Armond Armstead

USC's roster, which will be limited to 75 scholarship players in the fall, remained in flux Monday as receiver Kyle Prater announced he was transferring and defensive lineman Armond Armstead met with school officials to explore doing the same for his final season of eligibility. Prater, a third-year sophomore from Illinois, is the second player in less than a week to leave the Trojans. Sophomore tailback Amir Carlisle obtained his release from USC and is transferring to Notre Dame.

Former USC defensive lineman Armond Armstead, who was not cleared to play last season by USC, was weighed and measured at USC's Pro Day on Tuesday but was not allowed to work out. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Armstead said he would go through drills for NFL scouts on April 9 at a location to be determined. He has hired an agent and hopes to be selected in the April draft. “Hopefully, I'll be meeting with a lot of teams and doing a lot of workouts for the teams so they can see what I can do,” he said.

Former USC defensive lineman Armond Armstead, who was not cleared to play last season by USC, was weighed and measured at USC's Pro Day on Tuesday but was not allowed to work out. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Armstead said he would go through drills for NFL scouts on April 9 at a location to be determined. He has hired an agent and hopes to be selected in the April draft. “Hopefully, I'll be meeting with a lot of teams and doing a lot of workouts for the teams so they can see what I can do,” he said.

Lindsey Vonn was denied a three-win weekend sweep by only 0.03 of a second as Maria Hoefl-Riesch won a super-combined event Sunday at St. Moritz, Switzerland. Hoefl-Riesch won for the first time in 11 months to kick-start her defense of the World Cup overall title she took from Vonn last season. Still, Vonn earned 80 points and extended her lead to 387 over Tina Maze of Slovenia, who placed fifth Sunday. Hoefl-Riesch, who is third overall, trailed Vonn by 0.23 after the super-G but just edged the American on a flat slalom course slowed by warm sunshine.

It's Thursday afternoon at The Pass, typically a slow time for the barbershop in South Los Angeles. But then The Pass rush begins. DaJohn Harris bursts through the doorway, followed by USC football teammate Nick Perry. Armond Armstead is right behind. With Syracuse coming to the Coliseum on Saturday, the Trojans defensive linemen are here for a game-week ritual. They've come for haircuts. "If you look good, you play good," Perry says. They've come for conversation.

USC's defensive line intends to make another stand tonight when the 12th-ranked Trojans play Washington State in a Pacific 10 Conference game at the Coliseum. Despite a foot injury that has sidelined end Armond Armstead since training camp, the unit has played well through three games. The Trojans rank fifth nationally in rushing defense. "I'm not surprised, but it is kind of a shocker to some people that we've come out and been a big help to the defense, because there's a lot of new players and underclassmen," sophomore tackle Jurrell Casey said.

Lindsey Vonn was denied a three-win weekend sweep by only 0.03 of a second as Maria Hoefl-Riesch won a super-combined event Sunday at St. Moritz, Switzerland. Hoefl-Riesch won for the first time in 11 months to kick-start her defense of the World Cup overall title she took from Vonn last season. Still, Vonn earned 80 points and extended her lead to 387 over Tina Maze of Slovenia, who placed fifth Sunday. Hoefl-Riesch, who is third overall, trailed Vonn by 0.23 after the super-G but just edged the American on a flat slalom course slowed by warm sunshine.

Is USC's offense as good as it looked against Hawaii? Can the defense really be that bad? Those are some of the questions the 16th-ranked Trojans will attempt to answer when they play Virginia in their home opener Saturday night at the Coliseum. Staff writer Gary Klein looks at the issues facing the Trojans and the Cavaliers: Call to arms USC quarterback Matt Barkley is coming off the best game of his career--a five-touchdown, no-interception performance that made him the nation's fourth-rated passer.

Score one for Notre Dame fans. Their history of rowdy receptions for USC led to a change in routine Friday when Coach Pete Carroll and his team arrived at Notre Dame Stadium for a walk through. And Carroll typically loves routine. In years past, buses carrying USC's team stopped on the street outside the stadium, where energized players rocked the vehicles side to side before exiting and walking a gantlet of fans to the entrance. On Friday, at USC's request, security officers taped off the plaza in front of the entrance, forcing fans back and allowing USC's three buses within steps of the gate.

USC tailback D.J. Morgan took advice from Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Allen and ran with it. Morgan said Allen recently told USC tailbacks that when he played for the Trojans, he sprinted 60 yards on practice carries. So the next day, Morgan did the same on his first five carries. "I was just gassed," he said. "I was like, 'Man, he couldn't have done that.' My legs got tired and burnt out for the rest of practice. "But the next day I was better. It helped me, and from then on I started hitting it — and I haven't looked back since.

