I received plenty of good job offers this winter. The most notable ones for me anyway, were Georgia (my wife would love to see me take the job with the Dawgs), Boston College, Tennessee, Miami (Fla), Florida State and Michigan State, but I turned them all down. I'm comfortable here at Southern Cal and have built a very good program here. I'd like to see what I started through to some championships.
I was also disappointed to see that OC Rufus Mitchell has been declared academically ineligibile. The kid must be dumb as a rock with all the study hall time and coaching blocs we devoted to him. Very disappointed, as we really worked hard to make sure all our kids got solid grades. So in more ways than one 2012 was a major failure for me.
I decided to give Randy Edwards another season as Offensive Coordinator to see if he can mesh better with a new QB. I did fire Lead Scout Daryl Hester. In his place we hired Bubba Embry, the former Offensive Backfield Coach with the New England Patriots. Embry has a much better eye for talent, especially where it counts in a flexbone, the backfield and offensive line. He's got an exceptional eye in other areas as well and should prove to be a fine Lead Scout.
We've got yet another exceptional recruiting class coming in this year. TCY Today ranks our recruiting class 2nd in the nation. Here's a look at it.
Code:
The College Years
2012 University of Southern California Trojans
Recruiting List, Ranking View
TCY Today Ranking: #2
Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
**Whalen, Gabe RB 6-0 187 CA 19 3 4 3
##Vanderlaan, Levon RB 5-11 176 CA --- --- --- 17
$$Heekin, Sammy WR 6-3 193 CA 16 3 3 1
**McConnell, Cole WR 6-2 189 CA 97 11 17 3
$$Hoffman, Chester C 6-5 296 HI 9 1 1 1
$$Rodriguez, Tony C 6-0 252 CA 126 8 21 1
##Pilgrim, Ty G 6-5 272 OH --- --- 95 9
**Harnisch, Vernon T 6-6 275 CA 605 59 81 6
**Aalders, Tracy DE 6-2 237 NY 10 3 1 1
**Dragon, Tracy DT 6-3 272 CA 67 6 11 1
**Vaughn, Tyrell ILB 6-3 238 AZ 1 1 1 1
**Taylor, Riddick OLB 6-1 209 CA 28 2 6 1
**Buckley, Reggie OLB 6-2 224 CA 59 5 10 2
##Stagg, Jake OLB 6-0 206 CA --- --- --- 12
**Finch, Louie S 5-11 186 CA 73 3 12 1
$$Nordskov, Shaun S 6-2 198 OR 203 9 3 1
Player All-St All-US Status
**Whalen, Gabe Yes Yes Committed *
##Vanderlaan, Levon No No Committed * W
$$Heekin, Sammy Yes No Committed *
**McConnell, Cole Yes Yes Committed *
$$Hoffman, Chester Yes No Committed *
$$Rodriguez, Tony No No Committed *
##Pilgrim, Ty No No Committed * W
**Harnisch, Vernon Yes No Committed *
**Aalders, Tracy Yes No Committed *
**Dragon, Tracy Yes No Committed *
**Vaughn, Tyrell Yes No Committed *
**Taylor, Riddick Yes No Committed *
**Buckley, Reggie Yes No Committed *
##Stagg, Jake No No Committed * W
**Finch, Louie Yes No Committed *
$$Nordskov, Shaun Yes No Committed *
Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.
SUFFIX: W - walk-on
Player Pos ST Visit Cost Dist. Fit Score
**Whalen, Gabe RB CA 243 27 97
##Vanderlaan, Levon RB CA 234 0 96
$$Heekin, Sammy WR CA 276 128 87
**McConnell, Cole WR CA 242 24 94
$$Hoffman, Chester C HI 1203 2619 79
$$Rodriguez, Tony C CA 255 66 90
##Pilgrim, Ty G OH 1223 2135 88
**Harnisch, Vernon T CA 234 0 99
**Aalders, Tracy DE NY 1218 2495 97
**Dragon, Tracy DT CA 244 32 94
**Vaughn, Tyrell ILB AZ 349 359 93
**Taylor, Riddick OLB CA 242 24 90
**Buckley, Reggie OLB CA 276 128 96
##Stagg, Jake OLB CA 276 128 97
**Finch, Louie S CA 273 121 95
$$Nordskov, Shaun S OR 574 840 90
Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
**Whalen, Gabe 90-- 2 3 Prest/Acad Committed *
##Vanderlaan, Levon 54+ 1 1 Acad*/Prest Committed * W
$$Heekin, Sammy 84+ 2 2 Dist/Acad Committed *
**McConnell, Cole 69+ 3 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
$$Hoffman, Chester 88+ 4 3 Dist/Acad Committed *
$$Rodriguez, Tony 73+ 2 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
##Pilgrim, Ty 46- 1 1 Dist/Acad Committed * W
**Harnisch, Vernon 68+ 2 2 Dist*/Prest Committed *
**Aalders, Tracy 84+ 3 2 Acad*/Prest Committed *
**Dragon, Tracy 68+ 2 3 Prest/Acad Committed *
**Vaughn, Tyrell 99- 3 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
**Taylor, Riddick 87- 2 2 Prest/Dist Committed *
**Buckley, Reggie 96+ 2 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
##Stagg, Jake 53+ 1 1 Prest*/Dist Committed * W
**Finch, Louie 70+ 3 2 Acad*/Prest Committed *
$$Nordskov, Shaun 79- 2 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.
SUffix: W - walk-on