This, ladies and gentlemen, is why recruiting is so important.
Already this season, USC has lost eight starters or projected starters to injury, accounting for 20 missed games between them. And yet, the Trojans are 4-0, ranked third in the country, and once again the class of the Pacific-10. Are they doing it quite as easily as they’ve done the past two seasons? No, but they’re doing it having played 15 freshmen this season and relying primarily on underclassmen. Of the 76 players listed on USC’s depth chart, seven are seniors. Of those seven, five are listed as starters. Twelve players listed as starters or co-starters are sophomores or freshmen.
That may be common in college basketball now, but it is incredibly rare for a national power to play that many young players in football and still be one of the nation’s best teams. It’s also incredibly rare for a team to have the number of injuries to starters that the Trojans have had, and continue to win week after week.
But when you recruit like USC has the last several years, you can do it.
There are 67 players on the USC roster who were high school All-Americans. Of the 23 newcomers to USC this season, only three were not prep All-Americans. That means there are players that are fourth on the Trojans depth chart who were among the most coveted recruits in the country. Freshman running back Allen Bradford was a Parade Magazine, USA Today, EA Sports, Super Prep and Prep Star All-American, and he’s sixth on the depth chart at a position where USC is replacing Reggie Bush and LenDale White.
Think having that kind of talent on the scout teams makes practice kind of competitive?
That’s why USC hasn’t missed a beat. Because of the talent the Trojans have stockpiled, by the time the starters get through with practice, games seem easy by comparison. Washington defensive coordinator Kent Baer said this week that the USC offense is facing better defenses in practice than it is in games, and he’s right. That’s why a first-year starting quarterback like John David Booty can come in and look like a star: As a backup he went against a starting defensive lineup in practice that was among the nation’s best, and now as a starter he’s facing some of the top young defensive players in the country every day. That’s why he doesn’t get flustered in games: He’s seen players who are faster, stronger and better than yours every day for the last three years.
And if one guy gets hurt, move on to the next future star, no big deal.
As always, recruiting is everything in college sports. Pete Carroll is a great college football coach, and his staff is talented, but you simply don’t win without good players. And good players want two things: They want to win, and they want to play. And USC has that formula. That’s why Carroll can get the best players in California and can also go to Utah, New York, Colorado, Washington, Texas, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, North Carolina, Hawaii, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee (all represented on the USC roster) and steal some of their best players too. Those guys know when they get to USC, they’ll win games, and they’ll have a chance to play right away.
That’s really where the blueprint for what USC has done starts. The winning is great, the awards are great, the rankings are great. But none of that is there if the Trojans aren’t finding ways to convince the best players in the nation to come to Los Angeles.
And it’s not going to stop any time soon. The best players don’t look at the roster and see a roadblock at their position. No, those kinds of players believe they are the best, and see no reason why they shouldn’t be starting regardless of who is in front of them. And they like that challenge, they know those other guys will help them win, and so they sign-up. There are four freshmen among the top six running backs on the USC roster, and they all feel they are the best player on the team, and they want to prove it. They knew the others would be at USC too, and they didn’t care, because they feel like they’re the best.
And it’s that attitude that has USC where it is despite losing the past two Heisman Trophy winners, and it’s that attitude that’s the reason why the Trojans will remain among the nation’s best programs.
Mike Allende is The Herald’s college football writer
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
