TrojanWire - Whitney Lewis

Why Coaches Dislike Recruiting Rankings

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 10:23:36 -0800

National signing day is Wednesday, and if your team doesn't have a top 25 class, there's no need to worry. Brent Schrotenboer of the San Diego Union-Tribune took a look at rankings from Rivals and Scout for the past five seasons and the recruiting sites miss about 40% of the time. Nine teams that finished in the top 25 this past season never even were ranked in the final top 25 recruiting rankings during the previous five Februarys by Rivals or Scout. And four of the teams — Boise State, Louisville, Wisconsin and West Virginia — finished in the top 10. In other words, for every Reggie Bush, there's a Whitney Lewis, right, who never made an impact at USC and transferred last season to Division I-AA Northern Iowa. Some of the biggest critics of the sites are coaches, who feel added pressure after a recruiting class is ranked. "It certainly looks nice for your alumni when they rank your recruiting class first, second third or fourth, except for three years later when those recruits bomb out and the coach gets fired because those recruiting rankings don't pan out," said Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association. But fans continue to flock to the sites, with subscribers paying $9.95 a month or $99.95 a year for access to premium areas. On Wednesday, Rivals expects 75 million page views. ... Thanks to Mary!

WOLF: Whitney Lewis leaving USC

Fri, 16 Jun 2006 09:50:06 -0800

USC wide receiver Whitney Lewis will not return next season, according to multiple sources.

...is leaving for reasons not related to football or academics, sources said. He is not working out with the rest of the Trojans and not attending summer school.

Neither Lewis nor USC coach Pete Carroll could be reached for comment Thursday.

USC football: Lewis won't be back [LA Daily News]

Dennis done, who will start at RB?

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 11:07:24 -0800

Bad news on Hershel Dennis. It was revealed yesterday that his knee injury involves torn ligaments.

Dennis, who started over Bush and White in 2003, was thought to be a clear-cut starter for this season.

It will be interesting to see who carries the ball this Sunday in the annual Trojan Huddle?

Whitney Lewis
Chauncey Washington
Michael Coleman
Brandon Hancock
Ryan Powdrell
Joey Adewale
Stanley Havili
Stafon "The Prince" Johnson
Kenny Ashley
Emmanuel Moody
Allen Bradford

Hersel Dennis likely to miss 2006 season [USCFootball.com]

Whitney "the man" Lewis

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 16:21:04 -0800

Daily Trojan has a good article on Whitney Lewis:

He was one of the most dominant high school football players in California history. He had colleges from across the nation drooling over his combination of size, speed and athleticism. He represented the turning point in USC football as the elite prospect of the 2003 recruiting class.

He was Reggie before Reggie, and now the original human highlight film is looking to both re-establish and reinvent himself.

Hype continues to dog Lewis [DailyTrojan]

First spring practice report

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 11:33:53 -0800

Booty and Sanchez both looked good.

Hershel Dennis, the most likely starting tailback, injured his hamstring and sat out the practice. Petros Papadakis says while there certainly is new talent for the Trojans to tap into, Hershel Dennis is the only one who can pick up blitzes and understand the offense.

5-star recruit, and now a junior, Whitney Lewis looked good running the ball though.

Ryan Powdrell also saw some action in the backfield along with Brandon Hancock and Joey Adewale.

S Antwine Perez sported a beard and played on the first string defense. We love this guy. Look for him to make an immediate "impact".

The other freshman in attendance, but on the sidelines: RB Stafon Johnson, OL Zack Heberer, DL Alex Parsons, WR Travon Patterson, RB Kenny Ashley and DB Alfred Rowe.

Spring football report: March 21st [USCFootball.com]
Spring Football Update 3/22 [USC Trojan Football blog]
Trojans get back to work as spring practice opens [Daily Trojan]

Winter workouts: Booty or Sanchez

Fri, 03 Mar 2006 10:34:18 -0800

(uscfootball.com)

On Thursday the players held a voluntary practice in shorts and t-shirts. John David Booty led the offense. Dallas Sartz the defense.

Hershel Dennis was the main guy running the ball, but Whitney Lewis also lined up in the tailback spot.

Newcomers Antwine Perez and Gerald Washington were present.

Photos from March 2nd winter workouts [USCFootball.com]

Rainy First Day

Wed, 23 Mar 2005 10:03:48 -0800

Winston Justice, Brandon Hancock, Whitney Lewis and Chauncey Washington were all back for the first day of spring ball. Grades, injuries, firearms wielding--all kept these studs from participating in USC's national title last year.

Lofa Tatupu, one of the big losses in the Trojans' interior D, was on hand to talk about the NFL combine and make some comments about Chauncey Washington, who had a standout day--scoring LONG touchdowns on a run and a catch. Lofa said he once saw Chauncey run down Reggie Bush, and that he is someone to look out for.

"Chauncey had a big first impression,'' Coach Pete Carroll said. "He broke away a couple times showed a burst and that was exciting.''

The QB spot looked to be John David Booty (wearing #10 now instead of #17) and everyone else. Booty looked comfortable throwing balls in the rain, while others struggled.

Trojans play in the rain as spring practice starts [DailyBreeze]
Wet and wild first spring practice [USCFootball.com]
Spring Practice Roundup [Fanblogs.com]