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Byron Moore Jr. Decides to Leave USC; Headed to L.A. Harbor College

Another day, another player lost.  It was announced today that Byron left the program and enrolled at L.A. Harbor college.  It's not clear why he left the program but usually situations like this involve either 1) academics or 2) personal issues; if Byron didn't like the coaches or SC he would have transferred to another school.

I wish Byron the best.  I always thought he was a kid that could flourish at SC given a few breaks.  He had a nice feel for the game and I thought he'd eventually settle down as a Free Safety.

In terms of where it leaves us, Byron's departure really doesn't impact the team next season since Jawanza Starling was the clear starter at FS.  From a depth standpoint, the loss will likely be offset by Patrick Hall who the coaches are starting off at RB but I'm also certain will end up elsewhere (personally I think he's best suited for FS).

Armond Armstead Out 6 to 8 Weeks With Broken Foot; Patrick Hall Likely Out for Season With Torn ACL

From the Official Site:

Defensive end Armond Armstead broke the fifth metatarsal (outer most bone) in his left foot during practice on Thursday morning and will require surgery. Armstead, a sophomore who has played on the first-unit defensive line during training camp, is expected to be out for six weeks.

Tough break.  This is a big loss since Armond is our only real big run stopping DE.  I guess on the bright side, reports say he should only be out 6-8 weeks, which means he should be back for possibly the Cal game.

Patrick Hall is most likely out for the season with a torn ACL.  He injured his knee in Wednesday's practice doing individual drills; initially it was thought to be a minor tweak but later revealed to be an ACL tear. Definitely bad news, but from an immediate impact standpoint, it really has little effect since Patrick hasn't officially participated competitively in practices due to academic issues and guys like Jawanza Starling have stepped it up.

Breaking Down USC Football's 2009 Recruiting Class: Patrick Hall, ATH

Name:  Patrick Hall

Height:  6'1

Weight:  185lbs

Forty:  4.4

HS:  St. Bonaventure (Ventura, CA)

GPA:  N/A

Awards:  Fastest Player @ U.S. Army All-American Bowl

Final Rank (Rivals):  5-Star, #2 Athlete, #19 Overall

Est. Starter:  2009/2010

Positives:  Versatility, Athleticism

• Patrick has been flipping back and forth from offense to defense throughout HS.  He started his career at St. Bonaventure at RB and showed a lot of promise early on before moving over to defense to accomodate Darrell Scott (#1 RB overall in 2008 class) when he transferred in from Moorpark HS.  When Scott left for Colorado, Patrick shifted back to the starting tailback role.

This Fall, when Patrick enrolls at SC, he'll likely make the move back to defense.  He has the versatility to line-up at RB or corner, but the FS spot is where he'll have the greatest opportunity to showcase his talent; it's where he lined up at the Army All-American Bowl practices/games if that is any indication. 

Also worth noting that Hall was clocked as the fastest player at the Army All-American Bowl beating out former SC commit Randall Carroll.  That speed coupled with his solid frame and overall athleticism makes him a big-time safety prospect with enormous potential.

Negatives:  No Established Position

• Versatility, at least in Patrick's case with our current depth situation, acts as a double-edged sword.  Many believe there is a good shot Patrick will end up at corner at SC and I have to begrudgingly agree.  The reality is the RB position is already deep so Patrick won't see time there and Jawanza Starling, another FS prospect in the '09 class, will come in more polished at the position.  By default, this puts Patrick at CB, where there will be a big need with Kevin Thomas and possibly Shareece Wright leaving after next season.

To be quite honest, I'm not a big fan of Patrick playing corner.  He's definitely competent to start at the position, but much like C.J. Gable playing running back, I believe it'll stunt his true potential. He's a bit stiff in/out of his breaks and at the end of the day, I just don't think he's built to be a true lockdown CB.  Who knows, he might end up playing the hybrid role like Josh Pinkard.

I've already shared my excitement about Patrick before.  I think he'll find the field early at some position, he's simply too athletic to keep on the bench.

