the Huskies are in first place...USC is at the back of the pack.

Should be interesting to see how USC fares in the Pacific Northwest.

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FIGHT ON!

Disappointing news...USC LB Coach Joe Barry is leaving for a job with the San Diego Chargers.

The Chargers have reached agreement with Joe Barry to become their next linebackers coach, completing the hirings they needed to make on Norv Turner's staff.

Barry, who spent the past two seasons at USC, replaces John Pagano, who was elevated to defensive coordinator when the Chargers fired Greg Manusky earlier this month.

Barry was a great addition and has been an important part of the development of USC's linebackers.

He is truly gifted at what he does, USC will miss him...but we will be OK!

Well, it was an interesting day. You win some and you lose some.

So lets look at things...

Here is Kiffin's presser

The Good:

Kiffin hauled in a pretty good class. The class as a whole averaged over 4-stars. I am not really into the star classification system because it monitored by guys who are not coaches and who may have agendas, a lot of coaches don't even pay attention to it. That being said, it would appear that this is a very talented haul and is pretty damn impressive for only bringing 12 guys who wanted to be at USC.

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Today is the day that we welcome our future Trojans!

I am going to do my best to keep things going today. Don't forget to keep track on things on USC Official Signing Day page.

Here are a few players to keep an eye on...

Nelson Agholor, Darreus Rodgers, Andrus Peat, Kyle Murphy, Aziz Shittu and Kyle Dodson.

Gonna be a fun day!

FIGHT ON!

Not exactly the best kept secret...

USC added a very large man to its offensive line on Monday afternoon.

Five-star, 6-foot-8, 295-pound offensive lineman Zach Banner announced on Monday that he has committed to USC. Obviously, this is big news for the Trojans both literally and figuratively, as Banner is one of the most coveted offensive lineman prospects in the country.

I will feel better when the LOI is actually signed and in the file, but either way, this kid is beast.

The more help on the O-line the better.

There is still a lot more work to do before signing day, but Lane Kiffin continues to pull in top talent. Kiffin won't get them all, especially with the sanctions, but it is hard to deny that this staff still has the magic touch.

With signing day next week USC now starts to turn its focus towards Spring Ball.

The off-season's first throwing session was yesterday...

** Senior quarterback Matt Barkley led the workout and had tremendous velocity on his passes. That typically has been the case when Barkley has time off.

** The "starting" wide receivers were De’Von Flournoy and Victor Blackwell. Robert Woods did not participate while recovering from ankle surgery, and Marqise Lee came late from track practice.

** Blackwell looked particularly impressive. I’ll have more on the redshirt freshman from Mater Dei High later this week.

** Woods wasn’t idle. The junior served as a coach/recruiter, schooling Carson High’s Darreus Rogers on the finer points of receiver play. Rogers committed to USC a year ago but took an official visit to Arizona State over the weekend, fueling speculation that he’ll flip. The best guess here: He sticks with USC.

I am not going to get too worked up on one throwing session but how the team starts to focus on the 2012 season now will provide a clearer picture as to how they will perform once fall training camp gets here.

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When the news started to break on Sunday night that Chip Kelly was flirting with the NFL, I chuckled.

Not because that Kelly was getting out of town before the NCAA posse got to Eugene, but because I knew many on the Ducks side of things would light themselves on fire that Kelly would even consider the NFL.

Fans take their sport a lot more seriously than the players do.

Not just players but coaches as well...

I have had this conversation with my dad who briefly played pro baseball after leaving USC...by briefly I mean not even for a full cup of coffee. But because my dad at least got to interact at that level it opened his eyes early on. My dad could have left 'SC after his freshman season. He was offered a contract by a major league club but he knew he need some more seasoning in college. But my dad learned the business of pro sports. He doesn't understand fandom and has a bit of hard time that I write this blog because I never played at a high level.

It is always a fun conversation...

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