Christmas in February

With less than 8 hours until National Signing Day commences, Carroll and his troops are prepping themselves for an all-nighter. We here at USC Sports Talk are just as excited for the big day. Tomorrow is the first day that Trojan fans can embrace the future generation of new Trojans, a new legion of Trojan Warriors. I will wish the best of luck to most of the prospects considering USC whom decide to attend school elsewhere (I cannot speak for RG3), however their are some that will forever draw the disdain of Trojans fans should they turn their backs on the Trojan Family. I can only hope that said athletes decide to attend a university outside of the Pac-10 as to avoid a similar fate as MeSean Jackson....



Fight On!

Arthur Brown Commits to the U

Arthur Brown, ESPN's #1 rated outside LB prospect and #6 overall prospect, has chosen to attend the University of Miami (Fl). The U is getting a player that will undoubtedly make a big impact as true freshman next fall. This is the scouting report on him:

Brown possesses a great blend of size and speed, but it his explosiveness in the short-area that is rare and a component of his game that you just can't coach. When this fast-twitched athlete zeroes in on a ball carrier, he generates velocity so quickly that he hits with the power of a 230-pound 'backer. That rare ability allows him to blow up plays at the point of attack with strength or burst through the small, backside run crease underneath the cutoff block for five-yard losses. Not many spots between the white lines that Brown can't make plays from; he can attack downhill between the tackles, chase sideline-to-sideline with great range or make an athletic play in coverage with the hips and fluidity of an elite skill player.

Brown will be graduating early from his high school in Kansas, and plans to enroll at Miami this upcoming Spring. Here's the excerpt on his decision from ESPN Insider:

Outside linebacker Arthur Brown committed to Miami-FL over USC, LSU, North Carolina, and Florida Monday night on a televised news conference, ESPN affiliate InsideTheU.com reports.

"Really, in the beginning, I said that it would come down to how I feel and that is why I chose the University of Miami. My visit was great and I met with a lot of the players, coaches, and we really had a good connection."

This is another major blow to USC's recruiting class, as it appears that the Trojans have also lost the services of the nation's #1 CB prospect Patrick Johnson (as reported in my previous post). All the recruiting efforts and focus will probably now shift to ESPN's #2 rated CB prospect T.J. Bryant, who, like Johnson, is also from the state of Florida.

Fight On!

Patrick Johnson Update

Confusion surrounds the recruitment of the nations #1 ranked cornerback prospect, Patrick Johnson. The 6’1” 193lb senior from Ely High School in Pompano, FL has been adamant that he is unwavering on his verbal commitment to The U. CaneSport.com recently quoted Johnson sending out this message in response to message board rumors that he had decommitted from Miami…

"Just stay tuned. You'll find out when I start (school) Jan. 7 at the University of Miami."

While reaffirming his verbal commitment to Miami, Johnson also praises LSU, which he officially visited a couple weeks ago, and maintains that he is very interested in the Trojans. Johnson has made plans to officially visit USC in 3 weeks when the Trojans unleash hell on the lowly bruins in the Coliseum. This will be Johnson's second visit to SC, as he unofficially visited during the summer when he participated dominated USC's Rising Star camp.

Rivals.com had this to say about Johnson after his performance during the Rising Star camp...

Johnson's recovery speed also makes him special. In fact, he's so good in this area that it almost seems like he tricks the quarterback and receiver into thinking they have an open play, but then closes on the ball so fast that an incompletion or turnover occurs.

A defensive back that creates turnovers? Now there's a concept.

A commitment form Patrick Johnson would be a huge steal for the Trojans. Carroll and his assistant coaches are going to have to put on there game faces and put on a show for Johnson if they wish to steal him form the Canes.

Fight On!

Update: Brice Butler picks USC

Like I said in the previous post, Butler was to bring out 3 or 4 hats to his announcement, with each representing the schools he chose as his finalists. Apparently, he kept fans in suspense by only bringing Notre Dame, LSU, and Florida State hats to the podium. After knocking off ND and LSU, Butler surprised everyone when he whipped out a USC hat concealed underneath the FSU hat, becoming USC's 13th verbal commitment of the 2008 recruiting class. Here's the full report from rivals.com...welcome aboard Brice!

Fight On!

McGuffie picks UM...Butler to USC?

As seen on rivals.com, Norcross (GA) High School WR Brice Butler will verbally commit to a school on Saturday at around noon (PST). He has received offers from all over the country, but has yet to name any finalists. At his announcment, Butler will lay out 3 or 4 hats representing each of the schools he has chosen as finalists.

Butler has great hands and is a very good route runner and is highly regarded by most recruiting services. Here is an excerpt from rivals.com that ranked the WR's in various categories.

