too many dramatic changes near the top of the list, but the most noteworthy move came with Corona (Calif.) Centennial linebacker Vontaze Burfict moving to No. 15 overall and earning a fifth star.

"He's just a guy that hustles all over the field," Rivals.com recruiting analyst Barry Every said. "I saw him run 40 or 50 yards in the state title game to keep a kid out of the end zone. To run like that for a big kid is amazing. He also hits you, and you leave your feet. He's a natural at linebacker with killer instincts."

Vontaze is now the #15 prospect overall in the nation.

Autographed photographs of Matt Leinart and Colt Brennan hang on the wall in Bruce Rollinson’s office at Mater Dei High School. In their inscriptions, Leinart and Brennan thank Rollinson for his guidance during their high school careers. They are among nine quarterbacks he has coached who went on to play in college during his 19 seasons as the coach at Mater Dei. Yet of all the quarterbacks to play at the Catholic school, the best could be the 17-year-old junior Matt Barkley. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Barkley is rated as one of the top recruits for the class of 2009… continue