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USC’s Matt Barkley won’t attend NFL draft, will have private workout with Cardinals

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USC quarterback Matt Barkley does not plan to attend the NFL Draft in April. However, he is reportedly working out privately with the Arizona Cardinals. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

USC quarterback Matt Barkley does not plan to attend the NFL Draft in April. However, he is reportedly working out privately with the Arizona Cardinals. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

USC quarterback Matt Barkley doesn’t plan to attend the NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 25, reports ProFootballTalk:

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Barkley has decided not to accept an invitation to attend.  Barkley has opted instead to spend the evening his family and friends that night.

Some will suspect that he also decided not to risk a long night in the green room for round one, and then a return for the second evening of the draft.

Barkley separated his shoulder in a game against UCLA in November which ended his season. However, he quelled concerns about his throwing ability at USC’s Pro Day and is also scheduled for a private workout with the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday, according to ESPN:

Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians and general manager Steve Keim are scheduled to hold a private workout Saturday at USC for quarterback Matt Barkley, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.


  • Published On Apr 04, 2013
  • Steve Spurrier takes Pro Day jabs at Southern Cal and ESPN

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    Coach Steve Spurrier used coinciding Pro Days at South Carolina and Southern Cal to question the Trojans’ relevance and the amount of coverage they are getting from ESPN.

    During South Carolina’s Pro Day featuring talented Gamecocks seniors such as Marcus Lattimore, Spurrier couldn’t help but complain about the lack of national media in Columbia as compared to the attention USC Trojans prospects such as quarterback Matt Barkley — coached by former SEC rival Lane Kiffin — were receiving in Los Angeles.

    Josh Kendall of The State tweeted Spurrier’s comments:


  • Published On Mar 27, 2013
  • USC AD Pat Haden meets with former Trojans coach Tim Floyd

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    Tim Floyd resigned as USC coach in 2009 during an NCAA investigation. (Harry How/Getty Images)

    Tim Floyd resigned as USC coach in 2009 during an NCAA investigation. (Harry How/Getty Images)

    Tim Floyd — who resigned as USC basketball coach in the midst of NCAA allegations surrounding the program in 2009 — told the Los Angeles Times he had a meeting with athletic director Pat Haden to discuss the school’s current job opening.

    Floyd, who currently coaches Texas-El Paso, said Haden initiated the contact, and the three-hour meeting “went well.”

    A USC spokesman said Haden would have no comment until the coaching search is complete.

    Floyd was 85-66 coaching the Trojans from 2006 to 2009 and took the team to three consecutive NCAA tournament before resigning after the 2009 season when the NCAA began investigating allegations of improper conduct involving both the football and basketball team.

    The NCAA found that Floyd had not personally committed any violations, but USC drew penalties related to actions by basketball player O.J. Mayo.

    “I feel they should know that USC reached out, that no violations were found by the NCAA with USC basketball,” Floyd said.

    “I felt like I got my name back when I got offered a number of jobs when I left USC. Pat and I talked at length,” Floyd said.

    Floyd’s replacement, Kevin O’Neill, was fired by Haden in January. Bob Cantu, a former Floyd assistant, has been coaching the Trojans.


  • Published On Mar 05, 2013
  • USC fires baseball coach Frank Cruz for NCAA violations

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    USC has fired head baseball coach Frank Cruz for knowingly violating NCAA Countable Athletically-Related Activities limitations, the university announced Wednesday.

    Athletic Director Pat Haden said Cruz violated CARA and USC’s self-imposed rules on the number of hours players could spend in activities directed by or supervised by the coaching staff.

    “Adhering to all NCAA rules is paramount for each one of our coaches, student-athletes and staff members,” said Haden. “Those who knowingly break NCAA rules are subject to termination.”

    USC said it has alerted the NCAA and Pac-12 of the infractions.

    Haden has promoted USC associate head coach Dan Hubbs to head coach. Hubbs, a former Trojan All-American pitcher previously spent 12 years as Cal’s pitching coach and had a seven-year pitching career in the minor leagues.

    Cruz was preparing to begin his second season as the Trojans’ full-time head coach after being promoted in 2012 after serving as interim head coach for the 2011 season. He was on the Trojans’ staff as an assistant coach when USC went to the 1995 College World Series.


