http://scfootball.blogspot.com/2009/02/trojans-class-is-secondary-to-none.html At the conclusion of the 2009 season, the USC Trojans will say goodbye to at least four, and possibly five, starters in the defensive secondary. Taylor Mays, Josh Pinkard, Kevin Thomas and Will Harris are suiting up for their final year of eligibility in cardinal and gold, while redshirt junior Shareece Wright is certainly someone who could jump to the NFL after a great season. That would leave just five scholarship players in the USC secondary heading into the 2010 season. That is, unless Trojan head coach Pete Carroll decided to do something about the secondary situation with the class of 2009. Enter arguably the greatest collection of talent at one position in any of Pete Carroll?s nine recruiting classes. With T.J. McDonald (Edison High School, CA), Jawanza Starling (Lincoln High School, FL), Patrick Hall (St. Bonaventure High School, CA), Byron Moore (Narbonne High School, CA), Torin Harris (Palo Verde High School, NV) and possibly both Chris Metcalf (Compton High School, CA) and Frankie Telfort (Gulliver Prep, FL) hitting the USC backfield this fall, depth will no longer be an issue at any of the secondary positions in the near future for the Trojans. The Trojans would have had just three scholarship cornerbacks heading into the 2010 season (T.J. Bryant, Brian Baucham and Marshall Jones), but with the additions of Moore and Harris, that position got a bit more interesting. It?s tough to imagine either true freshman making an impact as early as this season, with a number of upper classmen entrenched ahead of them, but that doesn?t mean the Trojans didn?t get two great ones. Harris, who former Trojan cornerback and WeAreSC football analyst Darrell Rideaux says reminds him of Eric Wright (on the field), will head in to USC as one of the unsung members of the 2009 class, mostly because he committed early, never wavered and didn?t make a lot of noise during the recruiting process. But Harris has the size (6-1, 175) and speed (clocked at 10.6 as a junior in the 100-yard dash) to become a fantastic Trojan cornerback during his career. According to Rideaux, Harris possesses excellent skills for a premier cornerback, with fluid hips, long arms and an aggressive attitude that allows him to set the edge on run plays and force them back inside. He?ll need to work on his zone coverage technique, as he?s mostly been asked to play man-to-man in high school and can get away with not playing on the upfield shoulder of opposing wide receivers because of his great speed and tremendous athletic ability at the high school level. Moore was an interesting recruiting story due to the fact that he committed early to UCLA, de-committed and committed to USC after a tremendous Rising Stars Camp, then de-committed from USC only to recommit to the Trojans. The good news for Trojan fans is that once all the ups and downs of his commitment process are forgotten, Moore could be remembered as the best player in this entire secondary class. He?s a tremendous athlete who could play both safety and cornerback (he also caught 61 passes for 963 yards and eight touchdowns last year), but he?ll most likely end up at corner for the Trojans. ?He is extremely physical and weaves in and out of his peddle with ease,? Rideaux said. ?With a little polishing, he could be the best of the bunch. I think he has the greatest upside at corner and can contribute right away once he believes that he is suited to be a cover corner.? Rideaux said that Moore has a bit of an issue with getting into a trail position during one-on-ones, as a result of not getting leverage on a receiver and forcing them either inside or outside. But this is something that will be easily correctable by coaches Rocky Seto and Kris Richard, probably during his first training camp. At the safety position, the Trojans may now have the capability to toss five tremendous athletes into the mix and see how things settle. McDonald and Starling are the only guarantees to find themselves battling it out with Drew McAlister and Shane Horton leading into the 2010 season, as they are the two true safeties in this class. But with Hall and possibly both Telfort and Metcalf (Telfort is a ?maybe? because he?s being brought in as an outside linebacker and Metcalf falls into the same category because his letter of intent still hasn?t arrived and he too could end up closer to the line of scrimmage). McDonald is the son of former Trojan Tim McDonald and already possesses a collegiate-level physicality and understanding of the game. Rideaux thinks McDonald could end up as a free safety at USC, but there?s no debate about his potential. ?Against the run, McDonald takes good read angles and shows good judgment,? Rideaux said. ?Against the pass, he has very good cover skills and understands leverage in zone coverage and takes good pick angles in man coverage. He reads the quarterback well and plays down hill. He has a strong presence around the ball and could make an impact as a gunner on special teams.? McDonald and Starling differed during the recruiting process ? McDonald committing about as early as possible and Starling waiting until the last possible day to decide ? but they are very similar in how much potential they show. Like McDonald, Starling is a tremendous hitter and brings a Trojan-like physicality to the safety position. ?He roams sideline to sideline, changes direction and gets back to full speed very well,? Rideaux said. ?He has very good ball skills and can turn into a wide receiver in the open field. On film, he has very good closing speed and will run through ball carriers during tackles.? Hall is less of a pure safety than the first two, but that doesn?t mean he can?t be every bit as good. ?He?s a little bit different from the mold of safeties we?ve seen come through ? different than Taylor Mays and Kevin Ellison, the bigger guys,? USC defensive coordinator Rocky Seto said about Hall. Rideaux sees Hall as a natural fit at either free safety or running back, but also thinks that Hall could develop into a great cornerback if he concentrated solely on that position. ?He has good size and fluid hip movement,? Rideaux said. ?He shows tremendous range in his ability to play either corner or safety.? In high school, Hall could bail himself with his athletic ability when his technique got him in trouble as a defender. With a few tweaks from the USC coaches, Hall might be able to alleviate that problem for good. Metcalf and Telfort are still the wildcards in this surprising safety surplus. If Metcalf does indeed become a member of the 2009 class, most people feel that a switch to linebacker is a foregone conclusion, which would delay the time that he could make an eventual impact on the field, because he would need to add so much weight. Telfort has been mentioned as a possible safety prospect because of his relatively small stature (under 6-0) and great coverage ability, but the Trojan coaches don?t seem to have a problem starting him out at outside linebacker. Carroll has already tabbed Telfort as ?the fastest linebacker (he?s) recruited? and Telfort will also have a special place as the first Miami, product to don the cardinal and gold under Carroll?s guidance. Telfort should also quickly endear himself to Trojan fans, who could be reminded of former linebacker Matt Grootegoed when they watch the undersized Telfort fly around and make play after play. Telfort would need to improve his play-action recognition and overall pass coverage if he were to flip back to safety, but the Trojan coaches are so high on his overall football IQ and potential to become an impact player that finding an eventual position isn?t even a concern at this point. The running back class of 2003 ? with Reggie Bush, LenDale White, Chauncey Washington and Desmond Reed ? could remain as one of the great talent pulls at one position in college football history for a long time, but this defensive secondary class (at first glance, at least) looks like it could compare favorably.
