TrojanNYC.com

Video: Bill Withers Visits USC Team Meeting; Leads Team in Singing "Lean on Me"

Great video of the legendary Bill Withers joining up with Coach Carroll to punk the team.  This was in retaliation of the "brawl" organized by Allen Bradford and Everson Griffen last week.

After the joke was finished, Bill, who was a fan of the team's original impromptu "Lean on Me" video that went viral, led the team in doing another rendition of his classic song.

Update: Everson Griffen & Jordan Campbell Arrest Report is False

From ESPN.com:

A spokesperson from the Nantucket Police Department said Thursday there were no criminal charges filed against USC defensive end Everson Griffen or linebacker Jordan Campbell, nor were the pair arrested, as reported elsewhere, for "breach of peace."

The pair were cited for being at loud at a July 4th party

As suspected yesterday, this is petty stuff.  Hope this near-arrest puts the rest of the players on alert.

Everson Griffen & Jordan Campbell Arrested in Nantucket

From NantucketIndependent.com:

11:21 p.m. Five men were arrested at 2 Morgan Square on charges of breach of the peace. They were: Jordan A. Moore, 21, of Corona, Calif.; Everson D. Griffen, 21, of Los Angeles, Calif.; Tyler Tannock, 20, of Barrington, R.I.; Samuel Chrupcala, 18, of Barrington, R.I. and Chad Egan, 21, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Breach of the peace?  I'm guessing "breach of the peace" in Nantucket, MA is raising your voice beyond conversational levels.  Being huge and sticking out of the crowd probably doesn't help either.  The two will probably be fined and that will be the end of it - no big deal.

It's nervous time for those worrying about arrests with the coaches on vacation and the players enjoying summer, but you can't complain since it comes with the territory of being on top and living life under the microscope.  Recent Rivals article has Florida with 24 arrests and Georgia with 30 in the past 4 years. Think the correlation between the teams' success and arrests are coincidental?  I'm just hoping all the inevitable arrests will be like the one above and not at the level of an Eric Wright.  That one still hurts to this day; kid would have been an 1st team All-American at SC.

Update: There were never any arrest made.  The report above is false.

More on Devon Kennard's Commitment to USC

From USCFootball.com:

"This was a really tough decision, but I've decided to attend the University of Southern california - I'm a Trojan," said Kennard as he put on a cardinal colored USC hat. "I felt like I needed to step up and be a man with this decision. I'm glad that this is the end and that I'm going to be a Trojan. My family is close and they'll get to see me play.

..."The atmosphere at USC is all about winning," said Kennard. "I'm a competitive person and that's the philosophy Pete Carroll has. He's a defensive minded coach and the environment he has created at USC just pushes you to get better."

On top of the obvious talent, Devon has a 3.96 GPA.  If you watch his press conference and interviews, he seems like a grounded and mature kid that understands the realities of what he's stepping into instead of living in his own hype.  In that respect, he reminds me of Armond Armstead from last year's class; already approaching football with a business mindset in his conduct and training. This bodes well considering SC is arguably the most scrutinized football school in the nation; we need kids that understand how the media works, what real competition is about, and how newfound fame comes with responsibilities.  

From a player standpoint, the obvious comparison comes from current Trojan, Everson Griffen, who is also out of Arizona:

Everson Griffen - 6'4, 266lbs, 4.56, Top-Rated DE

Devon Kennard - 6'3, 257lbs, 4.70, Top-Rated DE

Everson was an absolute freak of a talent coming out of HS; I think it is safe to say he had the edge in terms of athleticism stepping into SC.  Where I think Devon sets himself apart is discipline.  Everson was almost purely a pass-rusher coming out of college; Devon brings more of a balanced package in terms of proficiency against the run or pass.  

Both are of course elite talents.  If Devon can stay healthy, he has a great shot at being a star player at SC.  Assuming he recovers on time, he'll likely push for time right away with Malik Jackson who looked great last year. 

Everson Griffen Named Freshman All-American

by the Football Writers Association of America.  Here's the complete list from Scott Wolf's blog:

OFFENSE
QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma 6-4 214 Oklahoma City, Okla.
RB Knowshon Moreno, Georgia 5-11 207 Belford, N.J.
RB • LeSean McCoy, Pittsburgh 5-11 200 Harrisburg, Pa.
RB Harvey Unga, BYU 6-0 221 Provo, Utah
WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech 6-3 208 Dallas, Texas
WR Jeremy Maclin, Missouri 6-1 185 Kirkwood, Mo.
TE James Casey, Rice 6-4 245 Azle, Texas
OL • Anthony Castonzo, Boston College 6-7 262 Hawthorn Woods, Ill.
OL • Anthony Davis, Rutgers 6-6 350 Piscataway, N.J.
OL • Rodney Hudson, Florida State 6-2 285 Mobile, Ala.
OL • Matt Murphy, UNLV 6-3 265 Lake Forest, Calif.
C Ryan McMahon, Florida State 6-3 275 Rome, Ga. 