  • Published On Feb 13, 2013
  • USC tight end Junior Pomee charged with five felonies, removed from Trojans

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    Junior Pomee has been removed from the USC Trojans. (Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

    Junior Pomee has been removed from the USC Trojans. (Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

    University of Southern California tight end Junior Pomee has been charged with five felonies on the suspicion that he received stolen goods, and head coach Lane Kiffin said he has been removed from “all team activities until we get all the information.”

    Pomee is facing charges of grand theft, burglary and possession of stolen goods after being arrested last week near the USC campus, according to a report from The Los Angeles Times. Among the stolen goods that he had in his possession were an iPad, an iPad Mini and an iPhone 5. He plead not guilty at a Jan. 31 court appearance and is scheduled to be back in court Feb. 15.

    “[O]fficers responded to an intoxicated student who passed out in an alley behind the location. The student became combative when contacted by the officers and had to be physically subdued. The officers found the student in possession of a tablet computer and other property that did not belong to him and they subsequently determined that the items had been stolen.”

    Pomee, who stands 6′ 3″ and weighs 250 pounds, is a sophomore at USC. He red-shirted as a freshman, playing in every game last season but did not catch a pass.  He is free on $110,000 bail until his next court appearance.


  • Published On Feb 07, 2013
  • USC AD says football program can be fixed

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    USC athletic director Pat Haden says coach Lane Kiffin's job is safe for now. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

    USC athletic director Pat Haden says coach Lane Kiffin’s job is safe for now. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

    USC athletic director Pat Haden gave a wide-ranging interview to the Los Angeles Times about the state of his program and gave no indiction that head football coach Lane Kiffin’s job is in jeopardy.

    USC began the season ranked #1 in the Associated Press preseason poll and ended the season at 7-6 after a blowout loss to Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl.

    Haden said whatever problems the Trojans have “can be fixed and they all can be fixed by Lane Kiffin.”

    “His reputation,” Haden said about Kiffin, “it’s going to be really hard to sanitize that over time unless he kind of wins a lot of games and does things right, which we plan to do. He’s anti-Teflon.”I mean, stuff sticks to him that doesn’t even belong on him.

    When asked what it would take for Kiffin to keep his job beyond next season, Haden was less than forthcoming.

    “I’m not answering that question,” Haden said. “Sometimes when you’re calling plays . . . you don’t sense maybe the whole team. So I think he has to really sense the whole team and feel and have the relationship with the whole team.”


  • Published On Jan 22, 2013
  • Report: USC players in altercation in locker room after Sun Bowl loss

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    It was a disappointing season for Robert Woods and the USC Trojans. (Harry How/Getty Images Sport)

    It was a disappointing season for Robert Woods and the USC Trojans. (Harry How/Getty Images Sport)

    Ten to 15 USC players were involved in an altercation in the team’s locker room after the preseason No. 1 team in the nation closed its season with a loss in the Sun Bowl, reports the Los Angeles Daily News‘ Scott Wolf.

    Wolf, citing “sources,” reports that the altercation started when a group of freshmen questioned the effort given by some of the team’s seniors in the 21-7 loss to Georgia Tech. The Trojans finished the year 7-6.

    “It was one of the worst things I’ve seen in a locker room,” a player who didn’t want to be identified told Wolf.

    The Trojans entered the year ranked first in the Associated Press poll, and senior quarterback Matt Barkley was considered one of the favorites for the Heisman Trophy.

    But the past few months have been turbulent for the Trojans – both off and on the field.

    Back in August, head coach Lane Kiffin voted USC No. 1 — after saying he wouldn’t.

    The Trojans came under scrutiny for swapping the jersey number of its backup quarterback against Colorado. Later in the season, USC was fined $25,000 after one of its student managers deflated footballs during the team’s game with Oregon.

    On the field, USC’s offense struggled in a loss to Stanford early in the year. After four straight wins, the Trojans collapsed down the stretch. USC lost five of its final six games — to Arizona, Oregon, UCLA, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. Barkley didn’t play as well as in 2011 and was injured late in the season.

    Kiffin’s father, long-time NFL assistant Monte Kiffin, resigned as defensive coordinator after the regular season.


