", RUNNING BACKS Jody Adewale, Rs. After the regular season, the University of Mississippi hired USC Assistant Head Coach Ed Orgeron, who also served as Defensive Line Coach and Recruiting Coordinator, to be the new head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels football team; although hired on December 16, 2004, he remained with USC through the Orange Bowl.[42]. The Trojan special teams in 2003 were much-improved from previous years. On offense in 2004, USC's entire backfield, its star wide receiver and the tight ends are back, but a new wide receiver must be developed and most of the line must be rebuilt. The accurate and efficient left-handed Leinart came out of relative obscurity to more-than-capably fill the shoes of 2002 Heisman winner Carson Palmer. Fr., DT Manuel Wright, So., DT. Williams came out of 2004 spring drills as the frontrunner on the right side and Baker was the starter on the left. "He far exceeded our hopes. Do you have a blog? The threesome combined for 1,906 rushing yards (146.6 yards a game) with 20 TDs in 2003; each rushed for at least 500 yards (the first time that had happened at USC since 1988) and averaged at least 4.8 yards per carry. Seven starters return on offense in 2004: quarterback Matt Leinart, wide receiver Mike Williams, tailback Hershel Dennis, guard Fred Matua, tight end Gregg Guenther Jr., fullback Brandon Hancock and tackle Winston Justice (Hancock and Justice won't play this season). See our list of forfeits and vacated games for more details. Fr. He was 10th nationally in kickoff returns (27.3, first in Pac-10) and had a scoring runback. Fr., DE Mike Patterson, Sr., DT LaJuan Ramsey, Jr., DT-DE Frostee Rucker, Jr., DE Jeff Schweiger, In. Senior Alex Holmes, who has 58 career catches, is back after sitting out last fall with a back injury. WR Fred Davis. Fr., FB David Kirtman, Jr., FB Desmond Reed, Rs. PUNTERS All-American junior Tom Malone (49.0 avg in 2003), the nation's best punter, has proven to be a weapon whenever he boots the ball. [20], The 15th-ranked Sun Devils, under Coach Dirk Koetter, were out to prove that they were a part of the national title picture and USC was out to prove it deserved its top-ranking after a series of close games to the Bay Area schools. A new center must emerge, with the candidates coming from sophomore Ryan Kalil, incoming freshman prep All-American Jeff Byers (Loveland High in Loveland, Colo.), who was the national high school player of the year in 2003, and junior walk-on Ross Burruel. LINEBACKERS USC's strength on defense will be its linebacking corps. The vacated games included the Trojans' Orange Bowl win. [36] The game also featured four out of five of the 2004 Heisman finalists with Leinart, White, Reggie Bush and Sooner running back Adrian Peterson, the Heisman runner-up. for the first time ever. The junior finished sixth in last year's Heisman Trophy and was only the second sophomore (along with Stanford's John Elway) to win Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year honors. 2004 Pacific-10 Conference football standings, "The 10 Best College Football Teams of All Time", 2004 Virginia Tech Hokies Football Schedule, Southern passion propels SEC to top of conference ladder, "USC Now Will Recognize Its 1939 Football Team As A National Champion", Notre Dame (64) at No. . And USC blocked 7 kicks (6 field goals and a punt). We present them here for purely educational purposes. [6] However, in the key final series, under heavy crowd noise, the USC defense caused an incomplete pass, a sack by defensive tackle Manuel Wright, and two more incomplete passes to cause a loss of possession and effectively end the game. Fr., S Terrell Thomas, Rs. "It starts with a big-time opener against a premier program and never lets up. "The competition in the wide receiver group will be critical," said Carroll. "That's my fundamental approach to the game: control the ball on offense, go get it on defense and make things happen on special teams," said Carroll. And he punctuated USC's Rose Bowl victory over Michigan by catching a 15-yard scoring pass off a reverse. As a 2002 freshman, he set NCAA frosh records for receiving yards (1,265) and TD catches (14) and the Pac-10 frosh mark for receptions (81). That. QB John David Booty; QB Mark Sanchez; RB Chauncey Washington; RB C.J. "It's a work ethic we must have in workouts, in practices and in games. "Obviously, it would be great to get Mike Williams back," said Carroll. [11] Matt Leinart went 20-of-31 for 231 yards in three quarters before being retired from the game, Dwayne Jarrett caught a touchdown on what was his 18th birthday, and the Trojans handed the Rams their worse loss in eight years and first shut out in 85 games. Junior Dallas Sartz (60 tac, 6 for loss, 2 sack, 4 dfl, 1 blk P in 2003) assumes the starting strongside job. Competing for time at guard are senior Travis Watkins, sophomore walk-on John Lanza, sophomore junior