







Pete Carroll dubbed them "Competition Tuesdays" and it went to the heart of everything he accomplished in nine seasons as coach at the University of Southern California.

Every Tuesday of the Trojans season was an opportunity, a one-day training camp for backups to prove they should be starters, for starters to reaffirm their dominance and for everyone to know that in Carroll's program there were no favorite sons.

It allowed the stars to remain sharp. It reminded coaches to judge what they saw, not what a recruiting ranking or projected depth chart projection said. And it served as a powerful clarion call for the next round of standout recruits.





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At USC, no matter how stacked the roster, playing time was there for the taking. Always. Just be the best, that's all.

That was college and this is the NFL, Carroll is entering his third season with the Seattle Seahawks. You can't go all-out like that each week in the pros. USC's practices were often tougher – actually far tougher – than many games.

The mindset is the same, though, and it's as clear as Carroll opening himself up to second-guessing by naming third-round draft pick Russell Wilson as the Seahawks starting quarterback.

Wilson won the job over high-priced free-agent signee Matt Flynn, who Carroll and general manager John Schneider boldly picked up in March. It also led to the trading of Tavaris Jackson, last year's big free agent and most experienced signal caller in the offense. Jackson was shipped to Buffalo for what will be, at best, a conditional late-round pick.

"He's earned the job," Carroll said matter-of-factly of Wilson during a Sunday evening conference call with reporters. "It was a legitimate competition as we said from the beginning, and with the opportunity he's taken advantage of, he deserves to start."

You can't argue with the mindset, although too often not everyone really gets a fair shake in an NFL training camp. Too often politics and perception matter, at least with losing clubs.

[Related: T.O. tweets that he's no longer a member of the Seahawks]

Wilson, out of Wisconsin, has been terrific. He's completed 35 of 52 passes (67.3 percent) for 464 yards, five TDs and one interception in three preseason games. He's also run for 150 yards on 10 scrambles.

Not bad for a guy who just over a year ago was a failing minor league baseball prospect in search of a second chance at football. He found it in Madison, Wis., where he excelled in leading the Badgers back to the Rose Bowl. Perhaps more telling, however, was his presence in the locker room. The North Carolina State transfer was named a captain within weeks of arriving on campus.

Wilson's complete package began winning over Carroll and Schneider before the draft. They took Wilson 75th overall, even though he measured just 5-foot-10 and didn't posses all sorts of the prototypical features of a NFL QB. They then grew even more impressed in minicamps and over the summer.

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