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Despite rampant panic in the NFL sphere regarding the quietness from HBO’s Hard Knocks, the show finally has a team to cover. It’s the Cincinnati Bengals, according to Joey Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

The show, which is produced by NFL Films, will get fans to see into the Bengals’ training camp for the second time in five seasons, and give USC football fans two players to watch each week: Rey Maualuga and Taylor Mays.

Maualuga was a rookie in 2009 when the show last featured the Bengals, and a lot has changed since then for the winner of the 2008 Bednarik Award. He wasn’t shown too much in the first go around, but with him since becoming a team captain and fresh off of signing a new two-year, $6.5 million contract in the offseason, Maualuga figures to get more air time come training camp.

In 2012, Maualuga was second on the team in tackles behind former USC commit Vontaze Burfict, who has had more success at weakside outside linebacker than the MIKE linebacker role of Maualuga. Given their factor in the Bengals defense and their equally outspoken personalities, the dynamic between the two could be an interesting aspect of the show, should NFL Films decide to highlight them.

As for Taylor Mays, he played in all 16 games with Cincinnati last year, but in a reserve role. The once can’t-miss prospect has had just 70 tackles in three seasons as a professional.

The first episode of Hard Knocks should air during the first week of August on HBO.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

What last month looked like an opportunity for a new start, has dissolved into another failed attempt at a professional career for former Trojan wide Mike Williams: per CBSSports.com, the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League have decided that the wide receiver wasn’t a good addition after all, and have already released him.

Williams signed with the Argonauts in late May and before the month even ended his CFL career was over.

Since leaving USC, Williams has not had the NFL life that his outstanding career as a Trojan would have implied. He was drafted 10th overall by the Detroit Lions in 2005, and amassed only 37 receptions, 449 yards, and two touchdowns before being traded to Oakland in 2007, and was released by the Raiders later that season. He then remained out of the NFL in 2008 and 2009 before being given another chance by former college coach Pete Carroll with the Seattle Seahawks. In 2010 he posted the best stats of his pro career, catching 65 passes for 751 yards and two touchdowns, but 2011 took a down turn when he was limited to just 18 receptions for 236 yards and only one touchdown.

His collegiate career on the other hand could not have been more different: he set a USC and then-Pac-10 conference freshman record of 81 receptions for 1,265 yards and 14 touchdowns and was named First-Team Freshman All-American choice by The Sporting News, Scripps/Football Writers, and Rivals.com, among other accolades. As a sophomore he started all 13 games and had 95 catches for 1,314 yards and 16 touchdowns, and when he ultimately declared for the NFL draft, he was a consensus first-round pick.

Now having been cut from the Argonauts, it is likely that Williams’ career is over, an unfortunate reality considering how much talent and potential this wide receiver once had.

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Former USC great Steve Smith is hanging up his cleats from the NFL, as he announced his retirement today. The news comes less than a week after Mike Williams was signed by the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, and he joins fellow early USC receiver retirees Dwayne Jarrett and Keary Colbert. Though Smith had a once-blossoming NFL career that was derailed by injuries, and wasn’t labeled an the ‘NFL bust’ like Jarrett.

Smith was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft and was on the team that beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. His best season in New York came in 2009, when he had a breakout year, catching 107 balls for 1,220 yards as the Giants’ No. 1 receiver, in the wake of the infamous Plaxico Burress shooting and arrest. He was selected to the Pro Bowl, but an injury kept him from a trip to Honolulu, and they would mount to subsequently derail his career.

In 2011, Smith was one of a slew of big free agent acquisitions by the Philadelphia Eagles, but a leg injury limited him to just nine games and 11 catches. Smith played with the Rams in 2012, but put up similar numbers, as the former Pro Bowler started just three games in the last two seasons, combined.

Smith signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent last month, but announced his medically-induced retirement today.

While at USC, Smith won two National Championships in 2003 and 2004, and was a big part of the nation’s best receiver corps during his time as a Trojan, while earning All-American honors in 2006.

As a freshman in 2003, Smith was a reserve behind Mike Williams and the aforementioned Colbert, then took over for Colbert as the possession receiver going into his sophomore season. Smith broke his leg in 2004, which caused him to miss much of the year, but he rebounded late in the year and in his two seasons as an upperclassman, completing his career with 190 catches and over 3,000 yards receiving.

Ironically, his biggest game came in the 2006 loss to Oregon State, when Smith had one of the best receiving days in USC history, making 11 catches for 258 yards and scoring two touchdowns in Corvallis.

Smith currently sits seventh on the all-time pass catching list, having been past by both Robert Woods and Marqise Lee in 2012.