The end of spring ball means the commencement of rubber chicken circuits for coaches around the country, which itself means promo videos for the same. Even if your coach doesn’t do the local ad game, he stands a pretty solid chance of being trotted in front of school cameras and handed an elaborately casual script:
SI.com staffers screened the above USC effort in the safety of our offices, and the reviews are in:
Matt Barkley, Lane Kiffin and the USC Trojans suffered through a painful season in 2012. (Bill Kostroun/AP)
By Zac Ellis
Matt Barkley’s senior season at USC didn’t exactly go as planned. And coach Lane Kiffin could be a big reason for that — at least, according to Barkley.
In an interview with Yahoo! Sports’ Michael Silver, Barkley reflected on his senior season in 2012, when the preseason No. 1 Trojans stumbled mightily in the shadow of high expectations and limped to a 7-6 record after a 6-1 start. But Barkley alluded to internal issues that might have soured the atmosphere within the program, saying he wishes he’d been more vocal as a leader in the locker room.
“Yeah, I’ve thought about it long and hard,” Barkley said. “I learned how to handle adversity last season, and maybe I could have done a few things differently. I could’ve had a bigger voice, given more input and taken it to the next level — pretty much as the owner of the company might … not just letting things happen.”
“You put faith in your coaches, but when you see trends, things not happening the right way, and when the team rests on your shoulders, it’s almost like you have to step up. You can’t just let these things go by and watch them disintegrate in front of you. You’ve got to put the glue in somewhere. Looking back, I wish I’d been more forceful.”
Though Barkley never mentioned Kiffin by name, the implication of “trends, things not happening the right way” seems to point to a leadership problem. Barkley said the ups and downs of last season took a toll as the year progressed.
Once pegged as a future star at USC, wideout Markeith Ambles is headed to Houston. (Marin Media/Cal Sport Media)
By Zac Ellis
A former blue-chip prospect appears to have found his way back into major college football. Bruce Feldman of CBSSports.com reported Monday that former five-star wide receiver Markeith Ambles, a onetime USC Trojan, has signed with Houston.
Ambles originally committed to Lane Kiffin at Tennessee but flipped to USC after Kiffin accepted the Trojans’ head coaching job in 2010. The Atlanta native left the USC program just before the 2011 season after a tenure in Los Angeles that included several off-field incidents, including brief a departure from the team in 2010. Ambles made his way to Arizona Western junior college in 2012, catching 44 passes for 757 yards and six touchdowns.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this story comes when considering what the USC receiving corps could have become had Ambles remained in L.A. Partnering Ambles with the likes of Marqise Lee, who led the nation in receptions and was second in receiving yards in 2012, and the departed Robert Woods, a preseason Heisman candidate last season, could have deepened an already explosive group of wideouts. That doesn’t even mention Kyle Prater, Rivals’ No. 1 overall receiver from the 2010 recruiting class, who transferred to Northwestern in January after two banged-up years with USC.
While we’re on the subject, here’s a look back at the top 10 receivers from the ’10 recruiting class, and what they’re doing now:
USC coach Lane Kiffin has struggled to locate potential starting cornerbacks this spring. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
By Zac Ellis
Looking to get your spring practice fix? Here’s a roundup of some of the best coaching quotes from the past week:
• “They’re not going to come out of somewhere, so we’ve just got to play better with the guys we have, get them better and coach better.” — USC coach Lane Kiffin, on his team’s search for starters at cornerback.
• “I guess that’s better than the opposite — just curl up and, ‘Why did he hit me?’” — Ohio State coach Urban Meyer on quarterback Braxton Miller, who got in the face of a defensive teammate after taking a hard hit to the ribs.
• “He’s going to play. He’s going to have a package. I don’t think there’s any question. That’s established. He’s a big part of our team.” — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy on backup quarterback J.W. Walsh’s potential role in the Cowboys’ offense.
• “Right at the end of the dadgum thing.” — Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, describing junior tailback Devonta Freeman injuring his ankle in a recent scrimmage.
