USC receiver Patrick Turner aggressively stations himself at the front of the line for every drill, symbolizing his new status for the Trojans.
The rangy junior from Tennessee is the leader and most experienced member of a USC receiving corps that is under the microscope after the departures of Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith to the NFL.
On Tuesday, with former USC and NFL receiver Curtis Conway keenly eyeing them from the sideline, Trojans receivers took another small step in preparation for the Sept. 1 opener against Idaho.
USC football: In some editions of Wednesday's Sports section, an article on the Trojans said that the season opener is Sept. 1 against Utah. USC opens against Idaho.
"It's cool to have a guy like Curtis Conway come back," said Turner, who caught 29 passes last season. "He'll tell us some tips."
Turner and sophomore Vidal Hazelton began training camp as starters.
Hazelton impressed early in training camp last year, but struggled with the complexities of the offense and caught only one pass during the season.
"It's a lot easier than last year," he said. "I can just go out and play more instead of, 'Oh, I'm a freshman. What do I have to do?' And being worried about doing the wrong thing.
"It's more fun now."
Redshirt freshman David Ausberry, sophomore Travon Patterson and freshman Ronald Johnson also have made noteworthy catches during the Trojans' first two workouts.
Drew Radovich remains out because of a back injury, putting sophomores Charles Brown and Thomas Herring in a battle to possibly start at right tackle.
The 6-foot-6, 290-pound Brown said extra work with All-American left tackle Sam Baker during the summer is paying off.
"After working out in the weight room, we'd come out on the field together and work on pass-sets," Brown said.
"I knew I might have an opportunity, and so far so good."
Coach Pete Carroll continued to praise the multipurpose talents of freshman running back Joe McKnight.
"We haven't found anything he doesn't look good at right now," Carroll said.
Carroll is reserving judgment on at least one aspect.
"He hasn't done any blocking yet to speak of so we don't have much a gauge on that until we get our pads on," Carroll said.
USC practices in full pads for the first time Friday.
Carroll spoke with NCAA officials on Tuesday in regard to remedying certain situations in which incoming freshmen are not allowed to practice because of academic certification issues.
