USC suffered a heartbreaking loss in the March Madness tournament, which means it’s officially football season*.

*Unless the Trojans make the College World Series.

Let’s see how the team is doing in its second week of spring practice.

Tuesday

At least Chuma has moved on from fighting referees to fighting players. Now we need to make sure the next time he’s scuffling with someone they are wearing a different color jersey.

In all seriousness, its obvious Chuma has a lot of passion for the game, but if he doesn’t learn to control his emotions, it could be costly for the team down the line.

“I reminded them that we are a team of brothers” also known as, “Knock it the hell off.”

There have been a lot of new players stepping up and Velus Jones Jr. seems to be the one separating himself from the rest of the wide receiving corps this Spring.

With his speed and agility, might as well call him the Velusiraptor ™.

I’m fine with this comparison, unless it motivates him to give one of his teammates a black eye before an important game.

Par for the course for Sam. With the types of plays he can make, we have to accept that he will make a mistake or two every game. The Dick Hammer giveth, the Dick Hammer taketh away.

“Well, one of us is going to have to change.”

With both Pie Young and Josh Imatorbhebhe at wide receiver, we have two players wearing №17 on offense. This is like when someone shows up to the party wearing the same outfit as you. Am I right ladies?

With Jalen Greene no longer on the quarterback depth chart, will Pac-12 defenses finally not fall for his wide-receiver passes?

Probably not.

Thursday

If the Rose Bowl was any indication, this is going to be a successful quarterback-receiver tandem.

It’s going to have to have a nickname. For now, let’s go with Dave & Busters (D & B).

Marshall and the rest of the defensive backs are trying to add a lot more “bite” to the secondary. As long as it doesn’t lead to more penalties, they won’t have to be put on a leash.

“DBU”, “RBU”, “Tight End U”. I guess “Draftable Players U” doesn’t roll off the tongue as smoothly as the others.

Pete Carrol’s rugby style tackling has been key to his defense’s success in his time with the Seattle Seahawks. Not only is it safer by using the player’s shoulders instead of his head, but it is also a more efficient tackling technique.

The “Mike” linebacker is leader of the defense. The “Mike” linebacker receives the calls from the sidelines and relays it to the rest of the team. In the 5–2 defense the “Mike” linebacker is usually lined up in the middle or on the strong side while the “Will” linebacker is lined up on the weakside.

Cam Smith is the captain now.

Sam is just getting all the interceptions out of the way before the season starts. He’s playing chess, not checkers.

Former offensive lineman turned defensive lineman turned offensive lineman, Khaliel Rodgers, will now transfer to Tar Heel country. Thank you for your confusing dance between both sides of the ball last season.

Saturday

Here’s a quick summary of the scrimmage I can’t attend because I live in Northern California and have to make most of my observations from people who are actually there. It’s basically the same thing, if not better.

The Grandson of Dick Hammer tosses it up to the Velusiraptor ™, which sets up a running touchdown by the Texas Telsa. The nicknames are only going to get more ridiculous when the season starts.

The defense looks spectacular this spring, forcing turnovers and laying hits. This may come as a surprise as it was expected by many that this team would be led by Darnold and the offense.

It only took two weeks for the true freshman to take the starting position. He’s going to be very fun to watch for the next four (or three) years.

With Porter rushing on one side, and Nwosu on the other, Pac-12 quarterbacks are going to be in a world of hurt. Regardless of who plays alongside Cam Smith, this linebacker corps is stacked.

Don’t forget about Ronald Jones’ Heisman campaign. The Texas Tesla can easily put up the mileage to make that cross-country trip to the ceremony in New York.

After suffering a season-ending knee injury last year, Toa looks to be on track to return to the Trojans’ offensive line for the season opener.

Not sure I’m all in with the “run first” mentality for an offense that may have the best quarterback in USC history behind center, but I’m not going to stop trusting Clay Helton now.

This is just a hunch, but I think the offense will catch up.

It seemed that one of Darnold’s greatest talents on the field is to look down multiple receivers, extend the play and make the right decision. If he’s getting even better at that, you might as well book your ticket to Atlanta now.

WHERE WERE ALL YOU GUYS LAST YEAR?

Just kidding, I understand former players and fans acclimating to the hype of this upcoming year. Not like I was writing about spring practice when Cody Kessler or Max Browne were taking snaps.

New Coach

The Trojans have finally found their new running back coach: Deland McCullough. He had short stints in the NFL and CFL before turning to coaching, previously holding the same position for the University of Indiana for six years. First Tom Crean, now this. The Hoosiers have been struggling since chairs were being thrown onto the court by Bobby Knight.

No knock against the USC Athletic Department as some of their quick hires have worked out great in hindsight, but it is refreshing to see an extensive hiring process again.

He never worked with Pete Carroll and didn’t previously play for the school? Someone in Heritage Hall must be reading my articles or they ran out of branches to pluck from the Pete Carroll coaching tree.

I don’t think Jones will need any help getting to the NFL level, but maybe McCullough can be the mechanic that can give the Texas Tesla a tune-up in order to speed up the draft boards.

I like this guy. You can enjoy life when you’re dead.

Jamel Cook

The player that has everyone buzzing this spring is Jamel Cook, and he’s been putting on a show as of late.

On Tuesday, he had three interceptions, one from each quarterback on the roster. Maybe this is why Jalen Greene is making the switch to wide receiver full time.

On Thursday, he had a forced fumble and laid the hit stick on an unfortunate player on the USC offense.

On Saturday, he had another interception. He’s basically put up similar stats to what Adoree’ Jackson did all last season. I know is an absolutely ridiculous comparison to make. Not even saying apples to oranges would do it justice, but the talent level of Cook is legit.

He’s no sous chef.

His achievements aren’t going unlooked, as he’s being taught to play the nickelback position. With so many pass-heavy offenses in the Pac-12, and no prominent successor to Michael Hutchings at linebacker, it’s plausible to see Clancy Pendergast switch to a defense that will have five defensive backs on the field. Expect a lot of playing time for Cook this season.

At 6’4’’ 210 pounds, you’re not going to miss him in the secondary, but let’s hope opposing quarterbacks do anyway.

First one in, last one out…of the library.

Things are looking promising for this young man, and I can’t wait to see his hard work and preparation pay off in the Coliseum this fall.

Half way through spring practice and I’m already ready to start tailgating for the game against Western Michigan.

FIGHT ON!