Pete Carroll said Sunday night's reward of a first practice in full pads under the Howard Jones Field lights would remind USC's Trojans "of high school football Friday night lights."
Well, if the lights didn't do it and the brand new scoreboard donated by Brian Kennedy, who's already given $1 million to refurbish the field, didn't do it as it blazed in the night lights, then the overflow crowd did.
The lines of fans waiting to get in were around the block, and it took at least 20 minutes to get through the gate for some 1,500 fans who showed up to catch the action.
One player they saw was Jordan Campbell, the sophomore linebacker from Norco, who dazzled with his footwork on pass rush drills against the backs, then made three crushing tackles, two for losses, in the nine-on-11 team sessions.
Offensively, speedy Travon Patterson remained a deep threat, catching an early deep ball against the No. 1 defense as he did Friday. Once again, though, safety Taylor Mays managed to run him down before he hit paydirt.
Patterson did catch a touchdown pass from Aaron Corp in the red zone offense session.
Freshman tight end Blake Ayles also caught a touchdown pass in the nine-on-11 from new third-team quarterback Garrett Green.
"Let's Go Bowling"
When it's mid-August and your coach says it's time to "go bowling,"
well, you know you're about to play a sport where you rent your shoes -- and hang out by the alleys.
That's exactly what the Trojans did Sunday afternoon in preparation for the evening's solo practice. No walk-thru, just a day out bowling before team picture day back at USC.
The destination was the new Lucky Strike Lanes in Torrance, where the players were broken into teams of seven and each threw a game.
The top bowler, with a score in the 170s, was defensive end Everson Griffen.
It's not exactly beach volleyball or Knott's Berry Farm, as in previous years, but better than an afternoon on the field.
Still Out of Action
There was little change on the injury list Sunday.
Offensive lineman Jeff Byers is up and looking like he's close to coming back all the way. And freshman offensive lineman Tyron Smith is much less restricted with his sprained knee, although still out of pads.
Freshman wide receiver Brice Butler is out of his boot but not back in uniform, and quarterback Mark Sanchez is still using a crutch and golf cart to get around. Although Sunday, Sanchez had a driver to help him negotiate the crowd.
