UCLA gives USC reasons to worry

Now it's real.

Now it's on.

Now those USC fans who think Rick Neuheisel is only about cheap parlor tricks should understand something about the latest item pulled from his hat.

This one is alive.

And this one bites.

"Norm Chow has just looked USC in the eye and said, 'Here we come,' " said Steve Clarkson, local quarterback guru.

If you don't think the hiring of Norm Chow as the UCLA offensive coordinator could potentially change the football landscape in this town, then you need to think like a top high school quarterback.

"A kid like that is looking for the best opportunity to get him to the NFL," Clarkson said. "Norm Chow gives him that."

If you don't think the hiring of Chow is the first serious shot that UCLA has fired at USC since Pete Carroll arrived, then you need to think like top high school running backs and receivers.

"Nationally, players from all the skill positions know him, not just quarterbacks," said Greg Biggins, director of player personnel for the Student Sports high school marketing firm. "Everyone knows his impact. Everyone feels like he just gave UCLA a chance."

If you can't think of one reason that Chow is the kind of coach who can steal players, victories and perhaps even championships from USC, I'll give you six reasons.

Matt Leinart, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, Steve Young, Jim McMahon and Marc Wilson.

Chow has tutored six first-round draft picks, and every high school star knows it.

"Kids no longer go to the school that they rooted for as a kid, they look at it like a business," said Clarkson, whose celebrated quarterback academy has helped spawn three current NFL starters. "And to say that Norm Chow won't make a difference is to make a serious error in judgment."

If you're still not convinced, I've got three more reasons.

Heisman for Leinart. Heisman for Palmer. Heisman for Ty Detmer.

"Even defensive kids love to play in that kind of environment," Biggins said.

You want two more reasons USC should be worried?

The 2003 season and the 2004 season.

They will be among the first two things the reserved Chow will say when he softly enters a recruit's living room to close a deal.

He will quietly remind the kid he was calling the offensive shots when the current USC dynasty won its two national championships.

Then Neuheisel will shout, "And Pete Carroll has never won one without him!"