DC Trojan had his take on the Plaschke article this is mine.
It has been discussed, numerous times here and elsewhere that Pete Carroll is a master at recruiting top talent. The past 5 years has been something incredible to watch as top player after top player has found their way to USC in order to compete for a starting job on THE top program in the country.
Bill Plaschke's great article in the LAT yesterday shows why.
I showed up Thursday to watch a photo shoot of this year's USC star seniors in the lounge, but outside there were even better players, walking through darkened corners, laughing down distant hallways, everywhere.
After perhaps his best recruiting season yet, Pete Carroll's eyes have never been so wide, because his pockets have never been so stuffed.
He has built great teams before but never like this.
They've never been this fast. They've never been this deep.
And -- shudder -- maybe they've never been this good?
"This is the most competitive team we've had," said Carroll, who never says those sorts of things, and certainly never in May.
The guy in the checkered Bermuda shorts had another word for it.
"It's crazy," said quarterback John David Booty. "We have so many great players, it's just crazy. Usually, in a program with this much talent, guys get frustrated and transfer. But here, everybody's great and everybody stays."
Now the last thing I want to hear is another ESPN B***job about the greatest team ever. We have a lot to prove and Pete Carroll will have to make sure that these players keep focused on the task at hand and listen to all the hype, he is a master of keeping his players even keeled.
This team is starting to look like the 2004 team but obviously there are some questions. New receivers in the starting role, an unproven running game, by unproven I mean that it has not exploded the way we Thunder and lightning take the national scene by storm. We may never see that again, but clearly last seasons running game was not up to the standards of even USC. We also have some new faces on the Offensive Line that have yet to be tested game in and game out.
Very few have been deterred in their quest to be a part of USC football. Of course USC and Pete Carroll don't land every top recruit but they get their fair share and as was discussed earlier he will even go into the Tiger's den pull out top talent much to the chagrin of the local fans. Of course getting the talent is half the battle getting it to perform is the other half of the equation. Pete Carroll's style, while criticized by some especially from across town, actually motivates this talent to dial it up a notch and come together as a team.
I realize that Plaschke's article will be taken by some as another USC BJ; but in the end all of what Plaschke says is true. Sure, other teams have some great talent but PC has found a way to get his talent to perform at a higher level and his play anyone at anytime, anyplace, anywhere continues earns him respect in all of CFB.
I am not sure how it will all play out but t his season is going to be fun to watch.