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USC Spring Football Notebook - Practice 7

Scott Enyeart |
April 5, 2011 | 11:35 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Defensive end Wes Horton, shown here against Arizona State, finally returned to spring practice. (Shotgun Spratling)
Defensive end Wes Horton, shown here against Arizona State, finally returned to spring practice. (Shotgun Spratling)
The USC football team was back at it Tuesday morning at Howard Jones Field. The seventh spring session was spirited and featured an increased amount of contact.

BACK IN ACTION: Defensive linemen Wes Horton and Christian Tupou practiced in full pads for the first time this spring, a welcome addition to a defense plagued by injury.

Running back Marc Tyler was also working his way back from injury. Tyler sported full pads but was limited to no contact as he works his way back from a hamstring injury suffered in the team's first spring practice.

THE TROJAN WAY: Coach Ed Orgeron has been visibly frustrated at times this spring over the lack of depth on the defensive line.

"We've been practicing with a lot of walk-ons on the second team," Oregeron said. "They've been doing a good job, but they're just not ready to play yet."

Oregeron's expectations are clear, "We gotta dominate. We gotta get better. We gotta get better at our pass rush. We can't let guys run the football on us. We got a lot of things to get better at. We gotta dominate, that's USC football."

IN THE TRENCHES: One of the biggest questions going into the spring was how the inexperienced offensive line would develop. It's a question that has yet to be answered because, in actuality, most of the guys getting reps this spring won't be the ones on the field in the fall.

"We have one legitimate college player playing there right now in Matt [Kalil], and the rest of the guys really have never played a significant snap of college football ever," Kiffin said. "So we have a lot of work to do there."

BARKLEY GETTING BETTER: Though the offense is missing its share of key players, it hasn't stopped quarterback Matt Barkley from finding ways to improve his game.

"For me personally, it's good work in moving in the pocket and understanding my hots, and knowing where those are," Barkley said of how he's dealt with the lack of depth around him. "It's all helping me to become more relaxed under pressure."

HEADING TO THE HALL: While he is making adjustments, Barkley has also thrown a number of interceptions that Kiffin said are of concern. Some of Barkley's passes have been poor decisions, including one deep post pass that was intercepted by defensive back Patrick Hall. It was the first of two interceptions for Hall, who also stole one of freshman Max Wittek's throws.

WHAT'S AHEAD: USC will resume practice Thursday morning with at 7:25. The Spring Game is scheduled for April 23 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and will be open to the public. 

Be sure to check out all of Neon Tommy's coverage of 2011 Spring Practice.

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To reach Scott Enyeart, click here. Follow him on Twitter @scottenyeart.



 

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