Best Hands
Crabtree's take: I love Brice Butler's ability to go get the football. He doesn't let it come to him, he attacks the ball. And some of the catches he makes on film are amazing...

Farrell's take: Brice Butler is one of the few players in any category who was a unanimous selection. He makes circus catches and this top five is as good as any in recent years at catching the ball.

Shurburtt's take: The receivers in this group catch everything that's thrown their way. Butler also is an excellent route runner.

I believe it's down to USC or Florida State for Butler (just like T.J. Bryant and Deion Walker), so let's just wait and see what happens.

Hopefully we will hear some good news tomorrow, especially after missing out on McGuffie. For the moment, USC has lost out on class of 2008 football recruit Sam McGuffie, who verbally committed to the University of Michigan last Sunday. The ultra-talented running back out of Cy-Fair (TX) High School, has become a YouTube legend due to his amazing junior season highlight reel. His announcement was a very disappointing one for me, but I guess the temptation of immediate playing time at UM due to the departure of senior RB Mike Hart just proved to be too much for any school to overcome (USC was a finalist along with Notre Dame, Florida, and Texas A&M). However, I believe USC is still in the picture because of the uncertainty of coach Lloyd Carr's future at Michigan. Carr's teams have been known to choke in big games (see last 3 Rose Bowl appearances, '05 vs. Notre Dame, (1-5) record vs. Jim Tressel's Buckeyes, and any others I might have missed), but his age (62) is also a concern, which means his days in Ann Arbor are clearly numbered. Should Carr step down (or be fired) at the end of the season, and if Carroll can convince McGuffie that he isn't going to the NFL, then there is still a chance that we will see this cat in a Trojan uniform next year.

Target 2008: T.J. Bryant

Here is the first installment of our series, Target 2008, which profiles USC recruiting targets for 2008. We kick it off with T.J. Bryant, a 6'1" corner from Tallahassee, FL. A relatively good sized defensive back with 4.4 forty time is exactly what Pete Carroll has been looking for. Bryant doesn't shy away from contact by any means, but more importantly has shown the athleticism to be a lock-down corner in college football. Its no secret that Pete Carroll covets cornerbacks, or defensive players for that matter, from the South. While the SEC dominates the recruiting landscape in the South, Pete Carroll has shown the nation that he will not only bone your wife and kick you in the nuts, but take the best players as well (see Keith Rivers, ROJO, Joe McKnight, Everson Griffen, and Mike Williams). This is critical since T.J. Bryant is in Florida, Florida State, and Miami's neck of the woods. According to Rivals.com, Bryant has the entire SEC on his list, but USC is one that he is very much looking forward to visiting. My guess is that PC rolls out the red carpet.

While USC is stacked at the skill positions, such as quarterback and running back, this 2008 class is one where the USC staff seems to be targeting defensive backs, offensive linemen, and athletes who are versatile. While the state of Florida has loads of talent, USC will be hunting them down one by one, and no doubt T.J. Bryant is one who Carroll not only wants to have, but needs to have. USC is already close to stealing defensive back Patrick Johnson, a Miami commit, who is now a bit shaky in his commitment to the Canes. Elite defensive backs are rare and getting Bryant to commit is the first step to keeping our defense one of the best in the country.

Carroll Snags Another 5-star Lineman

According to Rivals.com Moreno Valley, CA Rancho Verde offensive tackle Tyron Smith will commit to USC tomorrow morning. The 6'6" 264lb 5-star offensive tackle is ranked as the 11th overall player in the class of 2008 according to Rivals and is one of the top offensive linemen in the country. Smith will join fellow 5-star OT Matt Kalil at USC.

We didn't see a better lineman on the NIKE Camp tour than Smith this year. In fact, he might have been the best lineman we saw two years ago when he was just a rising junior. Smith is far more than just a workout warrior however, he's equally as dominant on the field and when you combine his great frame, athleticism with how hard he works off the field and the mean streak he plays with, you can understand why he's so highly touted.

Click here for the entire story from Rivals

One QB arrives...another goes elsewhere

Arkansas QB Mitch Mustain, a highly touted recruit coming out of high school last year, has decided to transfer to USC. Mustain, considered by many locals to be the best player ever to come out of Arkansas, endured through a tumultuos freshman season. Mustain had always wanted to stay home and play for his hometown team, but wavered on his verbal commitment to the Razorbacks during his recruitment and did not feel entrusted by Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt and his system. He ended up signing with Arkansas last year, but that was only after Nutt hired Mustain's high school coach, Gus Malzahn, as Arkansas' offensive coordinator, perhaps in an effort to land the highly coveted recruit and save his job.

