TrojanNYC.com

Transfer: Jordan Campbell Transfers to Louisville

Read more about it here: http://ditchball.com/DB/?p=82

Transfer: Jordan Campbell Requests a Release; Boise State Likely His Next Destination

The rumors I posted yesterday ended up being confirmed.  Jordan has officially asked for his release and is looking to Boise State as his next destination.

Jordan had a tumultuous career at SC.  He's always had a lot of passion in being Trojan, so much so that he got a SC football tatted on his arm, but after a string of off-field incidents, he sorta was the forgotten man on the depth chart.  The issues continued again when Lane Kiffin came on board when he accumulated too many negative points and forced to sit out of work-outs while the coaching staff evaluated his future.  It makes sense that Jordan is the 1st to transfer since he has the biggest slate to wipe clean.

In terms of how this impacts SC, although you hate to say it out of respect for Jordan, it's actually beneficial for the team.  With limited scholarships, Jordan's departure opens up a slot that can be filled with higher priority positions like offensive linemen.  We should be fine at the linebacker spot with an experienced LB like Glen Stanley coming in and a very promising recruit in Tre Madden who plays beyond his years coming in 2011.

Best of luck to Jordan wherever he ends up.

Rumor: Jordan Campbell First to Transfer Post-Sanctions?

That's the rumor going around. It would make sense since Jordan has been on thin ice with CLK due to off-field issues. He's also been buried on the depth chart and can't seem to make up any ground. He might just want a fresh start and a chance to play.

If the rumors are true, I wonder what he'll do with his SC tattoo?

USC Football: Jordan Campbell Disciplined by Administration

According to Scott Wolf, Jordan is currently being withheld from work-outs with the team for "amassing too many negative points" which can be accrued from missing classes, tutoring sessions, etc.

TNYC: Thoughts on Washington State Win

Here are some random thoughts on the win:

- It was a win, but a frustrating one.  The 1st quarter started smoothly with a quick 3-and-out from Wazzu followed by a quick TD from SC, but then 3 holding penalties, 1 offsides, 1 personal foul, and 1 roughing the kicker happened.  Let's not even talk about the 3rd quarter...

- Nice to see Brice Butler get his 1st career TD.  There was a overhead shot during the broadcast and you could see Brice start from the slot, move inside on the safety and then get nice separation off the break on the corner route; the defender really had no chance on the play.  You can watch Brice talk about the play here.

- Matt Barkley's throw to Damian Williams on the 3rd TD was a thing of beauty and the play of the day.  The anticipation and quick-decision showed why he is so highly-regarded.  If you look at the play, Matt drops back looking left, checks off, makes a split-second decision to throw to Damian, and then delivers a perfect touch pass (while getting hit) over the Wazzu linebackers' heads and between the safeties.

Credit also goes to Coach Bates/Morton for calling a great play.  In post-game interviews, the coaches/players talked about seeing large gaps in the middle of the field while studying game tapes last week.  If you watch the play closely, the formation is trips right and 1 receiver to the left; off the snap every receiver runs a streak up field, but the key to the play is the SC tackles let the ends run by them and Joe McKnight, rather than block, jumps forward to mimic a screen play which causes Wazzu's linebackers to bite and take a step forward allowing Damian to run right by them and split the safeties. Great play all-around.

- Want to talk about a player doing work?  Nick Perry has 6 sacks already playing limited minutes.  He is currently the Pac-10 leader in the category.  Nick just has that sixth sense for getting to the quarterback; he set a Michigan state record with 36 sacks in 2007 as a HS senior.

- Some prospects that showed up for Saturday's game:  Sharrif Floyd (official visit), Ronald Powell, Robert Woods, George Farmer, Marquis Lee, George Uko, Dietrich Riley, Dion Bailey, Joshua Shaw, Antwaun Woods, Demetrius Wright, and more.  The list of visitors could literally make up one side of a HS All-American game.

