I could cover the draft  as it leads up to it, but let’s be honest, all I am focusing on until draft day is where my USC boys will end up.  The USC Trojans have a long and illustrious history with the NFL Draft.  A cursory Google search reveals USC at the top or near the top on every list of Most NFL First Round Draft Picks by School.  They battle it out for that #1 position with a cast of usual suspect that includes Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame, and Miami (FL).  Trojans are anxiously awaiting this week’s NFL draft to see where the players we’ve thrown our Trojan Spirit behind will end up.

First, the basics.

The 2011 NFL Draft:

• First round: Thursday, April 28, 7:00 p.m.

• Second-third round: Friday, April 29, 5:30 p.m.

• Fourth-seventh round: Saturday, April 30, 11:00 a.m.

The USC  players entering the 2011 draft are:

David Ausberry  WR  6’3”  233lbs

Allen Bradford  RB  5’ 11 ^7/8” 242lbs

Jordan Cameron TE 6’5 ^1/4” 254 lbs

Jurrell Casey  DT 6’0 ^5/8” 300lbs

CJ Gable RB 6’0” 208lbs

Stanley Havili  FB 6’0 ¼” 299lbs

Ronald Johnson WR 5’11 ¼”  199lbs

Wendell Lewis  OG 6’4 ½” 299lbs

Michael Morgan OLB 6’3 ½” 222lbs

Mitch Mustain QB 6’2 ¾” 205lbs

Kris O’Dowd  OC 6’4 ^1/8” 304lbs

Malcolm Smith OLB 6’0 ½”  227lbs

Tyron Smith OT 6’5” 307lbs

Shareece Wright  CB 5’10 ^7/8” 185lbs

The First Round of the 2011 NFL Draft:

1 Carolina Panthers

2 Denver Broncos

3 Buffalo Bills

4 Cincinnati Bengals

5 Arizona Cardinals

6 Cleveland Browns

7 San Francisco 49ers

8 Tennessee Titans

9 Dallas Cowboys

10 Washington Redskins

11 Houston Texans

12 Minnesota Vikings

13 Detroit Lions

14 St. Louis Rams

15 Miami Dolphins

16 Jacksonville Jaguars

17 New England Patriots (from Raiders

18 San Diego Chargers

19 New York Giants

20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

21 Kansas City Chiefs

22 Indianapolis Colts

23 Philadelphia Eagles

24 New Orleans Saints

25 Seattle Seahawks

26 Baltimore Ravens

27 Atlanta Falcons

28 New England Patriots

29 Chicago Bears

30 New York Jets

31 Pittsburgh Steelers

32 Green Bay Packers

Now that the details are behind us, how about our Trojans? Well it will be an interesting year for the draft and in many ways, I expect it to be better for the USC players than in years when we were flying high and ending up in the top 4 at season’s end.  These players have been through the fire, have stuck it out with SC during the first year of sanctions and I feel that speaks to a strength of character and perseverance that players like, say, Ryan Mallet, don’t seem to have.

OT Tyron Smith

Smith is ranked #1 for his position heading into this week’s draft.  He’s incredibly athletic, fast, accurate and has the look of  a seasoned NFL veteran in his style of play. Expect Smith to have a long and successful career. Possible criticisms could arise as he only played right tackle for the Trojans, but his high level of athleticism will prove he can make the switch easily.

FB Stanley Havili

Havili was a monster at USC and is ranked #3 for his position in the 2011 draft.  His NFL prospects, however, I believe depend on who drafts him and the system they run. Havili has amazing hands and he’s made some truly breathtaking catches over his years at USC.  He’s also a good runner and the best athlete of all the fullbacks in this draft.  He’s going to need to hit the weight room to get bigger and again, the right system will be crucial to his success. Somewhere that makes good use of the fullback is necessary.

TE Jordan Cameron

Cameron is ranked 9^th and rising for his position heading into the draft. He’s athletic and he had a great showing at the combine.  (More on that in a second) The thing about Cameron, well he was a basketball player and he’s had limited playing time for the gridiron Trojans. 16 career catches and a single start do not make a broad base from which to evaluate him.  Cameron is an athlete, but is he’s barely a football player when compared to other Trojans in the draft. He’s got a lot to learn. That said, let’s talk about his combine showing. He finished second in the 40-yard dash at the tight end position. At 6’5” and 254lbs, he ran a 4.59 in the 40 compared to the 1^st place finisher’s 4.55.  His vertical leap was 37.5. This combination is interesting as, despite Cameron’s overall lack of time on the football field for Troy, his #s display an ability to speed the hell down field like a bat out of hell and to get air—an especially useful skill when you’re in the red zone.  This is exactly what teams need out of their tight ends.  Cameron switched from wide receiver before the 2010 season. His sheer athleticism bodes well and frankly the type of conditioning and NFL style offense USC runs is beneficial in his evaluation. Lack of playing time or not, he has the raw skills and with the right development could make a massive impact on an NFL team.

WR Ronald Johnson

Here’s the thing, RoJo was good at USC, but there’s a lingering feeling amongst the Trojan faithful that he just never really lived up to his own hype. Are we spoiled? Hell yes.  But there was no great leaping one handed catch highlight re: Mike Williams to set him apart from the pack. He’s ranked 23^rd at the Wide Reciever position, which honestly, seems about right. He will be a proficient but middle of the pack player, he is not a superstar.

C Kristoffer O’Dowd

O’Dowd is a beast and the only thing that kept him from having a legendary college career was the amount of time he spent injured. Which, trust me, was OFTEN. Shockingly often.  When he was healthy he was literally the perfect athletic specimen for the Center position. He can handle all the line calls, catch all the blitzes ahead of time and he is truly a great leader. At all times he was one of the emotional centers of the USC team. If he can stay healthy he can have a long and fruitful career. He is ranked 3^rd overall for his position.

Other USC offensive players in the draft:

QB Mitch Mustain

WR David Ausberry

RB CJ Gable

RB Allen Bradford

OG Wendell Lewis

OLB Michael Morgan

OLB Malcolm Smith

CB Shareece Wright

Alright football fiends, that’s it for now. I will try to cover the rest of the offensive draftees from USC and the defense at some point tomorrow. I am a professional freelance writer and as I type this I am in my 14^th hour in front of my laptop. I need to post this, sign off and have a glass of wine.

Fight On!

Your Gridiron Goddess