usc

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USC REPORT

McFoy Eager to Fill Void

By Gary Klein, Times Staff Writer

September 29, 2006

USC receiver Chris McFoy was enjoying a day at the Los Angeles County Fair earlier this month when his mother phoned with surprising news.

"Ryan got a touchdown!" his mother exclaimed.

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"What?" McFoy said.

"Ryan got a touchdown," his mother repeated.

McFoy shook his head and smiled, albeit painfully, at the memory.

After toiling without a touchdown for more than four seasons, the fifth-year senior could hardly believe that his younger brother, a freshman safety at Arizona State, had scored on a 30-yard interception return against Nevada in his second college game.

"He was just in the right place at the right time," McFoy said, laughing.

McFoy might have his best chance of reaching the end zone Saturday when the third-ranked Trojans play Washington State in a Pacific 10 Conference game at Pullman, Wash.

All-American split end Dwayne Jarrett, who has not practiced this week because of a shoulder sprain, will not make the trip, Coach Pete Carroll said Thursday.

"Unless something miraculous happens between now and [today], he's not going," Carroll said.

Jarrett expects to stay home.

"It wouldn't be fair for me to go because I can't play," Jarrett said. "Unfortunately, I won't be out with my team. I'm going to have to watch on TV."

Sophomore Patrick Turner will start in Jarrett's place, but McFoy, who has caught eight passes for 87 yards, is expected to play a large role.

McFoy, 23, is looking forward to an opportunity he almost gave up.

Last January, in the weeks after the Trojans' loss to Texas in the Rose Bowl, McFoy decided he was through with football.

Though he can play with finesse, McFoy is known for a physical style. It served him well as a blocker but left him with myriad sprains, strains and bruises.

"I was thinking, 'My body's been through a lot,' " he said. "I didn't think a fifth year would help."

McFoy avoided conditioning workouts and contemplated how he would utilize his economics degree. Ultimately, he decided to return.

"I don't think I was ready for the real world," he said.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound McFoy, however, is more than ready to score a touchdown.

He caught two passes as a redshirt freshman in 2003, a career-best 21 in 2004 and had 17 last season. Matt Leinart threw 71 touchdown passes, John David Booty three and Michael McDonald one during that span.

None went to McFoy, who would not mind scoring for the first time on Saturday.

"I'm just going to play hard every down," he said. "If one happens, one happens."

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With Jarrett sidelined throughout the week, freshman Vidal Hazelton got more work.

Hazelton, from New York, has been battling homesickness, though not to the degree Jarrett suffered his first season after arriving from New Jersey. "It's a nice place here, it's just me being far away from home," Hazelton said.

Hazelton saw a familiar face when his mother attended the Nebraska game. Asked by a reporter if he wanted to return home with her, he laughed and said, "Yeah. But she was like, 'No, you've got to stick it out.' "

Hazelton relies on Jarrett when he longs for home. "I talk to him all the time whenever I start feeling homesick," Hazelton said. "And he helps me get through it."

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Cornerback Kevin Thomas practiced and will play on Saturday…. Linebacker Brian Cushing (ankle) did not practice, but Carroll said he would start against Washington State…. The Trojans practiced on the artificial turf at Cromwell Field for the second time this week, in preparation for the surface they will play on at Martin Stadium…. Carroll said running back Chauncey Washington had his best week of practice this season. Washington attended a funeral for a cousin on Thursday but participated in meetings and practice.

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USC REPORT

McFoy Is Lost to Injury

By Gary Klein, Times Staff Writer

October 3, 2006

USC's receiver corps got thinner and less experienced Monday after an MRI exam revealed that senior Chris McFoy fractured two bones in the shoulder area against Washington State.

McFoy, who caught his first career touchdown pass in the Trojans' 28-22 victory, is expected to sit out four to six weeks, according to Coach Pete Carroll.

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McFoy's injury, coupled with the uncertain status of junior split end Dwayne Jarrett, forces freshman Vidal Hazelton into a rotation with sophomore Patrick Turner as the third-ranked Trojans prepare for Saturday's game against Washington.

Senior Steve Smith, who had a career game against Washington State, will start at flanker.

Jarrett did not travel to Washington State because of a shoulder sprain. Carroll said the All-American was absent from Monday's practice to receive treatment.

"He's still a little sore, but he's a thousand times better than what he was," Carroll said.

Hazelton, 6 feet 3 and 200 pounds, was regarded as one of the most prominent players in USC's 2006 recruiting class. He made several spectacular plays during training camp before taking a back seat to Jarrett and Turner once preparation began for the opener against Arkansas.

Hazelton played against Washington State but did not catch a pass.

"We know he can make plays, we know that he can do stuff," Carroll said. "We're hoping we can get him comfortable enough where he can show up on the game field."