DEFENSE
Pos. Player, School Ht. Wt. Hometown
DL • Everson Griffen, USC 6-3 265 Avondale, Ariz.
DL Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh 6-5 250 Coral Springs, Fla.
DL • Ian Williams, Notre Dame 6-2 300 Altamonte Springs, Fla.
DL Colby Whitlock, Texas Tech 6-2 281 Noble, Okla.
LB • Greg Jones, Michigan State 6-1 220 Cincinnati, Ohio
LB Scott Lutrus, Connecticut 6-3 220 Brookfield, Conn.
LB • Rolando McClain, Alabama 6-4 255 Decatur, Ala.
DB • Eric Berry, Tennessee 5-11 195 Fairburn, Ga.
DB • Omar Bolden, Arizona State 5-11 200 Ontario, Calif.
DB Alex Kube, Northern Illinois 6-1 203 Cary, Ill.
DB Tavious Polo, Florida Atlantic 5-10 160 Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
DB Deunta Williams, North Carolina 6-2 195 Jacksonville, N.C.

SPECIALISTS
Pos. Player, School Ht. Wt. Hometown
P Keenyn Crier, Arizona 6-1 200 Spring, Texas
K Thomas Weber, Arizona State 6-1 202 Downey, Calif.
KR • Max Suter, Syracuse 5-11 190 Ruffs Dale, Pa.
ATH • Antonio Brown, Central Michigan 5-11 175 Miami, Fla.
First-year Coach of the Year: Jeff Jagodzinski, Boston College

Congrats to Everson, he has a tremendous future ahead of him.  My favorite players off that list are Eric Berry and LeSean McCoy.  I actually saw the latter on his recruiting visit to SC when he was on crutches, from I believe, an ankle injury.  Never thought he'd amount to much, but he definitely proved me wrong this season.  Reminds me a lot of Reggie. 

TNYC Oregon State Review

Gotta love our defense, here's the review:

Positive - Defensive Pressure

• The defense brought the pressure and Sean Canfield ended up being sacked 9 times.  The game-plan was an easy call to make considering the questionable status of OSU's star all-purpose back, Yvenson Bernard, and the immobility and poor decision-making skills of Sean Canfield, but that doesn't take away from the execution of the defense itself.
  

Negative - Non-Existent 2nd Half Offense

• Our drives in the 2nd half:

1st Drive - 4 and out
2nd Drive - 3 and out
3rd Drive - 3 and out
4th Drive - 3 and out
5th Drive - 7 and out
6th Drive - 5 and end of the game

Simply pathetic.  The inconsistency of our offense continues to be the bane of this team. 

Player of the Game - The Entire Defense

• Tempting to give it to a player like Everson Griffen, but the defense played solid as a unit.  For example, after Everson's 1st sack, it was Thomas Williams who had a nice pass break-up across the middle which helped set up 3rd and long giving Everson the green light to blow outside and get to Sean Canfield once again.  Sequences of plays like the one just mentioned happened throughout the game and therefore the entire defense should be awarded. 
  

Play of the Game - JDB to Patrick Turner for 13 Yard TD

• PT threw some nice stutter steps off the line gaining a step on Brandon Hughes up the sideline; JDB then threw a nice pass over the top of Brandon and into the fully extended arms of PT.  Nice throw and catch.
  

Final Thoughts - Defense Against Cal

• Watching how this defense responded to the more free and loose defensive game-plan on Saturday gives me hope that the same type of pressure will be brought against Cal and Nate Longshore.  Of course it will need to be tightened against Cal's explosive players, but the key to this game will be making Nate feel uncomfortable in the pocket and forcing him to try and make plays on the run.  Our safeties need to come up big this week not only in support against Hawkins/Jackson, but also in being active and waiting to capitalize on errant throws.   

Should be a tough game this Saturday.  It doesn't matter that Cal has been playing mediocre the past few weeks, they will wake up for this game and our defense will need to step up big to help out, once again, our struggling offense.  Hopefully JDB can get in-sync with the receivers this week...

Freshman Workout Photos

A lot more over at USCFootball.com:

Joe McKnight (RB), Marc Tyler (RB), and Aaron Corp (QB)


Brandon Carswell (WR)


Marshall Jones (S)


Marc Tyler (RB)


Chris Galippo (LB)


Christian Tupou (DE) and Everson Griffen (DE)

These guys look ready to play.