- Some big injuries from the game: Hebron Fangupo (broken fibula) and Marshall Jones (cracked vertebra) are out for the season.  Jordan Campbell also sprained his ankle and Garrett Green suffered a concussion.

- Have to give props to my man Allen Bradford for running pissed off all game. His stiff-arm on the run in the 2nd quarter was vicious.  Allen NEEDS MORE CARRIES.

Onto Cal, which should be an interesting game.  My head says this game should match up well for SC since we usually win against teams that rely heavily on the run, but considering how undisciplined and inconsistent our offense has looked, it's hard for me to feel confident.  Despite Cal's beatdown last week, this game still deserves a lot of hype, since it essentially makes or breaks both teams' seasons.  It should be a tough one.

More on Frankie Telfort...

From MiamiHerald.com:

Telfort, 17, has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that affects one in 500 people and hardens cardiac muscles, restricting blood flow.

"He was actually very lucky,'' said Dr. Steven Lipshultz, chairman of the pediatric department at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine and the principal investigator for the National Cardiomyopathy Registry. ``The routine physicals you get in high school do not identify all athletes or children who are at risk. . . . He didn't just develop this -- it is something that has been there.''

Been too busy to comment on this unfortunate news.  I really feel for Frankie considering he was a model recruit with exceptional talent on the field and excellent grades in the classroom.  Anyone who read my blog back on National Signing Day knows how high I was on Frankie:

With that said, I'm going to go against the grain and trust my gut in choosing Frankie Telfort as the biggest potential gain.  Lot of recruiting analysts criticize him for being undersized, but the movement of weakside LBs seems to be heading towards the even smaller and faster.  And the discussion is likely moot considering SC will probably move him to SS.

Frankie is my favorite recruit in this class.  He's smart on and off the field, comes from the same school that produced Sean Taylor, has exceptional closing speed, and hits like a MLB.

I wish him the best in pursuing his academic dreams of becoming med student and eventual doctor.

Linebacker Depth

As for where it leaves us in terms of depth at the linebacking position, with Luthur Brown also in academic trouble, there is reason to be a bit nervous, but I have full faith in Uona Kaveinga, who looked promising last year, and Jordan Campbell to provide depth.  The coaches can also shift a guy like Will Harris to play a hybrid role or even bring Taylor up to the line and transfer the onus to our excellent secondary.

You also got incoming guys like T.J. McDonald and Jarvis Jones that can definitely step in and play minutes.  We should be fine barring any injuries between now and the start of the season.

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.

Monday Top 3

• Some nice videos from Vootage.com:

- Matt Barkley (Mater Dei) - Interview and highlight reel
- Malik Story (Artesia/Oak Hill) - Pangos Camp interview
- Demar DeRozan (Compton) - Pangos Camp interview

• Incoming FB, Jordan Campbell, is already anticipating the showdown against the Bruins on December 1st:

"Everybody already knows who runs the (football) field in LA, so we're going to be getting after it. Their quarterback better be ready, It's going to be nuts to get on the field against UCLA. 

"I think it's going to be a blow out."

Hopefully Jordan will be knocking Bruins on their rear-ends like he did to his future teammate, Aaron Corp, at the All-American Bowl practice.

• As mentioned numerous times before , incoming freshman baller, Maurice Simmons, may be the best on-the-ball defender in the entire '07 class.  He made his presence known early against O.J. during a scrimmage at GC on Saturday night:

USC freshman guard Marcus Simmons might not hit many outside shot this season but after watching him frustrate O.J. Mayo in pickup games, he might be the Trojans' most intense player as a defensive stopper. He'll be especially valuable in Pac-10 road games, such as places as Arizona, where he'll be able to get in the face of the opponents' top scorer.

One of the reasons why I remain optimistic about our chances this year despite the loss of Young, Stewart, and Pruitt is the fact that we have two excellent defenders in Simmons and Hackett.  It's going to be fun watching them lockdown on the opponents' top scorers.