Running Hot and Cold at Camp

USC took training-camp competition to new heights Saturday.

After their first full-squad workout, which featured aggressive hitting and several heated exchanges between players, Coach Pete Carroll directed the Trojans to the nearby swimming and diving complex to cool off.

Linebackers won position-group relay races, and Carroll praised John Walker after the junior cornerback executed a whirling leap from the 10-meter platform during a diving contest.

“I just closed my eyes and hoped I didn’t land hard,” Walker said.

Desmond Reed’s dive from a handstand, Mike Brittingham’s backflip and platform and springboard plunges by 290-pound Mike Patterson and 370-pound Taitusi Lutui also elicited hollers from players and coaches.

“It’s an Olympic year,” said Carroll, who jumped from the 10-meter platform. “The Games are just beginning.”

USC does not play its opener against Virginia Tech until Aug. 28 -- and will not practice in full pads until today -- but the Trojans practiced in helmets and shoulder pads as if they were lining up against the Hokies at FedEx Field.

Eager newcomers got plenty of opportunity to get noticed. Free safety Scott Ware and others registered crunching hits during team drills.

“I expected to see some of the guys go overboard because they are trying so hard and they want to make an impression,” Carroll said.

Freshman center Jeff Byers, who went up against seniors Shaun Cody and Mike Patterson for the first time, was among the new players who were happy to have their rite-of-passage behind them.

“I know what it’s really like to be out there -- it’s not just all talk,” Byers said.

Carroll said Ware, a transfer from Santa Rosa Junior College, freshman receiver Fred Davis, All-American punter Tom Malone, redshirt freshman cornerback Eric Wright and redshirt freshmen defensive linemen Chris Barrett and Lawrence Jackson were among the standouts.

Exchanges between centers and the seven quarterbacks in camp, however, have been a concern through the first four days of practice.

“It’s kind of expected, but I didn’t think it would be to this extreme,” Byers said. “We just have to ... get a feel for each other.”

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Junior wide receiver Mike Williams practiced for the first time in three days and praised the intensity of the new players, especially the less-heralded members of what is regarded as the nation’s top recruiting class.

“Some of the dudes that were the real big names aren’t doing as much as some of the dudes that weren’t as big names,” Williams said. “That’s fun to see.”

Williams is awaiting word from the NCAA regarding USC’s requests for a progress-toward-degree waiver and reinstatement of his eligibility.

Williams said he has been completing work for two four-unit summer session classes in geography and cinema. Williams described the last few days of schoolwork as “trying.”

“A lot of people just really don’t understand the situation,” he said. “They just don’t understand how you just want to get up and just book a flight home.

“But I owe it to these guys. For me to make my attempt back, I owe it to them to do my part.”

Williams is awaiting a ruling from the NCAA, which he hopes will come shortly after the summer session ends Tuesday.

“The quicker the better for all parties,” he said.

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Defensive back Terrell Thomas, who landed hard on his left shoulder at the end of practice Friday, did not participate in most drills and will be held out of contact drills for a few days, Carroll said.... Athletic Director Mike Garrett and his wife, Suzanne, are expecting twins in December.