C.J. Gable has always been opinionated. He has never been afarid to speak his mind. Last season he was very vocal about being the starter before being sidelined for the season with an injury. He has shown that he is one of our most complete backs in the rotation so when he went down with what appeared to be a serious injury a lot of us were concrned about just how that affected SC.

Well, Gable's injury wasn't all that serious as he got back on the field and literally hit the ground running he also got back to speaking his mind and he has some analysis about the upcoming season as well as last season.

"This team is real close -- closer than last year," Gable said. "We're going to do much better."

The 2007 Trojans did not lack for talent. Five players were selected in the first round of the NFL draft, three were taken in the second round, and three more were chosen before the draft ended.

But for the second year in a row, USC fell short of playing for the BCS title.

"It had a lot of egos," Gable said of the 2007 team. "People were just trying to hurry up to leave and get out of here.

WOW! That's an interesting take. I am not sure who Gable is talking about but those comments are pretty surprising. I am not even sure what to make of it but if Gable says this team is closer than last years team then who am I question him.

Locker room dynamics can be a tricky thing and teams can live and die on team chemistry. Gable not being afraid to speak his mind shows a certain amount of leadership in his willingness to call things like he sees them.

Leadership that he showed after Tuesday's practice when running backs coach Todd McNair stormed off the practice field in response to his displeasure to their performance in practice.

As the tailbacks and fullbacks watched McNair exit through the gate at Howard Jones Field, Gable stepped to the center of the huddle and spoke of the need to go hard every play.

Gable, the most enthusiastic and proficient blocker among the Trojans' six tailbacks, last week suffered what appeared to be a major hip injury. But he has bounced back and is intent on winning the nod as the starter for the opener for the third year in a row.

Gable is stepping up and that sort of can do attitude goes a long way to bringing a team together. Gable is brash that's for sure and while he hasn't completely done it on the field...yet his in your face attitude can be a great motivator to this team.

We'll see how it all shakes out on Saturday...