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Nose tackle Sedrick Ellis, who had arthroscopic knee surgery on Sept. 12, participated in all team drills during Monday's practice and said he planned to play against Washington.

"My rehab has gone great," he said. "We'll try it all this week and make sure I get some practice reps and that I know what's going on in the game plan and Saturday give it a test."

Carroll said Ellis could start if he got through the week, but a reserve role is more probable.

"We won't rely on him exclusively," Carroll said. "We'd like to just get him to play some and kind of work his way back in."

Ellis, who watched the Trojans struggle to get pressure on Washington State quarterback Alex Brink, is eager to return to a rotation with tackles Chris Barrett and Fili Moala.

"There was definitely some plays in that game I felt I could have made," he said.

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Alatini Malu and Travis Draper worked at right guard in place of starter Chilo Rachal, who sprained his right ankle against Washington State. Rachal said he hoped to play Saturday.

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Freshman Allen Bradford, who switched from running back to safety last week, met on the field with Carroll for about 10 minutes after practice. Bradford said later that he was still struggling with a decision about whether to play offense or defense and was scheduled to meet with Carroll on Monday evening.

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Washington's Tyrone Willingham is the last opposing coach to win at the Coliseum. USC has won 28 consecutive home games since Willingham led Stanford to a 21-16 victory on Sept. 29, 2001.

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Carroll said he regretted not going for a two-point conversion after the Trojans took a 27-15 lead in the fourth quarter against Washington State. The Cougars cut the margin to 28-22 and were positioned to possibly win the game with another touchdown and extra point. "We should have gone for two. I did a lousy job of it," Carroll said.

[sdgukhsdgl]

why are we getting daily USC updates?

[E.T.]

Because they squeaked by Wash. St  

[smazza]

why are we getting daily USC updates?

because the masses demand them

they are america's team in college football

[sdgukhsdgl]

hear of a little team called Notre Dame??

I hate Notre Dame, but you can't even come close to saying USC is anywhere near ND as far as being America's team.

[smazza]

notre dame doesnt win bro

3 straight national championship games

all the number one picks

at this point in time it isnt even close

usc is america's college team

[smazza]

notre dame doesnt win

usc has been to 3 straight nc games and all the heismans and nfl draft picks

it isnt even close at this point in time

usc is amercias college team

[smazza]

Favorite Uncle

Michael Chang is a lightning rod for nephew Emmanuel Moody, USC's freshman running back

By David Wharton, Times Staff Writer

October 4, 2006

COPPELL, Texas  Here comes the uncle again. What's the problem this time?

My nephew's playing the wrong position. He's not playing enough. He's playing too much.

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In the rambling suburbs north of Dallas, football coaches from pee-wee league through high school welcomed Emmanuel Moody onto their teams. Those nimble feet, that twitchy acceleration. Then they discovered his physical gifts came with a familial attachment.

His young uncle showed up at practice or asked for meetings that stretched an hour. A self-described "tall, skinny, Korean guy," he had never played football yet freely offered his opinions.

"Every coach Emmanuel had, I got in some altercation with," he said.

Michael Chang  the uncle, not the former tennis player  could be just as rough on his nephew, meticulous about diet and training, making him run sprints in the Texas summer heat until he vomited. And that was when the boy was in fifth grade.

"My mom had to tell him not to push me so hard," Moody said.

Not much has changed now that Moody is a freshman at USC and the Trojans' top rusher heading into Saturday's game against Washington at the Coliseum. Chang still calls each day, sometimes twice, and checks regularly with the coaching staff.

"Michael is protective of Emmanuel," said linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr., who recruited the tailback. "Extremely protective."

Their relationship suggests trouble  an overbearing authority figure, a beleaguered prodigy. For USC fans, it might even stir memories of troubled quarterback Todd Marinovich and his father, Marv.

But the truth is something very different.

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The tale begins in St. Petersburg, Fla., where Chang grew up as the only Asian kid in a tough neighborhood. His father died of a stroke when he was young.

"It's funny because I never had anyone to look up to," he said in words tinged with a Korean accent. "I had a lot of rough things as a kid."

He ended up living with his sister, Young Sun, in Dallas. Her ex-husband, Eugene Moody, who was African American, had left her raising three children.

The oldest son and daughter were close to Chang's age, 14, but Emmanuel was only six. Chang, for all the predictable reasons, took it upon himself to serve as the boy's father figure.

There were equal measures of empathy and firmness, an emphasis on Christianity. Also, Chang sought to instill toughness. This objective found a new avenue when Moody reached third grade and played pee-wee football.

"The first game I went to, he scored four touchdowns in the first half," Chang said. "I was like, 'Wow, this guy is going to be good.' "

Thus began the grueling sessions at a high school near their home, across the freeway from Texas Stadium in Irving.

