Kyle Prater

After a disappointing 8-5 season in 2010, USC Coach Lane Kiffin begins his second year with the Trojans. And he'll make it an early start with weekday workouts at 7:25 a.m. Staff writer Gary Klein takes a look at 10 questions facing the Trojans as USC opens spring practice Tuesday. Who's No. 2? Starting quarterback Matt Barkley was sidelined because of injuries for one game in each of the last two seasons ? and he might be bound for the NFL in 2012 ? so developing a capable backup is paramount.

The UCLA-USC football rivalry is definitely alive and flourishing -- in recruiting, at least. Each school emerged from Wednesday, the first day high school football seniors could sign letters of intent, with prospect classes ranked in the national top 10. "We're very close [to USC], and we'll go past them very soon," UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel predicted. The departure of USC Coach Pete Carroll to the NFL seemed to energize Neuheisel, who showed a closer mentality. Four top defensive recruits all announced in the middle of the day that they had signed with UCLA -- defensive backs Dietrich Riley of La Cañada St. Francis and Anthony Jefferson of Los Angeles Cathedral, linebacker Josh Shirley of Fontana Kaiser and defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa from Portland, Ore. New USC Coach Lane Kiffin ended the day by landing the biggest and best offensive line prospect in the nation, 6-foot-8, 330-pound tackle Seantrel Henderson from St. Paul, Minn.

USC landed one of the class of 2013's top quarterback prospects when Max Browne announced last week that he would join the Trojans. The junior from Sammamish, Wash., is working toward finishing high school in December so he can enroll at USC in January, in time to participate in spring practice a year from now and compete for an opportunity to become Matt Barkley's successor. Browne's plan is a familiar one for the Trojans: Barkley and redshirt freshman quarterbacks Max Wittek and Cody Kessler — who will play Saturday in USC's annual end-of-spring scrimmage — all left high school halfway through their senior years to jump-start their college careers.

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.

Kyle Prater graduated early from high school to get a head start on his USC career. The rangy receiver from Illinois has been slowed some by a hamstring injury, but the 6-foot-5 freshman is making a big impression during the Trojans' spring workouts. On Tuesday, Prater made several impressive catches, including one that came just before cornerback Torin Harris delivered a neck-bending hit. "That was the hardest hit I've ever felt," Prater said. Prater, 17, was among the recruits who were stunned by the news that Pete Carroll was leaving USC to coach the Seattle Seahawks.

USC's new coaching staff continues to take on a Tennessee flavor. Coach Lane Kiffin announced Wednesday that he has hired assistant James Cregg , Tennessee's offensive line coach last season. Cregg, 36, is the third coach from Kiffin's Tennessee staff to move to USC, joining Ed Orgeron , the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, and Monte Kiffin , the defensive coordinator. Before coaching at Tennessee, Cregg was an offensive line assistant for the Oakland Raiders during Kiffin's brief tenure with the NFL team.

Receiver Ronald Johnson was the offensive star for most of USC's spring practice, showing improved route running and a knack for getting open and making big plays. The senior from Michigan, however, will probably sit out the remaining four workouts because of an elbow sprain and could also require off-season wrist surgery, Coach Lane Kiffin said Thursday. "We'd still like to have him out there, but if there was somebody that would be the most ready to play for our offensive players, he would be it," Kiffin said.

Coach Lane Kiffin, his staff and players finally get onto the field together Wednesday, which should serve as a haven from the tumult that has shaken USC this summer. Staff writer Gary Klein examines five issues facing the Trojans as they prepare for their Sept. 2 opener at Hawaii and a challenging season. 1 Will players be motivated without a Bowl Championship Series title or bowl bid to play for? The Trojans have adopted an us-against-the-world mentality in the aftermath of severe NCAA sanctions.

Not that Lane Kiffin or USC needed more distractions, but… On a day when fullback Stanley Havili was suspended indefinitely for his role in an altercation that led to surgery for a teammate, USC's coach once again was answering questions about possible NCAA violations during his short tenure at Tennessee. Kiffin on Friday said he told Havili to stay away from team activities, including meetings, a morning walkthrough and an afternoon practice that went more than three hours.