The Angels and first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales avoided salary arbitration by striking a deal for the 2012 season Wednesday. Morales, still recovering from a broken left ankle suffered when he jumped on home plate after his game-winning homer against the Seattle Mariners on May 29, 2010, hasn't played since having surgery and a follow-up operation last May to clean scar tissue and debris in the joint. Details of the deal were not immediately available, but it's thought that Morales and the Angels settled on a figure somewhere near his 2011 salary of $3 million.

USC's roster, which will be limited to 75 scholarship players in the fall, remained in flux Monday as receiver Kyle Prater announced he was transferring and defensive lineman Armond Armstead met with school officials to explore doing the same for his final season of eligibility. Prater, a third-year sophomore from Illinois, is the second player in less than a week to leave the Trojans. Sophomore tailback Amir Carlisle obtained his release from USC and is transferring to Notre Dame.

USC's decision to deny medical clearance to defensive lineman Armond Armstead has caused a ripple effect that could adversely affect the Trojans for the next five years. Armstead's brother Arik , a 6-foot-8, 275-pound lineman regarded as one of the top prospects in the class of 2012, made a commitment to USC last year but recently de-committed and this weekend will take a recruiting visit to Notre Dame, which plays host to USC on Saturday night. During a telephone interview Monday, Arik Armstead, who attends Pleasant Grove High in Elk Grove, Calif., near Sacramento, said USC's handling of his brother's situation contributed to his decision.

Matt Barkley's five-touchdown performance last week against Syracuse gives the junior quarterback added confidence going into Saturday's Pacific 12 Conference game at Arizona State. Barkley will need it when he returns to Sun Devil Stadium, the scene of one of the worst games of his USC career. In 2009, Barkley was a freshman starting for the eighth time. He completed only seven of 22 passes for 112 yards, 75 coming on receiver Damian Williams' catch-and-run touchdown.

Not since 1998 had USC opened with three consecutive home games. Paul Hackett's team won them all before losing at Florida State en route to an 8-5 season. This year's team will try to avoid a similar fate. After Coliseum victories over Minnesota, Utah and Syracuse, USC is preparing for a key Pacific 12 Conference South Division game at Arizona State. "Going on the road is kind of like starting all over," Coach Lane Kiffin said Sunday night, a few hours after the Trojans reentered the Associated Press media poll at No. 23. Kiffin was speaking, specifically, about his younger players.

It's Thursday afternoon at The Pass, typically a slow time for the barbershop in South Los Angeles. But then The Pass rush begins. DaJohn Harris bursts through the doorway, followed by USC football teammate Nick Perry. Armond Armstead is right behind. With Syracuse coming to the Coliseum on Saturday, the Trojans defensive linemen are here for a game-week ritual. They've come for haircuts. "If you look good, you play good," Perry says. They've come for conversation.

Not since 1998 had USC opened with three consecutive home games. Paul Hackett's team won them all before losing at Florida State en route to an 8-5 season. This year's team will try to avoid a similar fate. After Coliseum victories over Minnesota, Utah and Syracuse, USC is preparing for a key Pacific 12 Conference South Division game at Arizona State. "Going on the road is kind of like starting all over," Coach Lane Kiffin said Sunday night, a few hours after the Trojans reentered the Associated Press media poll at No. 23. Kiffin was speaking, specifically, about his younger players.

After going virtually nonstop since the start of training camp in early August, USC finally gets an open date this week. The Trojans, who remained seventh in the polls after their 30-3 victory over California, will be off today and then over the weekend before beginning preparations for an Oct. 17 matchup at Notre Dame. "I love that we're at the bye," Coach Pete Carroll said Sunday. Carroll expects the return of several players to make the Trojans stronger by the time they meet the 4-1 Fighting Irish.

Armond Armstead watched his teammates play two games without him. He'll watch again Saturday when the Trojans play Syracuse. Armstead, a senior defensive lineman sidelined since spring because of an unspecified medical condition, said Thursday that he has been frustrated by a process that he hopes will conclude next week with a decision by USC regarding his status. "Outside of SC I've got two other opinions," he said. "[But] they can't clear me. They're not the ones who make the decisions.

Monte Kiffin wouldn't make a prediction. Asked how much better he expected USC's defense to be this season, the unit's architect sidestepped the question the way Oregon's LaMichael James dodged Trojans tacklers last fall. "Our goal is to definitely be better," Kiffin said. Safety T.J. McDonald hit the question head-on. "There's only one way to go from where we were last year," he said. "We're going to be way better. " USC ranked 84th among 120 major-college teams last season, giving up 400 yards a game.