TrojanNYC.com

Luthur Brown Regains Eligibility; Likely to Play on Saturday

From LATimes.com:

USC linebacker Luthur Brown, whose career has been plagued by injury and academic issues, has been reinstated for this season, the school announced.

Brown, a fifth-year senior from Lakewood, is expected to provide needed depth for a linebacking corps that saw four players from last season's dominant defense depart for the NFL.

Great news.  Luthur will add much needed depth at the middle LB spot behind Chris Galippo.  Chris sat out of Thursday's practice with a swollen elbow, but is expected to start on Saturday.

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.