To this point the turnaround story of the year has to be Stafon Johnson. His being in the doghouse last year has been well documented and is performance in practice and the first game has been a remarkable story but you can never take anything for granted as Johnson found out again this week.
Pete Carroll stopped him to make a point about effort.
After practice, USC's head coach sat down with his emerging sophomore tailback for 15 minutes outside Heritage Hall. Carroll likes to call those teachable moments.
Last year, Johnson had so many teachable moments, he barely got on the playing field. This year, coaches have raved about his improved demeanor.
You get more Bees with Honey than you do with Lemon. This was far different than the epithet laden tirade that Coach Carroll let loose in camp when Johnson lost his cool and threw a ball at another player. Here Carroll is using a more subtle carrot and stick approach and with Johnson it seems to be working. Different approaches for different players, and I think this working out fine.