Inside the Pac, Part II
A look at the USC Trojans for 2002
By: Malamute, 23 May 2002

In our estimation, the Pac-10 conference title is up for grabs in 2002, with UCLA, USC, WSU, and Washington being the frontrunners and Oregon and OSU being the sleepers. Over the next few weeks, we will take a look at each contender, examining its strengths and weaknesses. In the first part of this series, we glanced at the UCLA Bruins, at its strengths and weaknesses, and now take a peek at the USC Trojans' football team for 2002. 

In a league teeming with parity, USC’s strengths for next season are:

• A senior quarterback, Carson Palmer (pass efficiency 125.5 in 2001)





• Offensive coordinator Norm Chow is in his second year





• Running backs Justin Fargus and Sultan McCullough could give fans of Tailback-U some déjà vu, a blast from the past





• Most of the offensive line returns





• Strong incoming freshman class





• Returns 14 players, eight on offense, five on defense and one specialist.

Among its projected weaknesses are:

• Although all road games in the Pac-10 are tough, USC plays in what could be called three road killers: Oregon, WSU and UCLA.





• Although head coach Pete Carroll is in his second year at USC, which is a plus, he posted a 6-6 record in his first season, which is a negative. He needs to prove that he can coach in this conference and not be the kindest, gentlest coach around. On the positive side, the 50-year-old Carroll has 27 years of NFL and college experience, including 11 on the college level. As an assistant coach, he was a defensive specialist.





• Thanks to parity in college football, USC’s glory days are forever gone. Still, though, every team in the Pac-10 wants to beat ‘SC, which is synonymous with beating a Notre Dame, say, another venerable team from the past. Why? I don’t really know why, unless it’s synonymous with resurrecting a successful army general from long ago—say, Napoleon Bonaparte—and beating the tar out of him.




• Not much of a home-field advantage (10-10 at home over the last five years). Even though the track has been removed from the mausoleum, fans are miles away from the action and no one wants to play in it, except maybe the San Diego Chargers, who no one wants to see play in it, including Paul Tagliabue. 

 

Speaking of the past, Carson Palmer fits the mold of Pac-10 quarterbacks who have led their team to the Rose Bowl game in recent times--and he's taller than Napoleon Bonaparte. Most of these quarterbacks went on to be NFL quarterbacks (see Table 1), and Palmer should go in the first round of next year's NFL draft if he has a brilliant season this year. He has the potential; he just hasn’t shown it thus far. This is largely due to the fact he’s played under three different offensive coordinators during his tenure at USC.

I asked Tom Ramsey (ex-UCLA quarterback) about Palmer's upside and this is what he had to say:

“I've liked Palmer ever since I met him - strong work ethic, great tools, great athleticism, great kid. His only fault is that he's had to learn three different systems since he's been at SC, and I believe having a second season with Norm Chow will only improve his numbers. I believe he is capable of taking his team to a championship (at this level, and the next), but he's got to have 'buy-in' from everyone around him, meaning he's not a one-man show. There aren't many of those, i.e.,  (Brett) Farve.”

Table 1. The following helmsmen, all but one being a senior at the time (Leaf), led their teams to either the Rose Bowl game or to the conference championship game (Harrington, Fiesta Bowl 2002).

Offense:

In the Pac-10, the Trojans finished 10^th in total offense last season, a stat they obviously need to improve upon. On the positive side, of the Trojans six losses, only an average of four points per game separated them from their opponents. However, that was due to its defense, which kept them in every game. 

At quarterback, Carson Palmer is the real deal. Last season, he played in every game, averaging 233 yards passing per game, while being the Trojans fourth leading rusher (282 total yards). Matt Cassell, played behind him in six games last season, but only threw two passes, completing one. Matt Leinhart is battling Cassell for the number two spot, and as of now, neither of them have stepped to the forefront. Obviously, Palmer must stay healthy if the Trojans are to improve on last season’s finish (6-6 overall, and 5-3 in the Pac), lest they suffer a big drop off in experience.

