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Video: Clay Matthews Jr. Making Great Play on Monday Night Football

Clay rips the ball from Adrian Peterson and runs it back for a TD.

USC Dominates 2009 NFL Draft with 11 Players Taken

Final list of players drafted:

1st Round, 5th:  Mark Sanchez, QB - NY Jets

1st Round, 15th:  Brian Cushing, OLB - Houston Texans

1st Round, 26th:  Clay Matthews, OLB - Green Bay Packers

2nd Round, 6th:  Rey Maualuga, ILB - Cincinnati Bengals

2nd Round, 24th:  Fili Moala, DT - Indianapolis Colts

3rd Round, 23rd:  Patrick Turner, WR - Miami Dolphins

4th Round, 4th:  Kaluka Maiava, OLB - Cleveland Browns

4th Round, 17th:  Kyle Moore, DE - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

5th Round, 36th:  David Buehler, K - Dallas Cowboys

6th Round, 10th:  Cary Harris, CB - Buffalo Bills

6th Round, 16th:  Kevin Ellison, SS - San Diego Chargers

USC led the way with 11 players taken; Ohio State had the 2nd most with 7 players.  Coach Herm Edwards had this to say about SC:

"If you want to play pro football and you're a young high school athlete, you know going to USC is going to give you the best opportunity system-wise and competitive-wise on the field."

"That's what USC brings to the table. That's why historically, year-after-year you see all these players coming into the league. Do they all make it? No, but you have an opportunity."

Take note recruits ;-).

Photo of the Day: Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga, and Clay Matthews on Cover of Sports Illustrated

H/T to LATimes.com.

USC Pro Day: Rey Makes Up for Combine Performance

photo from uscripsit.com

From USCRipsIt.com:

- LB Brian Cushing: 4.67 and 4.73
- S Kevin Ellison: 4.75
- CB Cary Harris: 4.68
- LB Kaluka Maiava: 4.66 and 4.68
- LB Clay Matthews: 4.58
- LB Rey Maualuga: 4.69
- DE Kyle Moore: 4.77
- WR Patrick Turner: 4.59

Biggest gain today was from Rey who ran a 40-time that was clocked between high 4.5's to low 4.7's. This was a big improvement over his disappointing showing at the NFL combine where he tweaked his hamstring during the run.

Cary Harris once again struggled with the 40, but Todd McShay said it was due to a knee injury.  I agree with Todd, and most SC fans, that Cary and Kevin Ellison are two picks that will go late due to their less-than-spectacular results at the work-outs, but prove to be ballers at the next level.

Looks like Mark, Cush, Rey, and Clay have solidified themselves as 1st round picks, which will make 2009 the 2nd year in a row that SC will produce 4 players in the 1st round.  That streak could possibly continue next year with Taylor Mays, Shareece Wright, Damian Williams, and a guy like Charles Brown if he can put together a great year.

Matthew Stafford Beats Mark Sanchez on Wonderlic Test

From ChicagoTribune.com:

Quarterbacks: With his pro day workout last week, Georgia's Matthew Stafford showed himself to be in a class by himself, and he also was in a class by himself among the top quarterbacks with regards to the Wonderlic. He scored 38. USC's Mark Sanchez scored 28 and Kansas State's Josh Freeman 27. All are acceptable scores for quarterbacks.

Linebackers: Three linebackers from USC could be chosen in the first round, but probably not in the order of their Wonderlic scores. Clay Matthews scored 27, Brian Cushing 23 and Rey Maualuga 15. Maualuga's score is slightly troubling considering he likely will be a middle linebacker who is asked to call the defenses.

Stafford's 38 is pretty impressive.  A few years back I remember a sample Wonderlic test was posted online and it wasn't necessarily the questions that were difficult rather how quickly you had to answer them.  I'm surprised Mark scored less than 30 considering he's always been a great student.

CNNSI.com's Post-NFL Combine Mock Draft: 4 Trojans in 1st Round

From CNNSI.com:

5.  Rey Maualuga, LB
- The Browns top need is for a pass-rushing outside linebacker in their 3-4 defense, but I'm hearing that new Browns general manager George Kokinis is wary of Brian Orakpo's penchant for injury -- he pulled a hamstring at the combine -- not to mention Texas' less-than-stellar track record of producing great NFL players. Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji is a name to remember for the Browns, but Maualuga would add some presence to the Browns lineup.

8.  Mark Sanchez, QB
- Don't be shocked if the Jaguars take a quarterback, because after David Garrard's so-so 2008 season, he's far from untouchable as Jacksonville's starter. I talked with someone within the league Tuesday who assured me the Jaguars have Sanchez graded higher than Georgia's Matthew Stafford, even though most personnel men have them the other way around. The Jags' minds could change after Stafford throws at his pro day, but for now we're sticking with Sanchez.

12.  Brian Cushing, LB
- As they join the crowd and switch to the 3-4 defensive formation, the Broncos look to be beyond the range of many of their most prized targets, like Curry, Arakpo, Raji, Jenkins and Maybin. We're giving them Cushing, but don't forget about his fellow ex-Trojans outside linebacker, Clay Matthews, who came out of combine week with a sense of momentum behind him.

27.  Clay Matthews, LB
- The Colts could take a polished and pro-ready receiver like Hakeem Nicks in this slot, but Matthews is a prospect who generated some momentum for himself at the combine and exited the week with a first-round grade in the eyes of many teams. The Colts are known for actually taking the best player available in the first round, rather than being limited by need.

Pretty solid mock draft in my opinion; it's worth viewing all the picks and the surprise (or not so) #1.

Interesting to hear Jacksonville has gone against the grain in grading Sanchez above Stafford.  Could it possibly be due to Jack Del Rio's closer connection with SC as a former player?  Not saying he's showing favoritism; I'm wondering if he's showing preference based on something he's heard or seen directly from the SC coaching staff.  Certainly a possibility.

USC Leads the Way With 12 Invitees to NFL Combine

Here's the list of invitees:

Mark Sanchez - QB
Brian Cushing - OLB
Rey Maualuga - ILB/MLB
Clay Matthews Jr. - WDE/OLB
Kevin Ellison - SS
Cary Harris - CB
Kaluka Maiava - OLB
Fili Moala - DT
Kyle Moore - DE
Josh Pinkard - CB/FS
Patrick Turner - WR
David Buehler - Kicker

The list above is just ridiculous.  Every player on there (minus David Buehler) has a shot at being a 1st day pick.  Digging deeper, you have 5 potential 1st rounders in Mark, Cush, Rey, Clay, and Fili plus three legitimate sleeper picks in Kevin Ellison, Kaluka Maiava, and Cary Harris.  Both PT and Kyle Moore can be solid contributors if placed in the right situations; Kyle was actually a surprise performer at the Senior Bowl.

As for Josh Pinkard, he's made his intentions clear that he'll return for his 6th year if he is granted eligilibity by the NCAA.  If Josh comes back, he'll likely start in the FS role alongside Taylor Mays who is looking to play closer to the line.  In Nickle packages, we'd see Josh slide over and Will Harris step in.  Considering Josh was once one of our more talented players on defense, he can definitely boost his draft stock with a solid injury-free season.

Pic of the Day: Clay Matthews Working Hard

And to think, this guy was at one point a walk-on.  Check out the rest of the work-out photos at SCPlaybook.com.