Trojans could rotate several players at tight end
USC FOOTBALL
The departure of Fred Davis, who led USC with 62 receptions last season, leaves room for a number of potential replacements. Blake Ayles from Orange Lutheran High is getting a lot of attention.
USC and Virginia have at least two things in common: Both teams relied heavily on their tight ends last season. And both must find a new starter in that spot this fall.
For USC, that means replacing Fred Davis, the John Mackey Award winner who led the Trojans with 62 receptions for 881 yards and eight touchdowns in 2007.
Heading into the opener in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday, tight ends coach Brennan Carroll said he foresees the possibility of rotating several players through the position.
Junior Anthony McCoy has suffered some drops in practice but is a solid blocker. Redshirt freshman Rhett Ellison has performed well enough to warrant playing time. And senior Jimmy Miller, healthy for the first time in a long time, had a couple of good scrimmages.
But the real buzz around practice has focused on Blake Ayles.
The 6-5, 255-pound freshman from Orange Lutheran High has shown the speed and hands to make big plays. In the final scrimmage of camp, he led all receivers with 55 yards in three catches.
Coach Pete Carroll calls him "a real playmaker . . . he's fast, light on his feet."
The question is: Can he handle the complexities of the position?
In USC's offense, the tight end must operate from numerous formations, sometimes shifting wide or lining up in the backfield.
"They have to know a lot," Brennan Carroll said. "We haven't had a lot of freshman be successful coming into the program their first year, going back to Dominique Byrd, who didn't get a whole bunch of playing time, and even Fred Davis didn't get a whole bunch of playing time as a freshman."
USC coaches know that Ayles can move. Now they want to see how fast he can learn.
david.wharton@latimes.com