college transfer Alatini Malu (Long Beach City College in Long Beach, Calif.), who enrolled at USC this spring, freshman Travis Draper (originally a 2003 signee, he didn't enroll at USC until this spring), and prep All-American Chilo Rachal (Dominguez High in Compton, Calif.), an incoming freshman who also can play tackle. The big disappointment is Donte Williams is not only coaching the cornerbacks, he got a fake title: Defensive passing game coordinator. LOS ANGELES New USC football head coach Lincoln Riley has named his full-time assistant coaching staff. But there's a host of talented players hoping to fill the void: promising sophomores Steve Smith (17 rec, 319 yds, 18.8 avg, 2 TD in 2003), who was USC's No. So he sought to have his collegiate eligibility restored (as of mid-July, the NCAA hadn't ruled). He had 35 touchbacks among his 99 kickoffs in 2003 (and he kept foes within the 20-yard line 58 times). Each offers something different: Hershel Dennis brings stability, LenDale White brings power and Reggie Bush brings speed.". But Carroll speaks from experience when he says he is confident that his 2004 Trojans will respond well. WIDE RECEIVERS This past February when a court ruled that players didn't have to wait until after their third year out of high school to enter the NFL draft, All-American first teamer Mike Williams quickly decided to give up his final 2 seasons at Troy and go pro. Shaun Cody (26 tac, 10.5 for loss, 6 sack, 1 FF, 1 dfl, 3 blk FG in 2003) will be starting for his fourth year, this year sliding out to end after spending his career at tackle. Fr., CB Justin Wyatt, Jr., CB. The tight end corps is deep, with Gregg Guenther Jr. (17 catches and 2 TDs in 2003)-also a star on the Trojan basketball team-back after starting the last half of 2003, along with Dominique Byrd (14 catches and 6 early starts in 2003) and Alex Holmes (58 career catches), USC's starter in 2002 but injured last season. [3] Irish quarterback Brady Quinn completed 15-of-29 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. We'll have a very competitive environment each day to determine playing time and starting roles. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Just look what happened last year when Troy had to replace a number of top performers, including the 2002 Heisman winner (Carson Palmer), the nation's best safety (Troy Polamalu) and 3 NFL-caliber tailbacks (Justin Fargas, Sultan McCullough and Malaefou MacKenzie). The 2004 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Ray Guy Award candidate broke the USC season punting average record by 3.4 yards last fall (his 49.0 mark was just 0.3 off of the Pac-10 standard). The Lou Groza Award candidate was 12th nationally in scoring (9.4, second in Pac-10) and tied for 18th in field goals (1.5, third in Pac-10) in 2003. LB Brian Cushing. In the hunt for the tackle jobs are sophomore Kyle Williams, redshirt freshmen Sam Baker, Drew Radovich and Matt Spanos, plus incoming 370-pound junior Taitusi Lutui (Snow Junior College in Ephraim, Utah), a J.C. All-American. A mix of players with experience and youth will contend for both vacant end jobs: junior Frostee Rucker (26 tac, 4 for loss, 1.5 sack, 1 int, 1 dfl, 1 FF, 2 FR in 2003), who started 5 games last year when Nazel was injured, and redshirt freshmen Chris Barrett, Lawrence Jackson and Alex Morrow. @Coach_Henson. Marques Tuiasosopo, Tight Ends. Best Players on the 2007 USC Trojans Football Team. They'll take this challenge on with great excitement this year. 2 in the AP poll at one point late in the season. Providing that safety depth will be twin redshirt freshmen Brandon Ting (3 tac in 2003) and Ryan Ting (1 tac in 2003), and senior walk-ons Greg Farr (6 tac in 2003) and Chris Bocage (1 tac in 2003), who missed 2004 spring practice while recovering from a knee injury. He might sprint for the USC track team this spring (he has a best of 10.42 in the 100 meters). The team also won the AP title for the second year in a row. Quarterback Matt Leinart was awarded the Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding collegiate football player in the United States, with teammate Reggie Bush coming in 5th place. Dale Thompson, In. football@usc.edu. He went on to throw a Pac-10 record 38 TDs (1 shy of the NCAA sophomore mark). He started all of 2002 and could win back his job in 2004. PLACEKICKERS Senior Ryan Killeen (19-of-24 FG, 65-of-57 PAT in 2003) ranks among the nation's top placekickers. QUARTERBACKS John David Booty, So. He ended up as the Trojans' leading tackler in 2003. "I am very excited to formally announce our coaching staff," said Riley. Joining them will be 20 new scholarship players, including 3 who enrolled at USC this past spring and participated in spring practice. The backup tackles will be junior LaJuan Ramsey (6 tac, 2.5 for loss, 1.5 sack, 1 FF in 2003), who also might work at end, sophomore Travis Tofi (3 tac, 1 for loss, 2 dfl, 1 