A new season is just on the horizon, as fall practice begins August 3rd for the USC football squad. A lot of variables are different from 2012 - a new quarterback, a new defensive coordinator and scheme, half a dozen new positional coaches, and as senior linebacker Hayes Pullard called it, "a new era swagger." But even after Pat Haden proclaimed to be "behind him 100 percent" in a promotional video released the night before, one thing stayed the same way we've known it for the past three years: head coach Lane Kiffin's stoic media persona.

"I can't worry about what you guys write about my personality," Kiffin said in an interview following the organized press conference. "That has nothing to do with winning games or developing our players. All the decisions I make are in the best interest of our system and our players and not concerned about what outside people view those decisions as.

Media kerfuffles aside, Friday's Pac-12 Media Day brought a new level of scrutiny to the USC football program. Last year, it was on if the Trojans could live up to their preseason number one ranking. This time, the focus was more on whether Kiffin can keep the Trojan horse standing straight in 2013. And with USC's turn at the podium during the organized press conferences lasting 23 minutes (no other team went over the suggested 15-minute time frame), it's clear the flaming desire to dissect every small move within the program has not dimmed. Kiffin, Pullard, and junior wide receiver Marqise Lee were the trio that spoke on behalf of the program, and there was plenty of information to chew on from the day's festivities about the outlook for the Trojans' offense in 2013.

Kiffin Calling The Shots

First off, The "will he, won't we" debate over Kiffin being the play-caller can finally be laid to rest. "[I] made a decision that it's in the best interest of our football team for me to continue to call plays," Kiffin said during the press conference. "That's not just on-field performance, but I think that's in relation to the players." Trojan fans all recall the Notre Dame debacle, where USC ran eight plays from within the Fighting Irish's two-yard line but failed to get into the end zone. In USC's second loss of the 2012 campaign against Arizona, the Trojans were down three points with 19 seconds left when Kiffin failed to call a play to spike the ball near midfield, which could have given USC time to engineer a plan to get into field goal range. Instead, Matt Barkley overthrew Marqise Lee, the first tumble on USC's five-loss free fall to end the year. Needless to say, Kiffin's play calling has been sketchy at times over the past few years. Will he execute offense brilliantly at times? Yes. Will it stall at the most inopportune times? Yes. But we're along for the ride with Kiffin for at least another year it seems. 

No Updates At Quarterback

As sure as we are on who's calling the plays, it looks like Kiffin is equally unsure on who will actually be running said plays. "We're no different than we were in the spring with our quarterback race," he said. "All three guys will have a shot." 

And if Lee knew anything more than Kiffin about the three-man race, he sure didn't let on. "I ask Kiffin but Kiffin doesn't give me anything," Lee said. "He leaves me dry. In the meantime, I'll work with all three." Cody Kessler was the most impressive of the three throughout spring practice and in the spring game, but Max Wittek took over the starting job after Barkley's late-season injury last season, and has the bigger arm and more traditional quarterback mold. Max Browne is running in third, but an injury or poor start could put him in the running if Kiffin decides not to redshirt the nation's top-ranked quarterback for the Class of 2013. 

Don't Stop BeLeeving

As for the man called "the nation's most electrifying wide receiver" in the media day introduction video, the Hesiman candidate is hesitant to anoint himself as such after finishing fourth in voting for the award in 2012. "The Heisman, the Biletnikoff (Lee won in 2012), whatever you want to about, is the last thing in my mind," he said. "I'm self-motivated because the coach can motivate you, but you should be able to motivate yourself." A consummate (future) professional, it's good to hear that Lee adheres to the 'prep, not hype' mantra. Or the "don't talk about it, be about it" creed if you want to exorcise the demons of 2012. 

Kiffin is arguably the nation's best recruiter, and Lee's loyalty to his coach is a perfect example of while the media sees a cold public image, Kiffin's players see someone completely different. 

"People don't understand [that] I wouldn't be in the position that I am now if I didn't have him as a coach," Lee said. "He gave me that opportunity. I'll play for Kiffin til I die. I don't care if he's my coach at the next level, he just gives us his all. He gets all the bad vibes and people are pushing him down, but he makes sure we're taken care of before he cares about himself." I'm not betting that Kiffin will coach Lee again after this season, but Lee's sincere remarks also reflect well on his coachabiity moving forward as a pro.

Maddening Potential On The Ground

The passing game is a shroud of mystery besides Lee, fairly a cause for murmurs of uncertainty among USC faithful. However, this same shroud of mystery is becoming a bigger and bigger cause for excitement when it comes to the ground game. With the injury bug chomping down Trojan running backs week after week in 2012, USC finished 72nd nationally in rushing, averaging a sliver over 150 yards per game. Those injuries including losing Tre Madden for the season after the speedy redshirt freshman tore his ACL in spring practice. "That was probably an injury that was under the radar a year ago when it happened," Kiffin said. "Tre was having as good of a spring as anyone on our entire roster and moving him to running back for a kid that's six feet tall, 220 pounds, and runs a 4.5 40- we have not had that for a while here."

Being confident in Madden is one thing. Kiffin, however, believes combining Madden with incumbent starter Silas Redd and early enrollee Justin Davis could bring back a golden era in the USC running game. "With the entire running back group and the fact that Tre is healthy, we have that position back to where it was in that 2004, 2005 range." The NCAA says neither of those years happened, but rumor has it two running backs by the name of Reggie Bush and LenDale White rushed for over 5,000 yards combined during those two years. It's a lofty comparison, but Kiffin isn't known for his use of hyperbole. With the Trojans breaking in a new quarterback, Kiffin mentioned running the ball on the road as a factor necessary for success. Emphasis on the 'necessary'. 

Stay tuned for more Neon Tommy Sports coverage on Pac-12 Media Day 2013 here.