Portland, Ore. Tigard HS athlete Braden Lenzy just told me he's considering USC again.

Lenzy backed off his pledge to Oregon just days ago but the Trojans were involved long before that. USC offered him in the beginning of the year and had been recruiting him for quite some time before the offer.

That being said, USC isn't the favorite to sign Lenzy. But keep an eye on him.

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2018/braden-lenzy-53935

Kiff, Sark, and now Helton....

Could Yogi be next.....

Does anyone know the terms of their deal with Nike? How much and now many years?

NM

Congrats to Sheriff Helton....
Well deserved honor.

A USC assistant is leaving to become the Tennessee offensive coordinator ... and it's not Tee Martin.

Rivals' Tennessee site, VolQuest.com, has the latest.

UPDATE: Spoke with a source inside the program and am told Tyson to Tennessee is happening.

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That's Matthew Tago, a linebacker who picked up a scholarship offer from USC over the summer but committed to UCLA shortly afterwards. He's back on the market but I was told by someone I trust after he picked the Bruins that USC didn't view him as a priority recruit.

Still worth noting becaus you never know what can happen.

who ended up keeping their redshirt status all season?

I know a few guys like Randal Grimes might have gotten a snap or two and used up one year of eligibility. Would Marlon be able to get a medical redshirt if he wanted?

I moved my daughter into her apartment this weekend. She's a senior at USC. I went to Ralph's on Adams Sunday am and came across four USC football players. All in workout garb. Very nice young men. Yes sir, no sir, etc. Anyways, they said Sam wants to play in 2018. Said he thinks he has a lot more to learn before going pro.

I'm no insider. Just came across this accidentally.

If Sam goes, bring in Tanner McKee in 2018 to RS, get some experience and be available for emergency. Then let him go on his mission in 2019 and 2020. He comes back in 2021 with hopefully 4 years to play 4. He would be in great position to follow Daniels and give us a very mature option at that point. Good for Tanner and SC.

SIAP Who are we expecting to sign their letter of intent on the 20th?

...for nearly $7 million / year! 8 year deal for $55m total. That is absolutely crazy, and not in a good way. That's like a deal that a bad NBA GM hands out so that a middle tier player will go to a small market team. I guess when you get rejected 80 times in a row you really don't want to deal with it again. $6.5m for assistants too. Saw a tweet that Tee isn't going, but you gotta think they'll fill out the staff well with that kind of budget. Either that or overpay just like they did for a coach.

EDIT: I may have gotten fake news'd by the MB on this, so if it turns out to be a (more) normal amount of money feel free to kill me for jumping on the news too quickly

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That's Michael Ezeike who picked up an offer from USC over the summer. It's hard to imagine he's big time priority unless the class has some more spots.

That is one we are definitely interested in.

Hey, Can we get a podcast exclusively for recruiting? It is overdue hearing your sweet, sweet voice on possbile commits or updates on these guys.

You know you want to, you know we want you to... lets make it happen. I need a audio Swanson lock update

@Chris Swanson

When does USC start getting ready for the Cotton Bowl?

POLYNESIAN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED



Honolulu, HI (December 7, 2017) – The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame announced today five Finalists for the inaugural Polynesian High School Football Player of the Year Award. The Award is presented annually to the most outstanding Polynesian senior high school football player.

The five Finalists include QB Chevan Cordeiro (St. Louis School; Honolulu, HI), LB Palaie Gaoteote (Bishop Gorman High School; Las Vegas, NV), ATH Talanoa Hufanga (Crescent Valley High School; Corvallis, OR), ATH Brandon Kaho (Reno High School; Reno, NV) and LB Solomon Tuliaupupu (Mater Dei High School; Santa Ana, CA). The Finalists were selected from a Watch List of more than 50 players.

“The Polynesian influence in football is rapidly expanding and at an all-time high,” said Jesse Sapolu, Chairman and Co-Founder. “This award showcases the immense talent of our Polynesian student-athletes in high school football today.”

Finalists will be recognized during the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend on O`ahu, Hawai`i. The Player of the Year will be announced (and honored) at the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Celebration Dinner on January 19 (Sheraton Waikiki), and again at halftime of the Polynesian Bowl (Aloha Stadium) on January 20.
2017 FINALISTS


ABOUT THE POLYNESIAN FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME

The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame honors Polynesia’s greatest players, coaches and contributors. It also serves as a resource for Polynesian football history, provides academic scholarships and supports educational programs for Polynesian youth. Its permanent home is located at the Polynesian Cultural Center (Laie on O’ahu’s North Shore) and was established in 2013 by Super Bowl Champions Jesse Sapolu and Ma’a Tanuvasa. Other board members include Troy Polamalu, Vai Sikahema, June Jones and Reno Mahe. For more information, visit our website at www.PolynesianFootballHOF.org, like our Facebook page, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter @PolynesianFBHOF.