  • Published On Jan 16, 2013
  • Kevin O’Neill out as USC men’s basketball coach

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    Kevin ONeill

    Kevin O’Neill is out as USC’s head men’s basketball coach. (Stephen Dunn, Getty Images)

    Kevin O’Neill has been fired as head coach of the University of Southern California’s men’s basketball program, the school announced Monday morning. The firing comes after the Trojans started the 2012-2013 season in disappointing fashion – the team is currently 7-10 going into Pac-12 play.

    O’Neill went 48-65 in four years at USC, a program he took over after being hit with NCAA sanctions for providing improper benefits to former star OJ Mayo. This year was the first in which O’Neill had no loss of scholarships, recruiting time, or postseason to worry about, a point athletic director Pat Haden addressed in the announcement of O’Neill’s departure.

    “He took over a program under difficult circumstances because of our NCAA issues and, despite that, he was able to do some good things,” Haden said in the school’s statement. “It was hard for me to evaluate him as a head coach until this year when he had enough players and veterans to compete. As the season progressed, it became evident to me that we needed new leadership in our men’s basketball program. Despite a nice road win in our last game, I felt it was best to make a change now, with most of the Pac-12 season still ahead of us, in order to re-energize our team.”

    Current USC assistant Bob Cantu will serve as interim coach of the team until a replacement is found.


  • Published On Jan 14, 2013
  • Report: Monte Kiffin hired as Cowboys defensive coordinator

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    Monte Kiffin

    Monte Kiffin has agreed to become the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, according to reports. (Stephen Dunn, Getty Images)

    Monte Kiffin has reached an agreement to become the new defensive coordinator for teh Dallas Cowboys, according to a tweet by ESPN’s Ed Werder Friday afternoon. Kiffin has been the defensive coordinator at the University of Southern California where his sone Lane is head coach, but resigned citing a desire to return to the NFL.

    Kiffin, 72, served as an assistant coach or coordinator for 25 years in the NFL between 1983 and 2008 when he left to work with his son at the University of Tennessee. His most famous NFL job was as defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he is credited with the invention of the “Tampa Two” style of defense.

    According to another ESPN report, Kiffin’s hire would switch the Cowboys defensive scheme to a 4-3 from its current 3-4, with DeMarcus Ware slated to move to defensive end for the first time in his career.


  • Published On Jan 11, 2013
  • Matt Barkley out of Sun Bowl with shoulder injury, Max Wittek to start

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    USC quarterback Matt Barkley’s college career is over. Coach Lane Kiffin announced that Max Wittek would start in the Sun Bowl instead of Barkley, who is out with a shoulder injury.

    Barkley ends his career as a Trojan with 1,001 completions (64.1 percent), 12,327 passing yards and 122 total touchdowns. He was sixth in Heisman voting his junior year and is the Pac-12′s career leader in pass completions and passing yards.

    Barkley suffered a right shoulder sprain in November against UCLA when he was sacked from behind by linebacker Anthony Barr. He had hoped to return for the team’s final game, but will remain on the sidelines on doctors orders.

    The Trojans take on the Georgia Tech on New Year’s Eve in the Sun Bowl. Wittek, a redshirt freshman, has played in seven games and accumulated 281 passing yards and two touchdowns.


  • Published On Dec 27, 2012
  • Monte Kiffin to leave USC, return to NFL

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    USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin will resign from his position after the school’s bowl game to “pursue opportunities in the NFL,” the program announced Thursday night via Twitter.

    Kiffin has coached the Trojans’ defense for the past three seasons under his son, head coach Lane Kiffin. He came under increased scrutiny late in the season, as USC struggled down the stretch. In the midst of a 1-4 end to the season, the Trojans defense gave up a program-record 62 points in a loss to Oregon. USC ranked just 63rd in total defense this season.

    CBS’ Bruce Feldman reported recently that a consulting job in Seattle could be a potential NFL landing spot for the elder Kiffin.


  • Published On Nov 30, 2012
  • USC QB Matt Barkley won’t play against Notre Dame

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    Matt Barkley was injured on a sack by Anthony Barr late in UCLA’s win. (Harry How/Getty Images)

    Lane Kiffin told the media Sunday that USC senior quarterback won’t play against Notre Dame on Saturday. Kiffin has selected backup quarterback Max Wittek as his starter.

    Kiffin classified Barkley’s injury as an AC sprain to his shoulder. Barkley was injured while being sacked from behind by Anthony Barr late in the game.

    Barkley left the Rose Bowl with his arm in a sling.

