EARLY BIRD 2010 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW
RELEASED DECEMBER 2009
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TROJANS
OFFENSE - 6
------RETURNING STARTERS------
DEFENSE - 6
KEY LOSSES
OFFENSE: Anthony McCoy-TE, Charles Brown-OT, Jeff Byers-OG/C, Alex Parsons-OG, Jordan Congdon-K, Stafon Johnson-TB, Joe McKnight-TB (NFL), Damian Williams-WR (NFL)
DEFENSE: Kevin Thomas-CB, Josh Pinkard-CB, Will Harris-SS, Taylor Mays-FS, Everson Griffen-DE (NFL)
Running Back / Defensive Front Seven

USC is still deep at RB, and all of the Trojan ball carriers are highly qualified, too. This veteran defensive front will be tough to run on.

Secondary

The losses in the secondary are huge - three were All-Pac Ten selections. The replacements have combined to make one start between them.

QB Matt Barkley
 
LB Chris Galippo
 
* DEPTH CHARTS were only designed as a simplistic gauge for listing players that departed and players that received the most playing experience (consistent starters). NationalChamps.net recognizes the importance of missing personnel data not listed such as redshirts, transfers, injuries, incoming recruits, back ups and alternates. Their coverage will begin with our full 2010 Preseason Preview due out this coming spring.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 2010 DEPTH CHART
Returning Starters/
Key Players
OFFENSE
QB Matt Barkley-So Aaron Corp-Jr / Mitch Mustain-Sr
FB Stanley Havili-Sr D.J. Shoemate-Jr
TB Allen Bradford-Sr C.J. Gable-Sr
WR Ronald Johnson-Sr David Ausberry-Sr / Brandon Carswell-Jr
WR Brice Butler-So ..
TE Rhett Ellison-Jr Blake Ayles-Jr
OT .. ..
OG Butch Lewis-Sr ..
C Kristofer O'Dowd-Sr ..
OG .. ..
OT Tyron Smith-Jr ..
K .. ..
 
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 2010 DEPTH CHART
Returning Starters/
Key Players
DEFENSE
DE Wes Horton-So Nick Perry-So
NT Christian Tupou-Sr ..
DT Jurrell Casey-Jr Armond Armstead-Jr
DE Malik Jackson-Jr ..
SLB Michael Morgan-Sr Devon Kennard-So
MLB Chris Galippo-Jr ..
WLB Malcolm Smith-Sr Shane Horton-Jr / Jordan Campbell-Jr
CB .. ..
CB T.J. Bryant-Jr ..
SS T.J. McDonald-So ..
FS Drew McAllister-Jr ..
P Jacob Harfman-Sr Billy O'Malley-Sr
QUICK ANALYSIS

12/8/09
Southern Cal’s propensity for losing to teams with far lesser players (in terms of recruits’ star rankings) has now driven the Trojans completely out of the current Top 25 and into a bowl game played before January for the first time since 2001 (Pete Carroll’s first season here). So it should be no surprise to finally see that at start the upcoming season, they will be void of their expected Top 10 status. Nothing gets handed to USC this time around based solely on Coach Carroll’s past abilities to recruit so strongly and reload so quickly. Understandably, when true freshman Matt Barkley was given the reigns behind center, questions immediately arose about just how good this team could be under his untested leadership and skills. Barkley is bound to be a great QB, and his receivers are going to make his career soar while those superior running backs will continue to take the heat off the youngster. But Pete Carroll's team, despite their prep accolades, has not resembled those perennial Top 5 teams of the recent past. There is plenty of work to do this off-season, which includes completely rebuilding a secondary that is short on starting experience. Sure, there certainly is plenty of talent across the board here. USC can again rise and win the Pac Ten, and they can still compete for a national championship if things ‘click’. They also could wind up being the same team that continues their recent struggling trends...getting beat by unranked and far inferior teams. Until they show the world something different, the Trojans are actually lucky to jump from being unranked and into a Top 15 position this preseason.

 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
2010 SCHEDULE

Sep. 2 at Hawai'i
Sep. 11 Virginia
Sep. 18 at Minnesota
Sep. 25 at Washington State
Oct. 2 Washington
Oct. 9 at Stanford
Oct. 16 California
Oct. 23 at Oregon State
Oct. 30 Oregon
Nov. 6 Arizona State
Nov. 13 at Arizona
Nov. 27 Notre Dame
Dec. 4 at UCLA