USC football: Receiver Lee off to flying start

The acrobatic sophomore receiver turns in a stellar performance during the team's second spring practice.

By MICHAEL LEV

LOS ANGELES ? So how good can Marqise Lee be?

That was the question floating around USC after the sophomore receiver put on a show at practice Thursday.

USC receiver Marqise Lee is picking up where he left off last season, when he shared Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year honors.

PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE REGISTER

Matt Barkley, the quarterback on the other end of many of Lee's receptions, didn't hold back.

"The best ever," Barkley said of Lee's potential.

That statement echoed Coach Lane Kiffin's from the end of last season, when he said Lee could become the best receiver in school history.

Lee is off to a flying start ? literally ? in spring camp, hauling in one Barkley pass by soaring into the air in front of defender Jawanza Starling.

"That was a play that you were like, 'Wow,'" first-year receivers coach Tee Martin said. "I told him, 'Man, you just kept climbing the ladder.' At some point you think he's going to stop and the ball's going to go over his head, but he kept elevating."

Martin said the 6-foot, 190-pound Lee has a huge "catch radius," meaning he can grab passes thrown high, low, in front of him or behind him.

"Sometimes that's undervalued in wide receivers until you get one," said Martin, a former quarterback. "He was born that way. And we like it."

Lee shared Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year honors last season after catching 73 passes for 1,143 yards and 11 touchdowns. Barkley and Kiffin praised Lee for his approach to the game as much as his physical gifts.

"Even with all he did last year, he's still putting in work like he has to earn something," Barkley said. "I think a lot of guys coming in can learn from his mentality. I think that'll set him apart in the long run."

Kiffin especially liked the fact that Lee kept pushing as the team went through a series of post-practice 100-yard sprints.

"After all the stuff he did today, he could have pulled himself out of that last conditioning (drill)," Kiffin said. "He not only stayed in there (but) won it. That's just who he is."

NOTES

After being the star of the first practice Tuesday, sophomore receiver George Farmer suffered a hamstring injury and missed the latter portion of the workout. ... Receiver Robert Woods (ankle) did very limited work. ... Tight ends Xavier Grimble (toe) and Junior Pomee (undisclosed) did not practice, leaving Randall Telfer as the only healthy tight end available. ... Quarterback Jesse Scroggins (hip) was limited to individual drills.... Defensive lineman Greg Townsend Jr. left practice early because of a back injury. ... Tailback D.J. Morgan had two long touchdown runs, showing off his breakaway speed. ... The Trojans were sloppier on offense, something Kiffin said is typical for a second practice. ... The Trojans practice in pads Saturday.

Contact the writer: mlev@ocregister.com

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Katinka Hosszu and Women's S&D compete in Natl. Championships.

by TheViewFromFigueroa on Mar 15, 2012 4:14 PM PDT

via www.swimmingworldmagazine.com

Today, the #7 USC Women's Swim & Dive team will compete in the 2012 NCAA national championships in Auburn. Leading the team of 13 women is senior Katinka Hosszu, a three-time NCAA individual champion; World Championship gold medalist; and member of the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Hungarian Olympic Swim Team. In 2011, she received the Honda Award, given out to the best female athlete in each college sport. This year, she hopes to join fellow swimmer Kristine Quance (1996,1997) and women's basketball star Cheryl Miller (1984, 1985) as the third USC athlete to win the award twice. She will have her chance to make her case this weekend, as she competes in the 200yd IM, 400 yd IM, and 200yd fly. All three of Hosszu's individual titles came from these events at last year's National Championships.

Another swimmer of note is junior Haley Anderson, who will be competing in the 500yd and 1650yd freestyle as well as the 400 IM. Anderson has three school records as a freestyle swimmer and holds five conference titles, including three-consecutive in the 1650yd free. On Saturday, Anderson will attempt to become the first USC swimmer to win an NCAA title in that event, but to do it, she will have to take down Georgia senior Wendy Trott, who is trying to win her fourth straight national title at 1650 yds.

On the diving side is senior Victoria Ishimatsu. She is a seven-time conference champion and the first woman in Pac-12 swimming history to win the same an event four years in a row, dominating the 3-meter springboard in all four years of her eligibility. She has yet to compete in this event at the National Championships, as she injured her foot last year and was unable to compete in the springboard comps.

USC enters the National Championships with a 6-2 record and a 3rd place finish at the Pac-12 championships and seven individual conference titles (three from Hosszu and two from Ishimatsu and Anderson). 12 of the 13 swimmers have competed in previous NCAA championships, and eight of them have earned All-American honors. USC is one of only 8 women's swim teams to win a team national championship, with their sole title coming in 1997.

All the events will be streamed on Auburn's website and, beginning on Friday, on ESPN3.com. All finals will begin at 5 PM PT.