ABOUT THE POLYNESIAN BOWL

The Polynesian Bowl is a premier high school football all-star game featuring 100 of the world’s elite football players, of which a majority are of Polynesian ancestry. The game will be played Saturday, January 20, 2018 at Aloha Stadium on O`ahu, Hawai`i during the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend. For more information, visit our website at www.PolynesianBowl.com, like our Facebook page, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @PolynesiaBowl.

I know he's supposed to visit Michigan this weekend... I'm wondering if he's going to visit USC at any point?

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Coulda been down the street from his house... never too late

here is a very good article by the BBC detailing all the players involved with this Trump/Russian investigation, and what their involvement is... so far. Now you can follow along because it appears things are going to get pretty hot and heavy in the next few months. Stay tuned, as our president would say.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40709270

I'm reposting a story from 2010 because it's a great piece of writinghttp://www.esquire.com/sports/a5720/todd-marinovich-0509/

Tyler Announces The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Finalists

TYLER, Texas – The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award today announced the 2017 finalists as determined by the Selection Committee.

Finalists:

J.T. Barrett, Ohio State, QB, Graduate – Wichita Falls, TX (Rider HS) – Big Ten

Ronald Jones, II, USC, TB, Junior – McKinney, TX (McKinney North HS) – Pac-12

Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma, QB, Senior – Austin, TX (Lake Travis HS) – Big 12

Jarrett Stidham, Auburn, QB, Sophomore – Stephenville, TX (Stephenville HS) – SEC

James Washington, Oklahoma State, WR, Senior – Stamford, TX (Stamford HS) – Big 12

J.T. Barrett - A graduated, fifth-year player from Wichita Falls, Texas, and Rider High School, Barrett has led the No. 5-ranked Buckeyes to an 11-2 season and to a Big Ten championship game win over the No. 3-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, 27-21, last Saturday in Indianapolis. Barrett has thrown for 2,939 yards and 35 touchdowns and added another 732 yards rushing and 10 more scores.

He has led the Buckeyes to 523.6 offensive yards per game – sixth-best nationally – behind a balanced attack of 274.2 passing yards per game and 249.4 rushing yards per game.

The only three-time captain in school history, Barrett’s leadership and toughness were tested to the max the week of the championship game against Wisconsin. He was injured in a freak, pregame injury before the Michigan game the week before and played into the third quarter of that win. He had a surgical procedure the very next day, lived in the training room the next week and led the Buckeyes to the win over Wisconsin six days later by throwing for 211 yards and two touchdowns plus rushing for 60 more yards and another score.

Barrett owns 35 Ohio State and Big Ten records, including Big Ten marks for touchdowns responsible for (145) and touchdown passes (104). He is also a finalist this year for the Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Year award as well as the Senior CLASS Award

Ronald Jones, II – Ronald Jones, II in 2017 has run for 1,486 yards on 242 carries (6.1 average per carry) with 18 touchdowns and also has caught 14 passes for 187 yards (13.4 average) with 1 TD. He currently is fifth nationally in rushing touchdowns (18), sixth in total touchdowns (19), 10th in rushing (123.8), 11th in scoring (9.5), 15th in all-purpose running (139.4) and 22nd in rushing yards per carry (6.1). His 1,486 rushing yards in 2017 puts him 10th on USC’s season rushing list (and is the 30th time a Trojan has eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in a season).

Jones is the seventh Trojan in history to have at least a pair of 1,000-yard rushing seasons (along with O.J. Simpson in 1967-68, Anthony Davis in 1972-73-74, Ricky Bell in 1975-76, Charles White in 1977-78-79, Marcus Allen in 1980-81 and LenDale White in 2004-05). Jones also eclipsed the 1,000-yard barrier in 2016 when he gained a team-leading 1,082 yards with 12 scores.

He has run for 3,555 yards in his career (fifth on USC’s all-time rushing list, with 2 Heisman Trophy winners and 2 Heisman runners-up ahead of him) with 38 TDs. He has an impressive 6.2 yards per carry average. He has 14 career 100-yard rushing games (including 9 in 2017). He has had at least 1 TD in 18 of the last 19 games he has played (including 13 consecutive games from 2016 to 2017 until he was shut out at Notre Dame in 2017, the most in a row since Anthony Davis’ 17 in 1973-74). Jones made 2017 CollegeSportMadness.com All-American third team, All-Pac-12 first team, is a finalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and was a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award.