    USC is the only team standing in the way of Notre Dame claiming the No. 1 spot in the BCS rankings and a berth in the national championship game.


  • Published On Nov 19, 2012
  • Is Lane Kiffin’s USC future in doubt?

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    USC coach Lane Kiffin has been the center of some controversy this season. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

    The Pac-12 Conference’s reprimand and fine of the USC Trojans football team after a student manager intentionally deflated several footballs during the Trojans’ 62-51 loss to Oregon on Saturday may be the last straw for coach Lane Kiffin, according to Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times.

    On the field, this team with unbeaten talent is 6-3 while gaining national recognition mostly for reckless penalties and questionable play-calling.

    Off the field, Kiffin has dragged the team through an array of distractions and ethics dilemmas that have tarnished the athletic department’s sterling post-probation image cultivated by Athletic Director Pat Haden.

    Kiffin was not hired by Haden, and there is now real doubt about his ability to keep his job beyond this season as the department sinks deeper into embarrassment. Kiffin was a Mike Garrett guy, and there are indications that Haden is ready to rid the program of the last traces of that legacy. As always, winning solves everything, and it appears Kiffin is going to have to do plenty of it in these final three regular-season games.

    Like, maybe, win all of them?

    At 37, Kiffin is the youngest coach of a Bowl Championship Series conference team. While he managed to avoid controversy during his first two seasons at USC — during the program’s NCAA probation — Kiffin has been criticized for recent decisions including banning visiting teams from Coliseum walk-throughs the day before games and temporarily banning a reporter from writing about injuries. Prior to the deflated ball incident, Kiffin changed jersey numbers on USC players possibly violating an NCAA ethics code.


  • Published On Nov 09, 2012
  • David Shaw says USC’s Marqise Lee is best WR he’s seen since scouting Randy Moss

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    Marqise Lee

    Marqise Lee is having a standout season at USC, and Stanford coach David Shaw called him the best receiver he’s seen since scouting Randy Moss.

    Stanford coach David Shaw says USC wideout Marqise Lee is the best receiver he’s seen since scouting Randy Moss, reports Bryan Fischer.

    Lee, a sophomore, leads the nation in receptions (88) and is second in receiving yards (1,286). In the Trojans’ loss to Stanford in September, Lee had eight receptions for 100 yards. Lee set a new Pac-12 record with 345 receiving yards in a game against Arizona later in the season.

    When asked by the San Jose Mercury News if he thought Lee, along with USC’s other star receiver, Robert Woods, was the best wide-receiver combination he’d ever seen in college football, Shaw responded:

    “Yes. Not even close, absolutely. To understand that, all the years I was in the NFL and studied college receivers and since I’ve been here studying different offenses and what people do on different things, I’ve never seen a college team with two guys like this.”

    Lee’s performance remains one of the team’s bright spots during a disappointing season–the Trojans were ranked No. 1 in the preseason, but have since dropped to 19th in the AP’s poll and have a 6-3 record.


  • Published On Nov 06, 2012
  • USC decommit Max Redfield may be leaning toward Notre Dame

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    Top recruit Max Redfield decommitted from USC’s 2013 recruiting class. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

    USC’s top-rated football recruiting class has lost a coveted commit, possibly to Notre Dame.

    Mission Viejo High School’s (Calif.) Max Redfield, the No. 2 ranked athlete/safety prospect in the country, decommitted via his Facebook page after an official visit to Notre Dame.

    “Going back on my word is something I never imagined doing and it hurts me to do it but in the end I feel is necessary to do in order to decide what college I want to go to and in the end what path I want to take in life. For many different reasons I am choosing to decommit from USC and re-open recruiting. I am sorry to the people I might let down or hurt in this decision but it is a decision that is crucial for my future athletically, academically, and spiritually.”

    Redfield attended USC’s loss to Oregon Saturday, and is scheduled to take an official visit to Washington on Nov. 9 and is expected to visit Oregon before the season ends.


  • Published On Nov 05, 2012
  • Khaled Holmes injury: USC center carted off field after hurting right leg

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    USC senior center Khaled Holmes was carted off the MetLife Stadium field midway through the fourth quarter when his right leg was caught under another player.

    According to Pedro Moura of ESPNLosAngeles.com, coach Lane Kiffin said afterward that he did not know the severity of Holmes’ injury.

    Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News tweeted this observation:

    Most accounts reported that the injury seemed pretty serious, with one observer going so far as to say that he thought it might be a broken leg.

    Senior quarterback Matt Barkley hinted at the Trojans’ concern for Holmes when he asked his Twitter followers to keep Holmes, an All-America candidate considered by many to be the best center in the nation, in their prayers.

    Backup center Abe Markowitz left the stadium with his arm in a sling, so ‘SC conceivably could be down to third-string redshirt freshman Cyrus Hobbi.


  • Published On Sep 09, 2012
  • Lane Kiffin votes USC No. 1 after saying “I would not vote USC No. 1″

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    USC coach Lane Kiffin voted his team No. 1 — after saying he wouldn’t. (Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

    USC coach Lane Kiffin voted his team No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sport Coaches’ Poll, after telling reporters that he would not vote the Trojans No. 1, reports USA TODAY‘s Brent Schrotenboer.

    “I would not vote USC No. 1, I can tell you that,” Kiffin had told reporters earlier in the week.

    USA TODAY revealed that Kiffin had in fact voted for the Trojans as the top team in the nation. (Coaches’ votes are confidential, except if they make what appear to be “false or misleading” comments about their vote publicly.)

    Kiffin clarified his comments to USA TODAY on Thursday. He said that he meant that if he was a member of the media or another coach, he wouldn’t pick the Trojans because the program is still under scholarship restrictions.

    “We have less players than everybody else,” Kiffin told USA TODAY. “So looking at it from the outside, I wouldn’t (vote USC No. 1). Did I? Yeah, I did. That’s not based off of 75 vs. 85. That’s based off of (USC players) Matt Barkley, T.J. McDonald and Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. When everybody has the same record, I can’t go into a meeting with our players and have them say, ‘You put that team and that team ahead of us.’ That’s why I did that.”


  • Published On Aug 10, 2012
  • Bobby Valentine talked transfer with family of new USC RB Silas Redd

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    Bobby Valentine has developed a reputation in the media as someone who injects himself into the middle of almost anything, from his invention of the wrap sandwich to his ballroom dance expertise to his stint as Stamford, Conn.’s public safety director.

    So it should come as no surprise that he told Michael Kay of 1050 ESPN New York (courtesy Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com) that he counseled former Penn State running back Silas Redd on his transfer to USC. Valentine was a star tailback in Redd’s hometown of Stamford who was recruited by USC to succeed O.J. Simpson. He told Kay that he knew Redd’s father, a police officer, from his stint as public safety director.

    “I did communicate with the family during the last couple of weeks,” Valentine said. “I think he made a terrific decision.”

    Valentine said that he would have done the same thing had he been in Redd’s place.

    Kay then asked if it was true that Valentine was as good as Simpson. “O.J. was a little taller,” Valentine said. “I might have been almost as good as Silas Redd. … I’m proud to be mentioned in his company.”


  • Published On Aug 04, 2012
  • Matt Barkley “confident” he would have been drafted ahead of Robert Griffin III

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    Matt Barkley

    Matt Barkley believes he would have been drafted ahead of Robert Griffin III had he declared for the 2012 NFL Draft. (Stephen Dunn, Getty Images)

    Confidence is key for any quarterback, and USC senior Matt Barkley appears to have plenty of it. In an interview with the Dan Patrick Radio Show, Barkley said that had he decided to forgo his senior season and go pro, he would have been drafted above the 2012 #2 pick, Robert Griffin III.

    A little confidence only goes so far, however. Barkley said he would have never expected to rise above new Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, who went #1 overall out of Stanford University. As quoted in NBC’s ProFootballTalk:

    “I had confidence that I was going to go high, it wasn’t really a question of that as to why I came back,” Barkley said. “I think it was a sure bet that Andrew was going to go No. 1.”

    Asked if he thinks he — not Robert Griffin III — would have gone No. 2 after Luck went No. 1, Barkley said he does.

    “I had confidence in that — I think I could have been,” Barkley said.

    Barkley made the surprise decision to return to USC to pursue a BCS championship in December 2011. He is widely expected to be a top pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.


  • Published On Jul 17, 2012
  • USC reaches scholarship limit with transfer of backup QB Jesse Scroggins

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    USC backup quarterback Jesse Scroggins, a former four-star recruit, will transfer from the school, according to a tweet from the school’s athletic department.

