ESPN Insider had an article on ESPN.com about USC reloading

[brichte]

Does anyone with the mega bucks that has insider have they full story they could post.

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/insider/news/story?id=2352508&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncf%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d2352508%26lpos%3dspotlight%26lid%3dtab2pos1

[razorback3072]

Not much to it and not really worth reading.  Just talks about them reloading instead of rebuilding.  Booty is well ahead of Sanchez at QB, the RB competition is tighter and they have the best group of WR in the nation.  OL has two returning starters.  DL and LB are solid.  Secondary is a question with having to replace 3 starters. 

[PIGINAPOKE]

No matter, They BCS again..Must be nice?

[dmhog v2.0]

The people who think we have a chance at this game are delusional.

[RebelliousHog]

If we have a chance depends on if we respond to legitimate offensive changes that make us multi -dimensional. USC-West Coast STILL is replacing a lot. Yes they have talent, but it's not Leinert, Bush, etc. with 2 Heisman trophey winners.

[DaHawgs]

Does anyone with the mega bucks that has insider have they full story they could post.

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/insider/news/story?id=2352508&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncf%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d2352508%26lpos%3dspotlight%26lid%3dtab2pos1

Competition wide open in USC backfield

By Ted Miller
Special to ESPN.com

USC defensive end Lawrence Jackson makes the extraordinary comment with such nonchalance that it nearly doesn't register.

He's talking about the USC dynasty reloading -- not rebuilding -- after nearly winning an unprecedented third consecutive national title, and he is intimating future days of woe for all who doubt the Trojans.



Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Although USC won't start the season at No. 1, Pete Carroll and the Trojans expect to contend.
"It was the same a few years ago when we won the Orange Bowl with Carson Palmer," Jackson said. "Then it was: 'How do you replace a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback?' Now it's: 'How do you replace two Heisman Trophy winners?'"

The honest answer is no one knows because it's never happened before.

Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush are gone, as are three others expected to join them in the first round of the NFL draft this spring. Only four starters are back from one of the great offenses in college football history, while a maligned defense welcomes back just six.

Of course -- nudge, nudge -- Troy is in a state of panic as it prepares to begin spring practices March 21.

"We're just going to compete like crazy and try to get really good," coach Pete Carroll said.

Things should be a little bit quieter for awhile, though. After three years under the lights, USC doesn't figure to begin this fall at No. 1. The superstar factor is decidedly down, though junior Dwayne Jarrett is probably the nation's best receiver.

Jackson isn't convinced that things will remain mellow for long. Considering the Trojans have ranked No. 1 or 2 in most recruiting rankings every winter since 2003, it's likely just a matter of time before the next Palmer, Leinart, Bush, etc., emerges.

"It's a relief to know it will be [quiet] for a little while," said Jackson, who was first-team All-Pac-10 as a sophomore, leading the Trojans with 10 sacks. "But it will be back before long. We just have that type of team, those types of players. The next great guy will step forward."

And two marquee positions formerly manned by Heisman Trophy winners need to be filled: quarterback and tailback. So there is, as Carroll would say, great competition and great opportunity.

The quarterback battle will be the hot topic, while the tailback pecking order doesn't figure to be resolved until the fall, when a bevy of blue-chip freshman running backs report.

Carroll repeated what he said all last season about Leinart's line of succession: Junior John David Booty is well ahead of redshirt freshman Mark Sanchez. Each was once the nation's top quarterback recruit.


"   We just have that type of team, those types of players. The next great guy will step forward. "
—USC defensive end Lawrence Jackson
Booty has game experience and knows the offense well. He's waited patiently for his turn. But the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Sanchez has received stellar reviews. One veteran Pac-10 coach called him the best quarterback recruit he's ever seen.

The tailback race is murkier, particularly with Desmond Reed and Michael Coleman still recovering from offseason surgeries. Hershel Dennis, the forgotten man once the Bush-LenDale White show began, likely will run with the first offense. At least until freshman Stafon Johnson arrives this fall.

"We don't really know what's going to happen there," Carroll said.

Two starters are back on the offensive line, but that number is really three if sophomore Jeff Byers is fully recovered from the hip problems that sidelined him last year. Byers saw extensive action as a true freshman and was slated to start last fall before he was sidelined.

Receivers? Best group in the nation, without question. Besides Jarrett, there's Steve Smith and 6-5 sophomore Patrick Turner. Tight end Fred Davis came on late last season.

Jackson anchors what should be a pretty stout defensive front seven. The competition at linebacker should be particularly intense. Injuries forced a lot of young players into action, and they likely don't want to return to the bench, even with the return of senior Dallas Sartz.

The only real concern is the secondary, where three starters must be replaced. Count on a couple of touted recruits getting looks there.

The general feeling is the Trojans will be the reverse of last year. The more seasoned defense should lead while a young but talented offense finds itself. And that's fine with Jackson. He heard the criticism of his unit last year, which was manifested by Vince Young's slicing and dicing in the Rose Bowl.

"It bothered me personally because I was part of it," he said. "I found it a hard pill to swallow."

As for the whispers of the Trojans' doubters, Jackson doesn't seem too concerned.

"We don't worry about what's said outside the family," he said.

Ted Miller covers the Pac-10 for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.