Tirebiter’s Morning Byte: Stanley Johnson’s Chances with USC and Other Links

Mater Dei’s Johnson keeps SoCal options open (Rahshaun Haylock | FOX Sports West)

"Mater Dei forward Stanley Johnson has narrowed his list to six schools. That list includes both USC and UCLA. Johnson isn’t quite ready to announce if he’ll be staying home to play his college ball or not, but there are some that believe that USC’s hiring of a couple of L.A. guys, Tony Bland and Jason Hart as assistant coaches, could have Johnson landing with the Trojans."

Su’a Cravens: Head Start Program (Greg Katz | We Are SC) ($)

"If you’re really an adventurous soul searching for the ultimate athletic and academic challenge, you can be like USC Trojans freshman football player Su’a Cravens, a strong safety from Murrieta (Calif.) Vista Murrieta High, who departed the security blanket of his high school following the conclusion of the 2012 fall semester and enrolled at the University of Southern California for the 2013 spring semester."

2013 NFL Draft debate: Matt Barkley vs. Ryan Nassib (Brian Galliford | Buffalo Rumblings)

"Both quarterbacks were spotty at times and brilliant at others in the accuracy department. Pick your preference: do you like a thrower that can hurt you underneath and on deeper throws, or do you like a quarterback that can zip passes up the seam and make stick throws on the run? Right now, that’s the delineation; Barkley needs to improve his intermediate game, while Nassib needs to work on his touch and deep ball. Barkley’s ball placement can improve, while Nassib must develop more consistency at all levels of the field."

No Reason to Panic over USC Losing 4-Star OL Commitment (Lisa Horne | Bleacher Report)

"While Tucker has decommitted from USC, the Trojans still do appear to be near the top of his list of schools of interest, which includes Arizona State, Oregon and Stanford. All of this points to speculation on whether or not Tucker soured on USC for some reason. Or it could mean that he felt he wasn’t get enough attention from the coaches—that is not an uncommon occurrence. But what is the most likely scenario is that Tucker may feel his chances of starting as a true freshman have diminished."

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