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USC Commitment: Edison High School's Charles Burks Commits to USC

Charles is a undersized DE who most likely will play LB or FB at the next level. Here are some quotes from his recruitment story over at Scout.com:

“Tonight I got home from football practice and Coach O called me and told me that he and Coach Kiffin talked, and that the entire staff wanted to grant me a scholarship, regardless of if I graduate early or not.“I was all fired up and told him that I want to be a Trojan.”

Burks, who also had offers from Stanford, Duke and San Diego State among others, picked USC because of the coaching staff and the chance to stay local.

“I fell in love with the coaching staff,” he said. “They are all just great people and really good coaches. I love the way that they run things.

I like this pick-up because my theory on recruiting is you get the best results when you pit your elite 5 & 4 star players with tough/hungry 3-star players in each class to create a competitive environment.  Charles is the perfect example of a player who might not have the ideal size or elite talent but will overachieve through his work-ethic and attitude. Having players like that make the team better.  This brings me back to the old days when we recruited overachievers like Mike Patterson, Ryan Kalil, Fili Moala, Josh Pinkard, etc.

Panthers Release Justin Hartwig; Ryan Kalil Expected to Start At Center

From Charlotte.com:

After determining that Kalil would start at center next season, the Panthers planned for Hartwig to compete at right guard. But Hartwig prefers center, and Hurney said the team didn't want to force him to play out of his natural position.

"Certainly we were very happy with what Justin did for us," Hurney said. "This was more of a case of trying to do the right thing for the player at the right time."

It also exemplifies the Panthers' confidence in Kalil, a former Southern Cal All-American who was rated the top center available in the 2007 draft.

Great news for Ryan.

NFL Draft Recap - Day One

For the first time since 2002, USC did not have a player drafted in the 1st round:

2nd Round 13th Pick (45th overall) - Dwayne Jarrett, WR to Carolina Panthers

2nd Round 19th Pick (51st overall) - Steve Smith, WR to NY Giants

2nd Round 27th Pick (59th overall) - Ryan Kalil, C to Carolina Panthers

Many experts are picking Carolina as the winners of day one.  Sometimes you put immediate needs aside for high value picks and Carolina did just that.  Although Dwayne has reason to be disappointed, he will have the luxury of playing behind Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson, which will greatly help in his development.  Kalil should be a significant contributor right away at center or guard. 

As for SS, I also think he's in a good situation where he has an opportunity to outwork the receivers ahead of him on the depth chart.  He can overtake Moss fairly quickly and get significant PT.

Ryan Kalil Making His Move

Nice article on Ryan in today's LATimes.  Always nice to read about how well SC prepares its athletes through intense practices:

"The thing I always kept in the back of my mind when I was thinking about the Senior Bowl was, the guys I'm going to go against are nowhere [near] as good, or just as talented as any of the guys I've played against at SC — Mike Patterson, Shaun Cody, Sedrick Ellis," Kalil said. "We'd do those drills over and over at SC. It was one of the most intense practicing programs in the country…. Having that thought process going into it, my confidence was way above a lot of the other guys who were there."

And the smooth side of Ryan:

That was obvious in the way Kalil proposed to his girlfriend. It happened on his birthday, when he invited her down to the Coliseum, supposedly to watch him pose for a Sports Illustrated photographer. When they got there, the camera equipment was on the field but the "photographer" had gone back to his car. Suddenly, someone turned out the stadium lights, and a video featuring the couple began to play on the scoreboard. Nelson was stunned. She watched it, then turned back to Kalil, whom she found on bended knee.

I really hope Ryan breaks into the 1st round.  No question he deserves it.

Wednesday Top 3

• Here's the video of Nick's press conference today.  My favorite quote:

"Being a Trojan is being a Trojan for life and I want to come back and get my degree here and just have a degree under my belt because a degree from USC will be a great thing for me..."'

Also nice to hear him give shout-outs to his teammates and finish with "I love this program". 

• Nice Q&A from the WeAreSC staff on Spring Ball.  Here's an abridged version:

Q:  Which player helped himself the most this Spring?
A:  Hershel Dennis (unanimous answer). 

Q:  What was your favorite position battle to watch?
A:  Running back and Center position. 

Q:  Name a young underclassman or two who jumped out to you as someone to watch next fall?
A:  David Ausberry (most common answer), Stanley Havili (2nd), and Travon Patterson (3rd). 

Q:  Most impressive position unit?
A:  Linebacker (unanimous). 

Q:  What thoughts will you take from this Spring Ball session?
A:  (GP) - Optimism for the offense. 
(GK) - Optimism for the offense/team. 
(GY) - How polished this team looks. 

Answering the questions myself, I would say (1) Hershel Dennis and Travon Patterson helped themselves the most, (2) the RB battle had the makings of being the best battle but due to injuries I will have to pick the Center position, (3) Havili really impressed me, (4) Linebackers easily, and (5) this team is VERY balanced and I'm loving Sark as OC so far. 

• The Fox Sports USC page has a nice Ryan Kalil draft video.  I hardly ever watched Ryan after the snap because I've always been a skilled player growing up so my eyes naturally gravitate towards the receivers and running backs, but it's nice to see now why Ryan was an All-American at SC ;-).  The big uglies don't need any attention...

Ryan Kalil & Natalie Nelson Engaged

Former USC center Ryan Kalil and potential 1st/2nd round pick is, according to Scott Wolf, engaged to former Song Girl co-captain Natalie Nelson, who is better known around the Internet as the "cheerleader" who cheered for the wrong team in the 2006 Rose Bowl.  Never knew the two were going out, but congrats to Ryan and Natalie!