Next up, De'Von Flournoy...

Previous Posts:

Matt Barkley, QB

Thoughts Before National Signing Day - Recruiting Gains & Losses

Tomorrow is the big day and there are a ton of sites out there covering who's going where and doing what, etc. so I'm not going to even fake like I have the inside track on the recruiting experts out there, so I'll leave the predictions up to them.  My information is piecemeal at best surrounded by a lot of educated reasoning and guessing, which surprisingly has been good for me in the past. Instead I'll focus on the biggest potential gains and losses for the uncommitted prospects remaining plus the recruiting hits and misses of the '09 class overall:

Biggest Potential Loss

- The biggest potential loss will clearly be Vontaze Burfict, which looks almost certain.  ASU is getting an excellent player.  Kid is special in terms of his tackling ability; watching him viciously close in on ball carriers while maintaining control is something to behold.  He has a lot of Rey with instincts to match.

Biggest Potential Gain

- The popular pick for biggest potential gain is clearly Manti Te'o and it is well-deserved considering his elite talent and ability to play all 3 LB positions; if he comes in, he will likely have the best chance to get PT early.

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'm a proponent of the belief that the South produces the best safeties (word to Ed Reed, Brian Dawkins, etc.); I think we will have a great one out of the sunshine state. 

Biggest Miss of '09

- It really wasn't a true miss since academics was the deciding factor in the situation, but I believe the biggest miss of the recruiting season was Cliff Harris who is headed to Oregon.  It could have been a real recruiting coup for T.J. McDonald Jr., Cliff Harris, and Rolando Jefferson to head to SC as the big 3 out of Fresno Edison akin to 2001 with the near completion of the LB Poly 5 (Darnell Bing, Manuel Wright, Hershel Dennis, Winston Justice, and Marcedes Lewis).  

Cliff is a shutdown CB in the making.  He has great coverage skills, speed to stay with fast receivers, and long arms.  Only thing he needs to worry about is bulking up a bit, which shouldn't be a problem with his frame.  I think he'll get PT early and be a top defensive player in the Pac-10 real soon.  

Biggest Hit of '09

- The prize recruit of the class was Matt Barkley, but like I said when Matty B. committed to SC a year ago, he plays flat-footed and it still concerns me. Although Matt is without question an elite QB prospect, it's hard to label him the biggest hit when line play will be a major determinant in his success.  I can already hear all the rebuttals for that statement about line play dictating every QBs success or Leinart being flat-footed and the success he had at SC, and I'm not going to take time to argue against it, but I had more confidence in Mark Sanchez when he came out of HS.

So who do I think is the biggest hit?  I'm going with Patrick Hall.  He made a big jump in the rankings and then sorta cooled out, which was to a degree justified with a less-than-expected showing at AA Army game, but I believe this kid is a baller.  I think once Patrick makes the full transition back to FS from RB he will be a big-time player.  He's versatile, athletic, and just has the swagger factor.  

I'll have more thoughts after NSD, stay tuned.  

Scout's First 2009 Football Ranking

From Scout.com:

1.  Matt Barkley, QB - Mater Dei HS (Santa Ana, CA)
29.  Vontaze Burfict, MLB - Centennial HS (Corona, CA)
40.  Patrick Hall, S/RB - St. Bonaventure HS (Ventura, CA)
50.  Kevin Graf, OT - Agoura HS (Agoura, CA)
71.  Devon Flournoy - Birmingham HS (Van Nuys, CA)
75.  Morrell Presley - Carson HS (Carson, CA)
87.  Marquis Simmons - Dominguez HS (Compton, CA)

198.  Randall Carroll - Cathedral HS (Los Angeles, CA)
204.  T.J. McDonald - Edison HS (Fresno, CA)

Rivals has Randall Carroll at 63 and T.J. McDonald at 97, so that's a pretty steep dip for those two players on Scout's ranking.  Nevertheless, we still have 7 players in the top 100 and it's only March, so pretty much Pete is killing it and that's all that matters.