For the past ten days, I have been on UCLA's campus, fulfilling a contractual obligation to be a faculty advisor for some very talented high school scholars preparing to enter medical school.
And like some kind of bizarro world revenge for having a committed Trojan spending time in enemy territory, I silently and painfully watched a slow exodus of players streaming ... 14Jul2010 |
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With the Trojans needing to find a long-term kicking replacement for whoever they give the job to this year, special teams coach John Baxter has made place kicking a priority in terms of recruiting for next year's incoming class.
Now coach Baxter's efforts have paid off.
Andre Heidari, from Stockdale high school in Bakersfield, Ca., gave his verbal pledge to the Trojans ... 2Jul2010 |
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With the unwelcome news of the NCAA's sanctions against the USC Trojans, including the loss of 30 scholarships over three years, it appears that only a few days later, the Trojans recruiting strategy has been deeply affected.
Of course, this is to be expected from a program that now has only 15 scholarships to offer for the 2011 season, instead of ... 19Jun2010 |
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Well, that certainly didn't take long.
Only a day after the NCAA lowered the boom on USC, the vultures are attempting to circle the carcass.
ESPN's Joe Schad is reporting that USC mega-recruit, running back Dillon Baxter, has notified the Trojans' compliance office that five schools have illegally contacted him, apparently attempting to woo him to their programs.
Alabama, Florida, Fresno State, Oregon, ... 13Jun2010 |
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A couple of articles ago, I profiled Bakersfield (Centennial high school) quarterback Cody Kessler, who received a scholarship offer from the Trojans.
In the piece, I listed all of the qualities that young Mr. Kessler possessed, including a rocket for an arm and a tough running style that produced a dozen touchdowns last year.
Make no mistake about it, Cody Kessler is ... 7Jun2010 |
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Before going any further, it should be noted with abundant emphasis that Lane Kiffin, Ed Orgeron and the entire USC recruiting staff have done a marvelous job of swaying excellent prep talent to verbally commit to the Trojans.
USC already has six pledges from highly regarded prep players including the star of the six, cornerback/running back DeAnthony Thomas.
With this kind of ... 29May2010 |
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The dominoes are beginning to fall for the Trojans in the 2010 prep recruiting season.
Just three days after five-star (as rated by Scout.com) cornerback/running back DeAnthony Thomas gave USC his verbal pledge, Tre Madden, a 6’1,” 217 pound linebacker from prep power Mission Viejo high school has done the same.
Madden, rated a three-star by Scout, will wind up with a ... 24May2010 |
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There is big recruiting news coming out of Trojanland, and it is accompanied by a bit of intrigue.
First, the big news.
Victor Blackwell, the multi-talented wide receiver from Mater Dei high school, home of 2010 Trojan verbal Max Wittek, has decided to join his quarterback teammate at the college level by giving his verbal pledge to USC.
Blackwell, a four-star (as rated ... 21May2010 |
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Usually, weekends are rather slow for prep football recruiting, but not this one.
Wanting to get the process behind him, fast-rising quarterback Max Wittek from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., gave his verbal commitment to Lane Kiffin and the Trojans on Sunday.
Wittek, labeled a “four star” recruit by Scout.com, has seen his scholarship offers rise dramatically following an ... 26Apr2010 |
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There are two "givens" regarding recruiting and Lane Kiffin in terms of USC football.
One, at this time of year, offers made to prep football players are abundant, with the recruiting "net" being cast far and wide to prospective Trojans.
The other is that Kiffin, along with his personal recruiting guru, Ed Orgeron, will make persuasive pitches to these young players, enticing ... 15Apr2010 |
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It has been awhile since we last looked at the recruiting efforts of coach Lane Kiffin and company at "Trojanville."
In our absence, the Trojans have offered five more athletes, including a quarterback from a prep school that has historically been a pipeline of quarterbacks to USC.
None of these athletes have achieved a high "star status" as rated by Scout.com, but ... 26Mar2010 |
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According to multiple sources, Trojan recruit Seantrel Henderson, the massive lineman from Minnesota, will not be signing his letter of intent with USC today as had been previously reported.
Citing "scheduling problems," Henderson will sign with the Trojans but not until sometime next week.
There may be a couple of reasons for this beyond the usual rumors suggesting that Henderson is just ... 18Mar2010 |
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It is now being reported that Seantrel Henderson will indeed sign with the Trojans after initially saying he would wait until the NCAA rules on possible violations of the USC football program.
According to ESPN, Henderson's father has said that his son will sign without waiting for the ruling.
Seantrel Henderson, who is a top ten prep prospect for most, if not ... 15Mar2010 |
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When I first started this "Laying the Foundation" series outlining the recruiting efforts of head coach Lane Kiffin, recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron and company on behalf of the USC Trojans, I anticipated only profiling the five- and four-star (as rated by Scout.com) prep recruits.
Then it occurred to me that perhaps the Trojans would offer three-star recruits as well, and ... 12Mar2010 |
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As is to be expected, while I was away doing other things, Lane Kiffin, Ed Orgeron and company were busy extending offers to prep athletes who could don the cardinal and gold for the 2011 season.
Following the criteria established in the first three articles of this series, I will play "catch up" and highlight those four-star athletes, as rated by ... 10Mar2010 |
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One of the drawbacks to taking a few days off from the recruiting trail early in the season is that so many changes occur when you aren't looking.
Part one of this 2010-2011 look at the early USC recruiting process featured the Scout.com five-star prep high school athletes who the Trojans had already offered.
Since I filed that report, three more five-star ... 4Mar2010 |
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When we last peered into the future, we saw the 2011 five star prep recruits that the Trojans had offered scholarships to and their possible interest in USC.
Now we turn our attention to the four star high school football players who hold scholarship offers from USC.
Initially, I had intended this series to be a two part affair but since Lane ... 24Feb2010 |
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Now that the letters of intent for 2010 have all been signed and delivered (with the exception of Seantrel Henderson), is it too early to think about what's on the horizon for 2011?
Naw...its never too early to ponder the possiblities for who may wear the cardinal and gold in the not too distant future for true Trojans fans.
After all, the ... 21Feb2010 |
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With the exception of a few recruits, such as Seantrel Henderson, who will wait to sign his LOI, this years Trojan recruiting class has been signed, sealed and delivered.
Looking ahead to the 2010 college football season, it is reasonable to speculate which of these talented recruits will see early playing time and those who will redshirt, destined to see the ... 8Feb2010 |
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Amidst the celebration of a very promising prep recruiting class delivered by new USC head coach Lane Kiffin, there remains the spectre of possible sanctions that may be coming the Trojans way via the NCAA infractions committee.
These possible sanctions, tied to whatever is found regarding the Reggie Bush investigation, continue to cast a pall over the Trojan football program and ... 4Feb2010 |
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Obviously place-kicker is an important aspect of the game. But if you're short scholarships and need to be more ...
Scott we can see you are a hater and if the trainer knew then how come he didn't report it. ...
@ Scott: I couldn't have said it better myself! 