    Scroggins’ departure gets USC to its maximum of 75 scholarship players. The limit is a result of an NCAA punishment for violations dating back to the Reggie Bush era. The team signed only 15 players in this year’s recruiting class but still had more than 75 players on roster heading into next season.

    But Scroggins joins Amir Carlisle (Notre Dame) and Kyle Prater (Northwestern) as former Trojans to leave USC this offseason, allowing the Trojans to get below their scholarship cap. Scroggins initially chose USC over Colorado, Florida, LSU, Nebraska and Tennessee. He redshirted in 2010 and backed up Matt Barkley last season in his second year on campus.


  • Published On Jun 04, 2012
  • Mark Sanchez opens up about Tim Tebow, Chad Pennington, declaring early for NFL draft

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    Mark Sanchez, the New York Jets starting quarterback, spoke candidly about Tim Tebow, Chad Pennington and leaving USC early to declare for the NFL draft. (Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images)

    New York Jets starting quarterback Mark Sanchez sat down for an interview with Yahoo! Sports Jason Cole on Tuesday at the teams facility in Florham Park, N.J. and talked about a number of topics including what it was like for the Jets to land Tim Tebow, having Chad Pennington as a mentor and leaving the University of Southern California early to declare for the NFL Draft.

    On the Jets signing Tim Tebow to back up Sanchez:

    Tim is making whatever he makes, he’s a good leader, a great person, a hard worker and he plays quarterback and he can do other stuff. Why not go get him? Yeah, does he come with more attention than other players? Sure, but who cares? To me, if I can’t handle that, I shouldn’t play here. A funny aside to the whole thing: After we traded for Tim, I’m in the weight room feeling good, feeling big, thick, really in shape. I’m doing pull-ups with extra weight on. I’m doing squats, the whole thing. Then here comes Tim, the Incredible Hulk. I’m doing the pull ups with the extra weight and then he does them with two kettle bells and he just powers through them. He’s just an ox. He was awesome and I’m like, ‘OK, I’m not at that level.’ It was funny. He’s just a monster. He has been a really great guy to be around.

    On looking to Chad Pennington for advice:

    I think the most important stat line from last year was turnovers. So anything I can do to eliminate turnovers, that’s what I’m going to do. That’s why I called [Pennington]. You look at Chad and, number one, he has played for [new Jets offensive coordinator Tony] Sparano before, so that was natural right there. It made a grand slam [with] him being one of the most cerebral quarterbacks in the game the past few years, up there with Peyton Manning. [He's] a great decision maker, knows when to throw the ball away, knows when to check it down, knows when to take a sack, call a timeout, how to run a two-minute drill. He knows how to save turnovers and that’s key to me. If we save four or five turnovers last season, we’re looking at a different season and a different last three games and who knows.

    On leaving USC early and declaring for the NFL draft:

    Leaving school was pretty hard. My parents’ divorce was really hard. I was young and I didn’t really get it. But when I got older it was like, ‘Oh, now I get it.’ I lived with my mom at first and then my dad. Leaving school was tough because everybody wanted me to stay. Everybody in my family wanted me to stay. That was probably the first big decision where I went against the grain of what my family had played.


  • Published On Jun 01, 2012
  • Report: Bills Interested In Vikings’ No. 3 Pick, Eyeing USC’s Matt Kalil

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    Maybe the rumors were true — there’s still a chance of the Minnesota Vikings trading the No. 3 pick in the upcoming NFL draft. According to Charley Casserly of CBS, the Buffalo Bills are interested in trading up and using the pick to draft USC lineman Matt Kalil.

    Kalil is a good fit for the Bills, who desperately need a quality left tackle to protect young quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Kalil is billed as the top lineman in the draft class, perhaps a franchise-caliber talent at the position.

    There was a rumor three weeks ago that Minnesota was considering moving the No. 3; that buzz has since died down, but it’s worth noting that Vikings GM Rick Spielman has hinted he’s open to a draft-day deal.

    We’re now less than 24 hours away from the draft — the first pick is announced at 8 p.m. Eastern tomorrow — and it’s still not exactly clear what the Bills would give up to acquire the No. 3 pick. According to Casserly, the package would include the Bills’ second-rounder.


  • Published On Apr 26, 2012


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