University Of Southern California

For a while Wednesday, the trainers-table area at USC's practice facility looked like a convention for injured Trojans starters. Quarterback Matt Barkley sat on a folding chair with an ice pack on his right shoulder. All-American safety Taylor Mays camped on the table, taking weight off his sprained right knee. And tailback Joe McKnight , suffering from migraine headaches, stood with a towel wrapped around his head to shield his eyes from the sun and his ears from music blaring from loudspeakers.

USC's Marcus Simmons was alive and well, and upright, Monday afternoon. It was a dramatic change from when he was last seen, ice packs on his left ankle and left knee after spending three days chasing around smaller guards in the Pacific 10 Conference tournament. From California's Jerome Randle to UCLA's Darren Collision to Arizona State's Derek Glasser, it was a tiring, but rewarding, weekend for Simmons. "After that last game, I was exhausted," the 6-foot-6 sophomore said.

USC's basketball team is beef-jerky tough, something for Boston College to chew on. Those inside the Trojans' locker room are certain about that after facing "win-or-go-home" situations the last week, freshman forward DeMar DeRozan said. They found ways to win the Pacific 10 Conference tournament and now go to Minneapolis to face the Eagles in the NCAA tournament.

USC tailback Stafon Johnson said after Thursday's 38-24 Rose Bowl victory over Penn State that he would return to the Trojans next season. Johnson, a junior who rushed for a team-best 63 yards in 15 carries, applied for a draft projection from the NFL but said, "I got to come back here and win" a national title. Fellow tailback C.J. Gable is not quite as sure. The third-year sophomore said he "might do something else" -- even though he did not request a draft projection.

It's not yet certain who will start at quarterback for USC in the Sept. 5 opener against San Jose State. But the competition promises to get interesting next week. Aaron Corp took another step in his comeback from a leg injury Thursday with two sharp performances in seven-on-seven passing drills. It was Corp's first work with more than one receiver and defender since Aug. 10, when he suffered a cracked bone in his left fibula. "He had two really good practices under the circumstances," Coach Pete Carroll said.

USC was once again the choice in a Pacific 10 Conference football preseason poll, it was announced at Thursday's media day. The Trojans, who have won or shared the last seven conference championships, were the leader by a landslide, getting 28 of 32 first-place votes. Here's some more USC football news, one week before the Trojans are scheduled to open camp: No pressure?

Pete Carroll will begin searching today for clues, reasons for why California seemingly imploded a week before a showdown with the Trojans. Cal's 42-3 meltdown at Oregon dropped the Golden Bears from sixth to 24th in the Associated Press media poll. "It was so far out of character and out of line with that they'd done up until this point," Carroll said Sunday. Cal's fall makes Saturday's matchup between the Trojans and Golden Bears a game between top-25 rather than top-10 teams.

Shane Horton transferred to USC so he could play on the same team with his younger brother. But he did not envision that he would start at linebacker. That, however, is what the third-year sophomore will do Saturday when seventh-ranked USC plays No. 24 California at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. Coach Pete Carroll said Thursday that Horton, who was switched from safety before training camp, would start at the weak-side spot because the Trojans have been thinned by ankle injuries suffered by Malcolm Smith and Jordan Campbell . It's more than a dream come true for the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Horton, who will join his brother, redshirt freshman defensive end Wes Horton , in the starting lineup.

Joe McKnight is not taking any chances. During USC's 2008 training camp, he suffered a bone fracture in a finger when a dorm-room door was accidentally slammed on his hand. It was one of several freakish injuries and maladies that marred the running back's sophomore season. So McKnight is playing it safe in 2009. "I've got no fingers by the door," McKnight said, chuckling. "I'm not even opening doors in camp." McKnight has completed the first two days of 2009 workouts, meetings and down time without incident.

After nearly a month of workouts and hitting only one another, USC players finally began looking forward on Thursday. The Trojans completed their last practice before Saturday's opener against San Jose State, and veterans and newcomers said they could not wait to get to the Coliseum. "I'm ready," said Wes Horton , a redshirt freshman who will start at defensive end. "I don't have any game experience, so it's going to be a little overwhelming at first, but I can't let that get to me."