The signing of Mustain raised morale amongst the Razorbacks fans, as the general feeling was that he would take the reigns of an offense which already featured the nation's most prolific tandem at RB in Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. However, Mustain was not named the starter for the season opening 50-14 loss at home versus USC. This angered the larger than normal crowd that filled the stadium waiting to see their local hero, but they did get a quick glimpse of what could have been a very promising future. Arkansas lost big to the Trojans that night, but fans (including many Trojans) will always remember when Mustain entered the game in the 4th Quarter (video below). Mustain came in and led the Razorbacks on a quick touchdown scoring drive, and showed his talent and proved worthy enough to be promoted as the starter.

He led Arkansas to victories in its next 8 games, but was suddenly benched by Razorbacks Coach Houston Nutt despite his 8-0 record as a starter and the team's 9-1 record and 1st place standing in the SEC. This was the beginning of the end for Mustain era at Arkansas. Houston Nutt took over the play-calling duties from Gus Malzahn, and basically abandoned the passing game towards the end of the season, often using his stud RB McFadden at QB in an unbalanced, run heavy offense. Nutt's actions caused Malzahn to leave and become offensive coordinator at Tulsa. Freshman WR Damian Williams, Mustain's high school teammate at Springdale (Ark.) High, transferred to USC and arrived this spring. It appears that the presence of Williams, along with USC's recent success with QB's, is what enticed Mustain to choose 'SC. He will now sit out the 2007 season, per NCAA rules, and then battle redshirt sophomore Mark Sanchez and incoming freshman Aaron Corp for the starting job in 2008.

Elsewhere, TrojanNYC reports that USC recruit Dayne Crist, has committed to Notre Dame. Crist (pictured below) is a 6'5" QB and a senior to be at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (go figure). Don't know much about this kid, but he must not want to compete against Sanchez, Mustain, and Corp when he gets here.

Fight On!

L.A. home to LA natives Part II

So the pattern continues. Tourney Tim adds another Louisiana native to his roster. However this player isn't just your average Louisiana native. Floyd secured a verbal commitment from Percy "Romeo" Miller, son of Percy Miller aka Master P. Master P is a platinum recording artist, actor, thriving businessman and a local icon in the City of New Orleans.



USC is starting to look very comfortable to 2008's top prospect, Greg Monroe, who is also from the state of Louisiana.

Here's a short bio on Master P for all the uneducated cunt muscles in Westwood who will undoubtedly hate on Romeo's commitment.

Tourney Tim Strikes Gold Platinum

Last Friday Tim Floyd landed verbal commitments from three of the nations best juniors; Demar Derozan, Angelo Johnson, and platinum recording artist/point guard Percy "Romeo" Miller. Demar Derozan and Angelo Johnson are both ranked amongst the nation's top 100 juniors according to Rivals.com, ranking 55 and 79 respectively. Derozan, a future lottery pick, is an amazing athlete with tremendous talent. Derozan and Romeo spent last summer together playing for the same AAU basketball team, the P. Miller Ballers, coached by Romeo's father, Percy "Master P" Miller.



Romeo, primarily known for his music, Nickelodeon television show, and movies, states that basketball is his first love and that basketball is in his blood. With the drive and determination that has landed him success in the entertainment industry, I believe Romeo has the potential to be a great point guard.

Floyd now has verbal commitments from 3 point guards in the 2008 class. Where does this leave Brandon Jennings? Jennings decided earlier this month that he was going to consider his options and take official visits to UConn and Arizona. Do these recent commitments hurt Floyd's chances of retaining Jennings' commitment? Not necessarily. Jennings actually played alongside Derozan and Romeo for the P. Miller Ballers before switching to the SoCal All-Stars. We will keep you updated on Jennings' commitment.

Tarbabe to become Trojan?

According to TrojanNYC, Trojan recruit Demar Derozan is nearing a decision about where he will play his college ball, with USC topping his list. This is my favorite recruit from the 2008 class. Derozan has been compared to players like Gerald Green and Josh Smith for his athletic ability. Derozan can sky and deservingly wears the number 23. Looks like Floyd is building another top class. Allow us at USC Sports Talk to introduce you to Demar Derozan....

L.A. home to LA natives

Tim Floyd has done an excellent job recruiting talented players out of the state of Louisiana. Every year since Tourney Tim has been at SC he has brought in a Louisiana native; Ryan Francis, Dwight Lewis, Leonard Washington and Marcus Simmons. Trojan basketball fans can only hope that this pattern continues in 2008 with the recruitment of Greg Monroe, the #1 rated high school basketball player. Floyd will have to compete with Duke and LSU for Monroe's commitment.

We will keep you updated on the recruitment of Monroe throughout the offseason.
Here's what we have to look forward to...

http://usctrojans.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/monroe_greg00.html