"He had never played football," Moody said. "But somehow he knew his stuff."

Said Chang: "Honestly, I didn't know what I was doing."

He read books and scoured the Internet. He saw Emmitt Smith working out on television and took note of how the former Cowboys star set plastic cones on the ground, darting around them.

Cone drills became a fixture of their training, as did the sprints that one day left Moody dehydrated and vomiting, needing to be carried off the track.

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"I felt bad because I worked him so hard," Chang said.

But here is a key to their relationship  Moody liked it, craved it.

Whether it was football or video games or ping-pong, the kid had always been hyper-competitive, hungry to improve. He wanted to be pushed.

"If I didn't want it," he said, "I probably would have quit."

Sure, there were times he complained, even cursed his uncle. Especially when Chang put him on a special diet, eating certain foods five times a day to gain weight.

"He trained me till I was crying," Moody said. "Made me eat until I was crying."

Yet, they realized they were headed toward the same point  together  after Moody got sick at the track. They knew because the next day … he wanted to go back.

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His skin is dark like the father, but his face whispers of the mother's heritage. Sparse eyebrows and faintly almond-shaped eyes. A squarish face leading into a prominent jaw.

In the realm of football, these Asian features worked against Moody, said Chang, who is more classically Korean in appearance, a light complexion against jet-black hair.

"Everyone has the running back position set in their minds," he said. "It has to be an African American."

More to the point, Moody was a late-bloomer, considered too small to carry the load. He was also quiet, not the type to confront.

Chang did it for him.

When coaches pegged him as a cornerback, the uncle argued. Not enough carries? The uncle complained.

"I'm straight with coaches," he said. "If I don't think it's fair, I'll speak up."

Which explains another aspect of their bond. Said Moody: "Every kid has to have someone watching out for him. Since my dad wasn't there, he was the guy."

The family moved a few miles north to Coppell, a neighborhood of quiet streets and brick houses. Coppell High had a senior running back, one of the best in school history, and asked sophomore Moody to spend a season at receiver. Chang went straight to the coach's office.

"His uncle came in saying 'He's a running back,' " Coach Mike Fuller said, adding tersely: "We honored the request."

They honored it by keeping Moody in the backfield  on the junior varsity

But around that time, the young back grew taller and put on 25 pounds. He rose to varsity as a junior, finishing the season with 1,319 yards and 12 touchdowns, numbers that attracted recruiters from Texas, USC and Miami.

Though the Longhorns got a verbal commitment, USC's Norton refused to back off. He persuaded Moody to visit Los Angeles, picking him up at the airport. The assistant knew of Chang but had never met him.

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"Where's your uncle?" he asked.

Chang was standing right there. It wasn't the first time a coach had expected someone older, someone different. He said, "I know they look at me like, 'Who is he? Here's a young Asian guy. What can he know about sports?' "

Norton knew that to sign the nephew, he had to sell the uncle. The best way to hook them both, he surmised, was by flipping what might be considered a typical recruiting approach.

USC has a history of great tailbacks, he told them. The program was pursuing other talented runners such as C.J. Gable and Stafon Johnson.

The question was, could Moody measure up?

"He really wanted that challenge," Norton said. "That was the lure for him."

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Big-time college football is different. Chang swears he understands that. An uncle  even one who is now 27 and starting a career in management  can't go sticking his nose in.

He offers an example.

Last season at Coppell, Moody's yardage declined as he battled injury. At one point, coaches urged him to play and Chang objected.

"He was good for Emmanuel because Emmanuel needed someone in his corner," said Fuller, the coach. "The problem we had was that sometimes Emmanuel didn't trust us and I think that came from his uncle. If he had a hamstring injury or whatever and we'd ask him how he was doing, his uncle's response was that we were trying to use Emmanuel."

A similar issue arose during USC training camp this summer when Moody took a particularly hard hit. Chang called Norton to say, "If he has a concussion, I don't think he should play."

Norton told him that team doctors had given medical clearance. Chang backed off.

Through August, he continued to call Norton and his nephew, and visited camp several times. But he kept his mouth shut about how many carries Moody was  or wasn't  getting in practice.

The relationship between uncle and nephew was entering a new phase, both of them growing up a little.

"I guess I learned from the past," Chang said. "It's not always good for me to call."

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Every snap in pee-wee football and every touchdown in high school. Traveling to Arkansas for USC's opener and to Los Angeles for the Nebraska game, when Moody took over as the starter. Chang was there for every moment his nephew played.

Until now.

Recently married, he skipped the Trojans' last two games.

At Arizona, Moody gained 130 yards. Last week at Washington State, the going was tougher but he broke a 48-yard run to fuel a crucial second-half drive. Coach Pete Carroll says they should have given him more carries.

