Looks like Sean Miller the coach of Arizona's basketball team is going all in denying the allegations and will want retribution from a company already in trouble.

Running back Ronald Jones II discusses his development at USC and his journey leading up to the 2018 NFL Draft.

RoJo at the Combine

https://n.rivals.com/news/three-point-stance-early-look-at-2019-triplets-nfl-combine

Farrell is impressed with what usc did in 2018 at QB, RB and WR, thinks RoJo has a shot to improve his draft stock at the combine and thinks Darnold has hurt himself by not throwing at the combine. Click the link for more.

How these nimwits in the NFL are considering him a top 5 pick when he was clearly the wrench in the Tee Helton GumbOffensive machine, is beyond the likes of me.

But wait this article seems to indicate those turnovers were at least partly a result of his OL and lack of WR talent and youth. Say what? Damn it just when I was able to comfortably mollify myself with the belief that Sam Darnold was the problem with our offense last year so we were bound to get better without the likes of him. Poop.

——————————

Sam Darnold, USC

How much football does he know? Darnold's considered the cleanest of the quarterbacks in this class: tough, competitive, instinctive, humble, hard-working and at his best in big moments, with enough arm, vision and mobility to give him, in one NFC executive's opinion, the most upside as a pro QB in the group. But Darnold is still just 20 years old, was a late convert to quarterback and made enough bad decisions (36 turnovers in 27 college games) to leave scouts wondering how much he really understands about offense at this stage. "The board and his knowledge is going to be important to test, because I think he's got some strides to make there," a college scouting director said. "I think he's almost more of a streetball player than he is a classic quarterback." Darnold went into high school as a linebacker and receiver and has the mechanics to match, including a funky, elongated throwing motion, though he gets the ball out quickly enough. Where it goes has created some head-scratching moments on tape. "He'll make some boneheaded throws and decision-making," one AFC scout said, "so I think some of the (football) intelligence questions may be lurking for him." But one NFC scout pointed out the Trojans' lack of weapons and offensive-line problems and said the word from coaches is Darnold is "totally capable" of grasping an NFL offense. "You can see him go through progression," the scout said. "You can see him look off safeties. You can see him understand where his outlet is. You see a lot more out of him than you see out of a lot of these (spread) guys."

Is there more to his personality? No one has a bad word to say about Darnold's character, but several scouts told me they're interested to see how he comes across in interviews. "He's not a real dynamic dude," an NFC executive said. "He's kind of a flat-liner. That can be good and bad." That California cool demeanor is also part of what Darnold's fans like about him. He's steady. "He's got fire, but it's more internal fire, competitive, going to be shown to his teammates and coaches and staff there," another NFC exec said. "They love the competitiveness. They love the makeup of the kid. He's just not going to flaunt it." Said an AFC scout: "There's no issue with the kid, but can he step in and command the locker room, and they respect him? He's not going to be that vocal leader type -- which is fine. But are guys going to look at him, like, 'Who's this 20-year-old kid, this baby-faced kid?' "

How big are his hands? Some scouts laugh off the importance of hand size, but ball security was an issue for Darnold, so there will at least be interest in seeing this measurement. He fumbled 21 times over two seasons. "There's a couple of plays where the ball slips out of his hands," an NFC scout said, "but considering how far he drops it in that motion, he would lose it if (his hands) weren't big enough." Said another NFC executive: "His game translates to the cold. He's rugged. He can extend plays. He can throw it short. He can throw it deep. He's tough as hell. I wouldn't be worried."

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https://usc.rivals.com/news/young-feels-like-a-priority-for-usc

Talks new USC offer and visit.

Thought he struggled a little bit with speed at the UA Camp last weekend but a good-looking kid with lots of years to develop:

https://n.rivals.com/news/usc-visit-impresses-2020-ol-geirean-hatchett

And still no RB coach WTF!

Adam/Chris any info on this?

The 2019 class is officially on the clock and with the early Signing Period just about nine months away and the first opportunity for prospects to take official visits coming this spring, it’s time for recruiting fans from across the country to start familiarizing themselves with the class of 2019.

We at Rivals.com are here to help. Over the next two weeks, we will introduce the top five players at each position in the class. Today we take a lot at all-purpose running backs.

RELATED: Meet the top 2019 pro-style QBs | Dual-threat QBs




Sean Dollars

Early contenders: USC, Oregon, Washington, Florida State, among others

Breakdown: Dollars' offer list continues to grow, but a trio of Pac-12 schools sit highly on his list. USC is always going to be a factor with elite prospects from Southern California and Dollars recently named the Trojans his top school. He’s also spoke glowingly of the Huskies and the Ducks in the past. The wildcard here could be the Seminoles, who have a chance thanks to head coach Willie Taggart and running backs coach Donte Pimpleton, who developed a strong bond with Dollars while at Oregon.