Baker Mayfield - Mayfield, who is also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, Maxwell Award, Davey O'Brien Award and Manning Award, leads the nation in completion percentage (.710), passing efficiency rating (203.8), this would break his own FBS record of 196.4 set last year, yards per pass attempt (11.8), yards per completion (16.6) and pass of plays of 20-plus yards (75). He also ranks second in passing touchdowns (41), third in total offense (357.7 ypg) and fourth in passing yards (333.8 per game).

The Austin, Texas, native has completed 262-of-369 passes this year for a career-high 3,430 yards and 41 touchdowns to just five interceptions. He has also rushed for 310 yards and another five scores with no fumbles lost.

Mayfield has thrown a TD pass in a Big 12-record 39 consecutive games (every contest of his OU career), which is the third-longest streak in FBS history. He's also thrown at least two TD passes in a Big 12-record 26 straight contests (81 TDs to 13 interceptions during the stretch), which is tied with Boise State's Kellen Moore for what is believed to be the longest streak in FBS history.

Mayfield's career passing efficiency mark of 176.0 would break the FBS record held by OU’s Sam Bradford (175.6).

Jarrett Stidham - Sophomore Jarrett Stidham leads the SEC and ranks seventh nationally in completion percentage (.667, 218-327) and ranks fifth in the league and 15th nationally in passing efficiency (154.0). Averaging 217.5 passing yards per game with 17 touchdown passes for the season, his long completion was a 75-yard touchdown toss to Ryan Davis vs. Ole Miss. He was a second team all-SEC honoree and the Associated Press’ SEC newcomer of the year.

Stidham ranks third in passing yardage (2,827), first in completions (218) and seventh in touchdown passes (17) among Auburn single-season all-time leaders. In SEC regular season games this year, Stidham had a pass efficiency rating of 169.56. He was 125-186 (.672) in SEC action, passing for 1,819 yards and 12 scores. In SEC games only, Stidham led the conference in yards per attempt (9.8) and passing efficiency. Stidham ranks seventh nationally with 17 passes of at least 40 yards and is fifth with 10 50+-yard passes this season. He is tied for 19th with 22 30+-yard passes this season.

James Washington - Washington will go down as one of the best and most productive receivers in Oklahoma State history and in the history of the Big 12 Conference. He enters the bowl game with 4,346 career receiving yards, a figure that leads all active FBS players and ranks third in Big 12 history. He needs 68 yards to pass RashaunWoods for the Oklahoma State school record and to move into second on the all-time Big 12 list. He leads all active FBS players with 38 career receiving touchdowns and his career average of 85.2 receiving yards per game is the best among all receivers from Power Five conferences with a minimum of 2,000 career receiving yards.

In 2017, Washington was a unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selection and also earned a spot on the Walter Camp All-America team. He finished the regular season with 69 catches for 1,423 yards and 12 touchdowns. Washington’s 1,423 receiving yards and 118.6 receiving yards per game both led the FBS and his 12 touchdown receptions ranked fourth nationally. He led all FBS players with 17 catches of 30 yards or longer, 10 catches of 40 yards or longer and seven catches of 50 yards or longer. Washington helped Oklahoma State become the first offense in Big 12 history to have a 4,000-yard passer (Mason Rudolph), a 1,000-yard rusher (Justice Hill) and two 1,000-yard receivers (Marcell Ateman and James Washington).

The winner will be announced at the award banquet in Tyler, Texas on January 10, 2018. All finalists will be invited to the event and the emcee is Ron Franklin, legendary sports commentator, former voice of ESPN College Football and the Houston Oilers.

Thank you to the award sponsors: City of Tyler, BMW of Tyler, Brookshire’s, Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System, Clements Fluids Management, LLC, Kitchens Unique, Patterson Commercial Property Group, R.W. Fair Foundation, Southside Bank, TDI Air Conditioning/James and Sharon Wynne, Chesley and Ted W. Walters, Austin Bank, Azalea Orthopedics, Texas Spine and Joint Hospital, Tyler Morning Telegraph, Prothro, Wilhelmi & Co., Tyler Junior College, and the University of Texas at Tyler.

YOU CAN VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE FINALIST FOR THE EARL CAMPBELL TYLER ROSE AWARD ATWWW.EARLCAMPBELLAWARD.COM. ONE VOTE DAILY.

https://usc.rivals.com/news/usc-targets-in-the-new-rivals-rankings

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I just saw this. I’m not the biggest Helton fan, but WTF?!?!?! Clay best in TWICE and was the first South team to win the PAC 12 Championship. Crazy.

Interesting note to Green.

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