USC Trojans
The pair of prospects most will talk about leading up to the
season could end up in the top sixty selections or in the final few frames. As a
true freshman Carson Palmer looked like the next great franchise
quarterback, a strong-armed pocket passer that consistently led his team to
victory in ’98. It’s been downhill since then; a broken collarbone as a true
sophomore, erratic play characterized by poor decisions and a passer seemingly
on a different page as his wide outs has plagued Palmer the past two seasons.
What gives? To our minds the turning point was quarterback coach Ken O’Brien’s
departure from the program just prior to Palmer’s junior campaign. O’Brien
hand-held Palmer through his first year from behind center and did a great job
of it but after not accepting a demotion to tight ends coach in ’00 O’Brien
left USC and for the most part, Palmer seemingly is on his own. Physically
gifted and fundamentally sound Palmer makes all the passes and is a tough
thrower that sits in the pocket, getting clobbered to get the ball off. He is
slow of foot, immobile and not quick in his head. Palmer’s overall accuracy
would also be categorized just as "adequate". We are not ready to
discount him based on his physical skills and toughness but Palmer needs a huge
senior campaign before considering him in the first four rounds. Another that
falls into this category is receiver Kareem Kelly. As athletic a wide out
as you’ll find in the senior class, Kelly has the skills to break the game
wide open making long receptions down the flanks, or controlling it over the
middle and on the outs. He is agile, flexible and makes the difficult receptions
in contorted positions. It would also be correct to characterized Kelly as an
immature child, to the point where many feel he is all talk and no action. For
all his physical talent Kelly’s play can best be described as lackadaisical,
uninspired and inconsistent. He produces half of what he is capable of, gives
half-hearted efforts and constantly leaves you wanting for more. Prior to last
season he was saying all the right things after the coaching change but proved
it was all bunk as he went out and preformed in his usual less-than-adequate
manor. In many ways he reminds us of a former SC wide out R Jay Soward the way
he constantly disappoints. Kelly is the type of guy that could be drafted as
early as the top of round two should he put it together but more than like will
be sitting around in the late frames still waiting to here his name called. Sultan
McCullough has twice the speed of older brother Saladin (former Oregon back)
but less than have the run instincts. If given the slightest bit of daylight
McCullough is gone to the races, leaving defenders in the dust and running to
daylight but he’s not a ball carrier that creates if nothing is available nor
one overly effective outside of tackle around the corner. McCullough’s pass
catching skills are barely adequate which will also push down his ranking. For
what it’s worth we think he is a lesser version of Trung Candidate, a former
PAC Ten runner we were never high on. One skill player we like for the future is
receiver Keary Colbert, a consistent and hard working "go to
guy" with some size. Offensive guard Zach Wilson is effective in a
small area and may get some late round consideration while center/guard Lenny
Vandermade disappointed us greatly last season, though he was injured. Only
a junior he has two more seasons to pull it together. One last note; keep an eye on Justin Fargas the Michigan transfer who should get more than his fair share of carries in the backfield this season.
Safety Troy Polamalu is a hard-hitting, run defender
that loves to mix it up and get involved in the action. Polamalu has a good
amount of upside to his game but must really improve his play against the pass
and make more of an impact when the ball is in the air if he’s top move
towards the front of the draft.