We have no idea what this entails, but it sounds terrifying:
Lane Kiffin says tight end Xavier Grimble is out for the remainder of spring practices with a "fractured chest". #USC—
Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) March 29, 2013
Yiiiiikes. Get well soon, Grimble.
USC will be operating without the services of 2012 leading rusher Silas Redd for the near future. (AP)
A USC Trojans squad aspiring to live up to — and perhaps even surpass — last year’s 7-6 record and Sun Bowl loss will have to make strides without running back Silas Redd, for the time being. The Penn State import, last season’s leading rusher with an average of 75 yards per game, has sustained a torn meniscus and will miss the remainder of spring practice. Redd will undergo surgery on the injured knee on Tuesday; Lane Kiffin expects him to be healed up for preseason practices later this year.
Internet, you’ve got both feet down in the end zones of our hearts. Happy Valentine’s Day.
“Chip, I’m coming for your Ducklings. They’re so succulent. Do you like Chinese food?” (AP)
We’re still really hoping this Clancy Pendergast thing pans out for USC, because a name like that following “Monte Kiffin” makes writing Trojans football/The Thorn Birds fan fiction that much easier. But until Lane Kiffin actually lands a defensive coordinator for 2013, we’re going to have to work with what we have. And what we have, in this case, is Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti turning down the gig, per a report in The Oregonian:
The Trojans recently reached out to Aliotti, who just completed his 21st season as an Oregon assistant. He began his career as an Oregon graduate assistant in 1978; he became best known for coordinating the “Gang Green” defense that helped the Ducks reach the Rose Bowl after the 1994 season. Aliotti’s defenses have been overshadowed by Oregon’s “blur” offense in recent years, though Kelly praised Aliotti and the defense virtually every chance he could.
That celebrated unit had its most alarming night of the 2012 season in the Coliseum last November, allowing the Trojans to amass 51 points and 615 net yards, albeit in a losing effort.
• You a Terp? Maryland has announced walk-on football tryouts for Wednesday, January 30. You must be a full-time, currently enrolled student to be eligible for consideration.
This is also your reminder that heading into Maryland’s last regular-season football game of 2012, this is what Maryland’s injury report looked like. So if you’re an aspiring quarterback, we’re honestly not sure whether to tell you to show up or stay away.
• Meanwhile, while the internet was caving in on itself … Lost yesterday in the avalanche of news shocks was the announcement that the Mountain West has retaken San Diego State. (We’re choosing to picture this as a giant Risk board in action. The Big 12 is clearly Australia.) We have an MWC source who’s promised to tell us the second the conference poaches UCLA, and y’all will be the first to know after that.
• Coach-hirin’ follies! Go right on ahead and apply for Chip Kelly’s old job, and be sure and let us know how that works out … here is a magnificent lead followed by Rob Mullens’ insistence that he has no clubhouse leaders in mind for Kelly’s vacant seat … John-El lands at DII Fort Lewis College … Utah passing coordinator Aaron Roderick will take the OC slot at BYU [UPDATE: No he won't!] … Louisiana Tech won’t have to re-glaze any of its “I <3 OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR TONY” mugs … Tim Rosenbach joins the UNLV staff as OC.
• SHE’S BACK. AIN’T NO STOPPING US NOW. Oh, Switzie Award winner LizHoney2U, we have missed you terribly.
Our own reaction to the hiring of Bret Bielema at Arkansas can best be summed up by this animated image.
• And while we’re on Wisconsin. Could Barry Alvarez return to the sidelines for the Badgers’ bowl game?
• Coach-firin’ season! Lane Kiffin would like it if his new defensive coordinator could succeed against Pac-12 offenses … we think it’s actually spelled “l8ly,” but that doesn’t mean former Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore didn’t get screwed … he’s not a coach, but do make time for this colorful account of the end of Ross Parmley’s reign as Tulsa AD … and he’s not fired, but Charlie Weis made a whopping $2.5 million per win in 2012. Math is fun!
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