sack for a safety in 2003), and redshirt freshmen Sedrick Ellis and Ryan Watson. "Darnell Bing is headed for greatness and Jason Leach does such a solid job back there," said Carroll. Also pushing for playing time at the corner spots will be juniors Justin Wyatt (10 tac in 2003, plus 3 rec, 20 yds, 6.7 avg and 3 KOR, 41 yds, 13.7 avg), who also saw some action at wide receiver last fall, and John Walker (3 tac, 1 dfl in 2003), and redshirt freshmen Eric Wright and Terrell Thomas, plus junior walk-ons Alex Gomez and Justin Tolliver. "The key for us this year will be whether we can return to the work ethic that made it possible to have the success we've had the past few years. He led the nation in punting for 5 consecutive weeks in the middle of the 2003 campaign and would have finished as the leader (by 1.0 yards), but the efficiency of USC's offense left him 5 punts shy of having the NCAA-required minimum 3.6 punts per game. football@usc.edu. "The reconstruction of our offensive line will be critical," said Carroll. USC Finally Announces Coaching Staff The USC coaching staff is official. After trailing 130 in second quarter, USC scored the next 28 points with a pivotal 65-yard scoring return by Reggie Bush in the 4th quarter with the game close at 1413. Josh Henson, who has 23 years of coaching experience primarily in the SEC and Big 12 and has been part of a national championship staff, joined the USC staff as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in December of 2021. Senior Gregg Guenther Jr. (17 rec, 167 yds, 9.8 avg, 2 TD in 2003, plus 1 blk FG) became the starter by mid-2003 and performed well. Record: 13-0 (1st of 120) (Schedule & Results), Bowl Game: Won Orange Bowl 55-19 versus Oklahoma, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:41AM. Find out more. [6] Matt Leinart passed for a career-high 400 yards and a school record-tying five touchdowns Saturday, leading the top-ranked Trojans to a 4110 victory and adding a highlight performance to his ultimately successful Heisman campaign. The NCAA also forced USC to permanently disassociate itself from Bush. But this year's offense has a high standard to live up to: in 2003, the Trojans were fifth nationally in passing efficiency (159.1, first in Pac-10) and scoring offense (a school-record 41.4, first in Pac-10), 13th in passing offense (291.6, second in Pac-10) and 14th in total offense (447.5, second in Pac-10). [6][14] Both USC and Stanford had just previously beat BYU in convincing fashion; however, Stanford had the added benefit of a bye week to rest and reorganize between games. USC has accomplished this with a multi-pronged offensive attack that stresses efficiency and ball control, an aggressive defensive approach that thrives on getting turnovers and an effective, mistake-free kicking game. All the running backs return, also: starting tailback Hershel Dennis (661 rushing yards in 2003) and top backups LenDale White (his 754 yards last season made him the first true freshman to lead USC in rushing, while his 13 rushing TDs was a Trojan frosh record) and Reggie Bush (a Freshman All-American who set the USC freshman all-purpose yardage mark with 1,331 yards last fall), plus fullback Brandon Hancock (but he'll miss 2004 with a knee injury). The True Hiring Score or THS is compiled by a complex formula bringing together many different factors. The championship game against the Sooners was later vacated as a result of NCAA sanctions and USC was stripped of the 2004 BCS title. Then, we need to continue developing those young players who contributed so much last year and hope that they can elevate their play. The Bruins, having come off a three-week break of consecutive bye weeks, came into the game as serious underdogs in the Victory Bell. The 2004 AP title, however, remains in place. USC has its new head coach after a two-and-a-half-month search, delivering a resounding kaboom to a process that had been impressively quiet with no leaks coming from the school before the news broke Sunday that the Trojans had hired Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley. [28], USC clinched its third consecutive conference championship with a victory over the visiting Arizona Wildcats. (213) 740-4204. All-American first teamer Udeze-a 3-year starter and Hendricks Award finalist who tied for the national lead in sacks in 2003 while posting 56 tackles, 16.5 sacks, 26 tackles for loss and 5 forced fumbles-opted to skip his senior year and head to the NFL, where he was a first round pick. [16] It was the first time since 1968 that the teams met when both were ranked and it also was the highest-ranked Cal squad USC had faced since 1952,[6] also the last time the two programs were ranked in the top ten. LOS ANGELES New USC football head coach . For a while, it appeared that Williams--who has 176 receptions for 2,579 yards and a USC record 30 touchdowns in his 2-year career--would not return in 2004 after