Watching on television from his Dallas home, Chang cheered every yard and, at times, nearly broke down crying. His wife asked him what was wrong.

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"She didn't understand," he said. "I'm so proud."

It isn't about stardom or the lure of NFL millions. Looking to the future, Chang and Moody are just as likely to mention Moody's hopes for becoming a pastor, spreading the word of God.

"I know it sounds corny," Chang said. "Our religion is very important to us."

This is the tale of a young man who grew up without a father and vowed not to let the same thing happen to his nephew. It is the tale of a boy who needed someone to look up to.

For now, football is a conduit for that bond.

"He knew I wanted to play," Moody said of his uncle. "He got me to where I am."

When they talk after games, it almost always goes the same. They recall various plays, both good and bad, and look to the next game. Always, they agree, there is room for improvement.

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david.wharton@latimes.com

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(INFOBOX BELOW)

Rush job

USC freshman running back Emmanuel Moody is averaging 7.3 yards per carry and 81.8 yards per game. His game-by-game rushing statistics:

Date Opp.  Att. Yards TDs

Sept. 2  vs. Arkansas  7 58 1

Sept. 16  vs. Nebraska 9  70  0

Sept. 23 vs. Arizona 21  130 1

Sept. 30 vs. Wash. State 8  69  0

Totals 45 327  2  

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SATURDAY'S GAME

No. 3 USC (4-0) vs. Washington (4-1)

Coliseum, 12:30 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket

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USC REPORT

Offensive Line Hit by Injury Wave

By Gary Klein, Times Staff Writer

October 4, 2006

It was only a matter of time.

Injuries to starters have tested USC's depth at several positions this season, including fullback, receiver, cornerback, safety, linebacker and defensive tackle.

ADVERTISEMENTThe offensive line appears on track to join the list on Saturday against Washington if starting right guard Chilo Rachal remains hobbled by a high ankle sprain.

Rachal, 6 feet 5 and 300 pounds, did not practice again Tuesday. Junior Alatini "Tiny" Malu worked with the first unit and is preparing for his first start.

"It's a lot to ask," Coach Pete Carroll said of Rachal's chances of playing. "Tiny is ready to go."

Malu, 6-4 and 330 pounds, has worked as a backup at both guard spots and at right tackle. "I have to push myself a little more to be ready if I'm going to start," he said.

Offensive line coach Pat Ruel said redshirt freshman Nick Howell would back up Malu for a unit that also is expected to lose Jeff Byers for the rest of the season.

Byers, who plays guard and center, has been out since experiencing back soreness after the season opener. Byers had surgery to remove a cyst in his back on Sept. 15, and the sophomore said Tuesday that he is scheduled to have a season-ending procedure this week.

According to Byers, the operation is similar to the one quarterback John David Booty had on his back in March. "It's frustrating," Byers said. "But I'm just going to work to get back for spring."

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Freshman Allen Bradford returned to tailback after meeting with Carroll on Monday night.

Bradford, who moved from safety to tailback during training camp, had requested and received permission to switch back to defense last week.

Bradford said he was at peace with his decision to play tailback because he sought counsel from the one person he'd avoided asking for advice: Carroll.

"I asked him, 'What do you think? What position do you think I'm better at?' " Bradford said. "And he was like, 'I'm surprised you asked me because you never asked me this before and I never wanted to answer for you.'

"We both agreed on offense."

Bradford said he also asked Carroll: "Do you think I can win a Heisman?"

The coach's response: "The sky's the limit."

"That gave me some motivation," Bradford said. "With Coach Carroll believing in me, that I can do something, I'm really going to work hard and go out and do it."

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Split end Dwayne Jarrett ran routes and caught passes for about an hour during non-contact drills then retreated to the training room for treatment on his injured left shoulder.

Jarrett was scheduled to see a team doctor Tuesday night and said he hoped to play on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Vidal Hazelton and Travon Patterson, two of a school-record 15 freshmen who have played this season, continued to prepare as back-ups to Patrick Turner. Hazelton said the extra work the last two weeks has made him more comfortable with the playbook and Booty.

"During training camp, I'd go into the huddle and it sounded like John David was talking Spanish," Hazelton said.

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Nose tackle Sedrick Ellis participated in most drills and is expected to play on Saturday "if he survives the week," Carroll said…. Running back C.J. Gable was held out of most drills because of a groin strain…. Safety Kevin Ellison (knee) did not practice, but he is expected to start on Saturday…. Washington Coach Tyrone Willingham on the fact that he is the last opposing coach to defeat USC at the Coliseum: "I don't think it means anything special. Is it a nice fact? Yes."

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gary.klein@latimes.com