You can see the rest of the Top 5 prospects at the position here.

There have been many arcane items during history with the warning that men are not supposed to know or question. After going through the final 4 Football selection which is itself elusive by denying what common sense defines are the rules, we now have the March Madness which starts with the bracketing of teams in a system of changing rules.

I understand it has to start somewhere but I always assumed that was through people who actually saw the teams play over much of the season, but that isn't enough. Gonzaga is by eye a very good team but they dont appear in any of the top 4 early regional releases. The MWC is considered a weak conference by proclamation. The PAC12 seems to be channeled with the same disdain.

And now we have the quadrant wins added: Quadrant one-win at home vs. the top 30 RPI teams; or Win on Neutral court versus the top 50 RPI teams. or win on Road vs. top 75 RPI teams. A sports writer who I respect had this to say in a tweet: .."The Committee’s quadrant system is just more shaky data to organize information for less discerning minds. All of the quad data is based upon RPI. Garbage in, garbage out…."

Jerry Palm said USC is on the bubble because they don't have as many quadrant 1 wins as others: Really? USC: In quadrant 1 They won over Middle Tennessee (28) by 5, at Oregon (72) by 5, at Utah (51) by 16, New Mexico State N (52) by 5. They lost to Oklahoma (36) N by 2, UW away (49) by 7, ASU (30) away by 2, Arizona (17) away by 14, at UCLA (53) by 3,.

That’s 4-5 vs. quadrant 1. 3 of the 5 losses were by 3 points or less.


This is what we face. Next: Why the ACC is supposedly getting 9 teams versus 2-3 for the PAC12?

The class of 2019 is officially on the clock and the more the analysts at Rivals.com have a chance to see players perform, the more the rankings come into focus. But it’s not just about ranking the top 250 players in the country. This week’s rankings update also saw major changes to rankings at the state level.

Today we take a look at some notable storylines and trends in the new state rankings updates, as well as reveal the new lists for each state.

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

California stars shine early


Kayvon Thibodeaux
Nick Lucero/Rivals.com
It typically takes a little longer for stars to emerge on the West Coast but this year’s crop of talent at the top of the California state rankings already has quite the impressive resume. The Golden State has three five-star prospects, highlighted by defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux. The state would have had four five-stars, if it weren’t for five-star quarterback J.T. Daniels electing to reclassify into the 2018 class in time to sign with USC earlier this month. Without Daniels in the fold, the top-ranked quarterback in the state, Jayden Daniels, sits at No. 17 overall. If he holds that position or another quarterback doesn’t move up, it will be the first time since 2010 that a quarterback hasn’t ranked in the state’s top 15. That year, the highest-ranked quarterback was the state’s No. 18 player, Stanford signee Brett Nottingham.

You can read some of the storylines regarding other states here.

Here's my thoughts.

I never rate an Olympics low since they take so much work to deliver so the lowest rating would be a B, as in the Rio's games. This one I give a B+ rating. The Olympics are something I always look forward to and after a few weeks can't wait for them to finish. In the Winter games USA seems to be going backwards at least in medals, but credit the other countries athletes..

The Good::

This was the year of the dog but for the USA it was mostly the year of the women. There were firsts (in a long time) for the Women's hockey team with a fitting shootout ended with one of the best deke moves I have ever seen to win it. And a new win in Cross country

There was also a gold medal for the old crowd with Men's curling. I woke up to glimpse the 5 point inning.

The most impressive athletes I have seen were the free style acrobats like Shaun White and I was glued to the TV when they were on. I think I might have done one of the flips unintentionally in my minor skiing days.

And the USA showed its diversity of culture with medal wins and participation of the Shibutani kids (the Shib Sibs). In the ice skating of Chinese -Americans, in the representation by Black Americans in Speed skating and others.

I'm a techi guy so the opening and closing days presentations were great especially the use of lighted drones to animate figures in the sky. But what seemed missing was the historical tale of Korea.

The K-Pop acts added some fun even if it seemed a throwback to Disco days and boy groups.

The not so good.

This had the problem of having an undertone of politics . There was the looming North Korea -USA problem, and some in the USA team showed us as a nation that has become divided politically by using the Olympics spotlight to spout their dislike of the present President. Did any of these guys win anything with that, including medals?

As to the filming the coverage was very good. However the commentary was a little underwhelming and sometimes over the top. The announcing was mostly solid but NBC seemed to be aiming at glitterati with Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir. The latter at the end with his up sweep pompadour, tiara, and Kimono like sleeves, screamed about Pandas. I thought I was watching Madame Butterfly.

The time difference killed some of its immediacy and that will continue as we see the next 4 years in a continued Asian Venue: North Korea to Japan to China.