At running back, USC will feature Sultan McCullough (the likely starter at tailback), Justin Fargus (formerly of Michigan) and Darrell Poston. If they stay healthy--and all three have had a history of injuries--the Trojans should field a potent running attack. Behind them is the durable, fan’s favorite Sunny Byrd, who, although average in ability according to those in the know, is a strong, determined runner. Chad Pierson, a good runner and receiver, will start at fullback.

The Trojans should be improved at wide receiver, with Keary Colbert, the go-to-guy, and Kareem Kelly, the breakaway man (a 93 yard reception in 2001), ready to take on all Pac-10 cornerbacks. Together they combined for 1172 receiving yards last season Unfortunately, the loss of Devin Pitts (6 games, 96 yards), who has been declared academically ineligible for next season, will impact the overall depth at wide receiver. Behind Colbert and Kelly are William Buchanon, Grant Mattos, JC transfer Jason Mitchell, Sandy Fletcher, and Frank Candela.

Tight end will be improved for the Trojans. Alex Holmes (10 games, 20 catches, 150 yards) will replace Kori Dickerson as starter. Behind him are Doyal Butler and Greg Guenther (6’ 8”), who some say has the soft hands of a Jerramy Stevens, a first-round pick in the NFL, who is out of Washington.

The offensive line should be improved over last season, but that’s not saying much, since in the Pac-10, the Trojans were last in both total offense and rushing offense. 

Projected to start against Auburn in the opener are Jacob Rogers (6-6, 290) left tackle, Lenny Vandermade (6-3, 275) center, Norm Katnik (6-4, 270) left guard, Zach Wilson (6-5, 300) right guard, and Eric Torres (6-5, 305) right tackle. Some of the pundits have penciled incoming freshman Winston Justice (Long Beach Poly High) as the starting right tackle. Evidently, he’s that good.

Realistically speaking, the offensive line is a year away from gelling as an effective unit, which means the defense will have to buttress the offense in 2002, as it did the year before. Last season, the Trojans’ offense finished in the bottom half of the Pac-10 in 9 of the 12 offensive categories listed in the table below, while the defense finished in the top half of the league in 8 out of 10 categories (see Table 3.)

Table 2. How USC's Offense Fared in the Pac-10 in 2001

Defense:

Three cornerbacks are gone and injuries to the defensive line could present problems as far as depth goes.

All-everything-to-be Shaun Cody, who had 5 sacks last season, leads the defensive line. Projected starters are as follow: at defensive end, Kenechi Udeze (6-3, 280); at nose tackle, Bernard Riley (coming off an injury) or Mike Patterson (6-0, 295); at defensive tackle, Shaun Cody (6-5, 255); and at rush end, Omar Nazel (6-5, 235) or Van Brown. This group will be backed up by A.J. Single and Austin Jackson. The defensive line is more talented than the year before, but not as deep, having lost Ryan Nielsen, Lonnie Ford, and Bobby DeMars.

Although Frank Strong and John Cousins have departed, the linebacking corps should be improved, with Mike Pollard (MLB), Arron Graham (SLB), Lee Webb (MLB), Chris Prosser (SLB) all being part of the rotation. Matt Grootegoed (SLB; missed spring ball) and Bobby Otani (WLB) also should be in the mix. Melvin Simmons had a good spring and should start at weak-side line backer. Incoming freshmen Oscar Lua and Dallas Sartz are projected to help out.  All in all, this group should provide a strong, two-deep rotation at line backer.

At defensive back, Troy Polamalu (strong safety, all Pac-10) returns. He was tied for second in tackles (Pac-10) last season, finishing behind Robert Thomas of UCLA. DeShaun Hill is penciled in at the free safety spot. 

At cornerback the Trojans have lost Chris Cash and Kris Richard, both of them NFL draft selections, going to Detroit and Seattle respectively. Also, Antuan Simmons is gone. Kevin Arbet is scheduled as a starter at cornerback, as is Darrell Rideaux (5-7 ½). Marcell Allmond has the size and athleticism to match up with the bigger receivers in the conference and is penciled in at nickel back.  Incoming freshman Justin Wyatt and Ronald Nunn (JC transfer) could help out in the two-deep rotation.

Table 3. How USC fared defensively in the Pac-10, 2001

Reference:

Paskwietz, Garry, "Spring Ball Review," WeAreSC.com