Offseason Update #10

   With the first week of spring practice in the books, a lot of talk has arose of what the Trojans need to work on, and what their strong suits are. I'll start off with what the Trojans are strong in, which is their offense. Unfortunately, quarterback Cody Kessler is leaving, but Max Browne (RS Junior) will take his place. Max Browne is now experienced and ready to lead the Trojan's offense. The running back position is definitely filled with talent due to Justin Davis and Ronald Jones. USC is also stacked with talent in the receiver position with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Darreus Rogers, Issac Whitney, and Adoree' Jackson. The offense is filled with talent to help lead the Trojans to a successful season. The defense on the other hand will definitely need some work to be great. With the departure of Antwaun Woods, Delvon Simmons, Greg Townsend, Anthony Sarao, and Su'a Cravens the USC defense will have to be rebuilt. In addition, five star defensive tackle Kenny Bigelow will miss all of the 2016 season due to an ACL tear. All of the above players had big roles in the defense, that now have to be filled. Hopefully, USC will be able to build a dominate defense like they had last season!

Offseason Update #9

  The Trojans recently had a big event for their seniors that are pursuing the NFL Draft. That event was the Trojans NFL Pro Day. The Trojans NFL Pro Day was on March 23. A pro day is a day were many NFL scouts come out to college schools and analyze all of the athletes, to decide if they want to draft them in the upcoming draft. A lot of athletes participated, but the athletes that scouts looked at the most were Su'a Cravens and Cody Kessler. Both Su'a Cravens and Cody Kessler performed greatly in front of the scouts. Su'a Craven's 40 yard dash time was 4.65, and his vertical jump was 30.5 inches. The above numbers aren't the best but are pretty good for a linebacker due to his size. Cody Kessler didn't participate in the 40 yard dash, and vertical jump because he is not a mobile quarterback, so scouts wouldn't care about his results. But, Cody Kessler did show off his amazing arm in front of the scouts by showing arm strength and touch. Hopefully, the scouts liked most of the participants, so that they can all pursue their dreams of playing in the NFL. Su'a Cravens is predicted to be drafted in the late first round, while Cody Kessler is predicted to be drafted in the seventh round. The seventh round may seem late in the draft, but quarterbacks don't usually get picked early in the draft unless they are extraordinary. Hopefully, all of the USC alumni that make it to the NFL will show their amazing skills that they progressed at USC!

Offseason Update #8

    Since their hasn't been any recent news for USC I decided to dedicate this blog post to my experiences at USC training camps. I have been to both Camp Kiffin(two times) and Camp Sark(one time). They are the same camp, the only difference was who was head coach at the time. The training camp is the same every year, and just as fun as the year before. Since the order of the events of the camp are the same every year, I'm going to explain the order of the camp. The camp always starts off with registration. After everybody is checked in, all of the athletes head to the USC public field with volunteer football players to stretch. After everybody is warm and stretched, we begin to run the 40 yard dash, and perform the broad jump. After every athlete has ran a 40 yard dash and performed a broad jump, everybody heads to the USC practice field (where the Trojans practice) to go through a circuit of drills. The coaches and volunteer players put us into groups of about ten, and begin the circuit. The circuit drills are ran by actual football players that teach us the fundamentals of the drill, and how the drill relates to an actual game scenario. The circuit usually takes about two hours. Once the circuit is complete, we have about an hour break for lunch. Lunch is one of my favorite parts of the camp because you can talk to the players and pick their minds to become a better player. After lunch, the players take us into the film room and show us a video of all of the highlights from the season before. Once the video ends we get taken by the Strength and Conditioning Coach to the weight room. The Strength and Conditioning Coach then talks to us about the importance of weight lifting. Once he finishes his very disciplined speech, he releases us to let us explore the weight room. Next, we return to the USC Practice Field after about two hours of exploring the athletic facilities to play the famous Trojan Ball Tournament. Trojan Ball is exactly like two- touch football, except that you can throw the ball as many times as you want. So, if you catch the football, you have the choice to throw the football to one of your teammates even if he's in front of you. All of the athletes get into their teams that they were told to get into during registration. The tournament then begins! You play a minimum of three games with a chance to play more if you make it to the championship. The whole tournament usually takes about two hours. After the tournament, the camp is basically over because the only thing left to do is listen to all the coaches say thank you. Finally, after the coaches say their thank yous', everybody is an a mad dash to get to their cars so that they can get home before they get stuck in LA traffic!