If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column
USC assistant coach Paul Gonzales posted a video of him and other staffers taking a helicopter from downtown L.A, to La Verne to see Damien safety Gavin Williams.
This reeks of Chad “Charmin” Bowden. But I’m not sure why USC went to the trouble when they are strong favorites to land Williams.
I think a much more interesting video would be to show the guy who chaffeurs Lincoln Riley to-and-from Palos Verdes to USC every day. What does he do the rest of the day hanging out at the McKay Center?
- Eric Musselman finally found a 3-phadoint shooter! Guard Isaac Bruns of South Dakota has committed to the Trojans. He shot 39 percent on 3-pointers last season. The question now is how often he will get on the court?
- USC ace Mason Edwards leads the nation in strikeouts with 142 in 78.1 innings. He is 8- 0 with a 1.61 ERA after the Trojans beat Nevada, 8-0, on Thursday night. For what it’s worth, a mock draft of the first round released yesterday did not include Edwards.
- It’s hard to feel like USC’s incessant “The pLAce to be” campaign is working when UCLA has won three national titles and is ranked No. 1 in baseball.
- With Pete Carroll teaching a class at USC in the fall, will he visit football practice? It didn’t happen the last time Carroll taught. If he goes to a practice, it is more likely he will want to see Gary Patterson than Lincoln Riley.
- And now for some history:
USC’s defense swarms Michigan State. No. 51 is Chip Banks while No. 92 is Rich Dimler.
- A week after USC’s huge 24-14 victory over Alabama in 1978, the Trojans hosted Michigan State and the game was considered to be fairly flat with the expected letdown after defeating the Crimson Tide.The Trojans won, 30-9, but no one was celebrating.
“Hell, the horse (Traveler) didn’t even come out after the first quarter,” USC coach John Robinson said.
But whether USC’s performance was top-notch or not, check out these defensive performances: Defensive tackle Rich Dimler had 11 tackles including nine solo. Defensive tackle Ty Sperling had 10 tackles. Freshmen linebackers Chip Banks and Riki Gray had 10 and nine tackles, respectively.
Just in case you think this defense was just stopping the run, it had 13 interceptions in the first four games of the season. The starting safeties, naturally, were Ronnie Lott and Dennis Smith. The corners were Larry Braziel and Tim Lavender.
- Dennis Thurman was an All-American defensive back at USC just prior to Lott and Smith.
“There was never a time in my four-year college career where we were not ranked No. 1 or No. 2,” Thurman said. “We won one national championship and if they had the system they have today, we would have gotten to play Pitt in the national championship game my junior year, and I think we would have handled Pitt, so we would have won two national championships.”
- Here is the ubiquitous USC president John Hubbard, on the sideline of course, during the Trojans’ game at Arizona State in 1978. This was the famous game where USC had four centers injured and linebacker Ray Peters was forced to play the spot.
In the photo, Hubbard comforts Brad Green, who started at center but reinjured his knee on the first series.
One interesting item I came across this week was that Hubbard and a group of trustees met with USC students in 1970 to answer their questions, at the behest of the students. Among the trustees who agreed to meet with the students was movie mogul Jack Warner.
That would be unheard of today. A few years ago, Rick Caruso held some meetings on campus but that was because USC was in full damage control from the George Tyndall scandal.
- Who remembers defensive lineman John Grant, who played at USC from 1970-72. Grant came to USC from Boise, Idaho, where he was a tight end. USC moved him to defensiv line.
Grant got his first start in 1970 against Iowa, when Tody Smith of Wild Bunch fame injured his ankle.
How did Grant play? “John Grant played the best single game as a defensive interior lineman that I’ve ever seen,” John McKay said.
Marv Goux called it “the best performance we’ve ever had from an individual starting his first game.”
How do you avoid going downhill from there? Grant only flourished, becoming an All-American in 1972 and then spent seven seasons with the Denver Broncos, where he played in Super Bowl XII.
USC defensive lineman John Grant tries to break up a pass from Washington QB Sonny Sixkiller.
Actress Juli Reding speaks to Dodger outfielder Elmer Valo at the first home game in Los Angeles in 1958 at the Coliseum.
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