...for the FBI to be working on? Why are they spending their time with college basketball? Plus, are they presenting the evidence or arresting anyone, or just leaking information?

son because apparently he has decommitted from Arizona and now is entertaining the idea of attending UGLY... He's considered by some as a top 5 player and was wondering if the coaches even made an attempt to get involved?

OK, full disclosure here. I actually read with full comprehension all sides of this issue including Robert Schlesinger's analysis & Byron York's analysis & I have read the Steel Dossier itself. I have read every word of the Schiff Memo. I have read the Nunes point-by-point counter point to the Minority Memo. And, admittedly, I find the Schiff Memo underwhelming - I'm sure no surprise to anyone. I also fault that the 4 page Nunes/Gowdy summary did leave out some key facts - BUT I'm sure the high level 4 page summary was not originally written to be part of a back-and-forth declassified debate (sigh). Anyways, I still find the Nunes/Gowdy high level 4 page summary substantively accurate - Especially, in light of the 7 page Grassley-Graham letter (including footnotes - much more detailed analysis of the FISA Warrant Application).

But this entire "in-the-weeds" debate is quite boring (YAWN)..let me explain.

Rather than argue point by point and getting into the weeds...here is my problem with this whole debate...this seems to be the "elephant in the room"...taking a step back and looking at "the big picture"...

• Carter Page is not a target of the Mueller Investigation.
• Carter Page has not been accused or indicted for any wrongdoing by the FBI or the Mueller Investigation.
• The surveillance of Carter Page has not yielded any verifiable evidence of Trump-Russia Collusion.
• There have been exactly ZERO indictments based on a secret court application to spy on Carter Page.
• The Surveillance of Carter Page was a dead end, a dry hole. No there-there as to Trump-Russia Collusion or Carter Page Collusion. (it is possible that the spying yielded some good information for the CIA unrelated to Carter Page or the Trump Campaign - I do concede that spying on Americans in Russia might yield some valuable data collection for the CIA's database).
• This debate should be about CIVIL LIBERTIES - is the FISA Court Process to Spy on American Citizens (violating 4th Amendment Rights) need some REFORM? Nobody seems to care.
• The DEMOCRATIC PARTY is in FULL SUPPORT of SPYING ON AMERICANS - there is NO NEED to make any reforms to the SECRET FISA COURT PROCESS (EX PARTE) as it pertains to AMERICAN CITIZENS. This is the bottom line gist of Adam Schiff & Democratic Party!

This is the big picture view of this debate! Nobody seems to focus on this! SIGH.

https://usc.rivals.com/news/gaoteote-makes-his-commitment-public

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Murf Baldwin is back with analysis on how the Trojans could deploy their defensive personnel, post-National Signing Day. How can USC best make use of all its defensive back talent? Is Big Nickel an option? Find out here.

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USC and UCLA have moved right to the top for Latu:

https://n.rivals.com/news/top-two-teams-emerge-for-four-star-laiatu-latu

JUCO offensive tackle Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu recently received an offer from USC, his dream school. He also happens to be the cousin of Brandon Pili.

https://usc.forums.rivals.com/threa...n-thread-12-9-update.52523/page-4#post-679205

I'm predicting that'll happen before the New Year.

Happy Holidays.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nc...scandal/ar-BBJxg3G?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

Go get him, Andy! (I'm sure that @187Bruins could find his dad some gainful employment.)

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The 2019 class is officially on the clock and with the early Signing Period just about nine months away and the first opportunity for prospects to take official visits coming this spring, it’s time for recruiting fans from across the country to start familiarizing themselves with the class of 2019.

We at Rivals.com are here to help. Over the next two weeks, we will introduce the top five players at each position in the class. Today we take a lot at dual-threat quarterbacks.

RELATED: Meet the top 2019 pro-style QBs



Jayden Daniels
Nick Lucero/Rivals.com

Early contenders: USC, Ohio State, Nebraska, Alabama, Iowa State, Oregon, Florida State, among others

Breakdown: Daniels has seen his recruitment explode over the past few months and he now boasts a national list of offers. He’s spoken recently about wanting to visit both Ohio State and Nebraska and he ranks high on the list for the Tide and the Seminoles. But like most elite prospects from Southern California, USC is in the picture and will likely have a lot to say about where Daniels eventually ends up. If he follows through on his talks of taking visits around the country, it could be quite a race to land his commitment.

You can see the rest of the Top 5 DQBs here.

I’m back with how I think the offense will look to start the season. QB was a tough one for me but we actually have a lot of returning starters so whoever the QB is they shouldn’t have too tough of a job.

QB- Jack Sears
RB- Stephen Carr
WR- Tyler Vaughns
WR- Michael Pittman
WR- Amon Ra St. Brown
TE- Josh Falo
LT- Austin Jackson
LG- Chris Brown
C- Toa Lobendahn
RG- Alija Vera Tucker
RT- Chuma Edoga