taking advantage of a court ruling to leave after his sophomore year for the NFL. The team was coached by Pete Carroll in his fourth year with the Trojans, and played their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Headlining the offense will be quarterback Matt Leinart and wide receiver Mike Williams, All-Americans who should figure prominently in this year's Heisman race (they were sixth and eighth, respectively, in last season's voting). The 41-year . Playing its first game on November 14 of that year against the Alliance Athletic Club, USC achieved a 16-0 victory. They comprise what many are saying is the school's second consecutive No. [6] The game marked the return of USC Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow to the program where he spent 27 years as an assistant under former Coach LaVell Edwards. In addition to winning the Heisman Trophy, Matt Leinart also won the Walter Camp Award and was named the AP Player of the Year. 2020 Seattle Seahawks Season 12 4 Lost in Wild Card to LAR, (Win Expectations: Make Div. Fr., OG-OT Drew Radovich, Rs. Zach Hanson, tight ends coach. He has a good arm and is a leader. [28] Although the fog was thick enough at times to interfere with pass plays, USC tight end Dominique Byrd caught two touchdowns. The first from 1988-2004, and second . There will be an entirely new left side and middle, as 10 years of starting experience must be replaced now that 2003 All-American first team left tackle Jacob Rogers (3-year starter), who was a second round NFL pick, plus All-Pac-10 first team center Norm Katnik (3-year starter) and left guard Lenny Vandermade (4-year starter) are gone. Jr., OT Alatini Malu, So., OG Fred Matua, So., OG Chilo Rachal, In. USC's punter (All-American Tom Malone, whose 49.0 average in 2003 was a school record) and placekicker (Ryan Killeen, whose 65 PATs last year set a Pac-10 record and 19 field goals tied the USC mark) are back, as well as USC's top kick returner (Bush) and punt returner (wide receiver Greig Carlson) from 2003. Other possibilities on the outside among the returnees are junior walk-on Collin Ashton (28 tac, 0.5 for loss, 1 FF, 1 dfl in 2003), who performed admirably while starting twice late last year when Simmons was injured, and redshirt freshman Thomas Williams, plus walk-on sophomore Mike Brittingham, who also can play fullback. Fr., C John Drake, Sr., OG Travis Draper, Fr., OG Winston Justice, Jr., OT Ryan Kalil, So, C John Lanza, So, OG Taitusi Lutui, In. In 2003, 24 of his 42 punts traveled at least 50 yards and 28 pinned opponents within the 20-yard line. "Linebacker is the great strength of our defense," said Carroll. His 164.5 passing efficiency rating ranked third nationally and was a USC record (he's the nation's top-rated returning passer). [6] White threw for 24-of-36 for 244 yards with three interceptions and two touchdowns; Peterson ran for 82 yards on 25 carries. On June 10, 2010, USC was forced to vacate its two final wins from the 2004 season (December 2004 against UCLA and the BCS championship game), as well as all wins from the 2005 season, following an NCAA investigation into possible violations by the Trojans' football and men's basketball programs. Most of USC's specialists from 2003 return, including perhaps the nation's premier punter (Tom Malone) and placekicker (Ryan Killeen), plus an exciting kickoff returner (Reggie Bush), a dependable punt returner (Greig Carlson) and a steady holder (Malone). Behind Leinart is a stable of very capable backups. The 2004 Trojans football team won the 2004 BCS National Championship by winning the 2005 Orange Bowl, that year's BCS National Championship Game. He became the wide receivers coach in 2019 after handling the tight ends and inside receivers in 2018. LB Rey Maualuga. Phone. Jr. Keith Rivers, In. In the process, Leinart has thrust himself to the front of this year's Heisman race and is also a leading candidate for the Davey O'Brien Award. Inside Wide Receivers Coach. "We did a great job offensively last season," said Carroll. Rd. Email. The bull-like White, who had a trio of 100-yard games last season, was the first true freshman to lead USC in rushing (his 754 yards were the second most by a Trojan frosh behind Charles White's 858 in 1976) and his 13 rushing TDs were a USC freshman mark (his 14 total TDs tied the USC frosh record). So he sought to have his collegiate eligibility restored (as of mid-July, he was awaiting word from the NCAA). As a result, USC was placed on four years' probation and forced to vacate its last two wins of the 2004 season as well as all of its wins in the 2005 season. After all, his Trojans have won 20 of their last 21 games (and their past 15 home contests) and have been dominant on both sides of the ball. Then there's senior Brandon Hance (4-of-9, 44.4%, 44 yds in 2003), who started 9 games at Purdue in 2001 and was No.
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