Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It’s fashionable to pencil Su’a Cravens in at strong safety, and the free safety role had been considered Gerald Bowman’s to lose once five-star safety Leon McQuay III was re-routed to cornerback before spring camp. But now that word has come out that Bowman will miss all of spring camp for the second straight year, Josh Shaw and McQuay have very little margin for error in their pursuit of starting at free safety and cornerback, respectively.

For McQuay, he’s joined in a competition with Kevon Seymour, Devian Shelton, Ryan Dillard, Ryan Henderson, Anthony Brown and the aforementioned Torin Harris. During Tuesday’s first practice, Shelton may have made the biggest impression, if only for his blazing speed and ability to keep pace and make ground on Marqise Lee and Nelson Agholor.

However, it still goes without saying that McQuay entered camp as a favorite to earn a top line on Lane Kiffin’s post-spring depth chart. But considering that Shaw’s placement at safety comes following a successful late-season jaunt at corner to replace Harris in 2012, Bowman’s injury ensures Shaw’s role as a free safety due to a lack of depth. That, in turn, virtually eliminates the chances of Shaw playing corner again, barring a Shaw-McQuay swap.

With Shaw tied to playing safety, the importance of McQuay and Shaw’s success is paramount as the Trojans are nearly out of plan B’s, unless two other corners step up and blow Pendergast away.

Demetrius Wright impressed the Kiffins numerous times in 2012, earning him an ‘AND’ next to his name on the depth chart alongside Starling in 2012. But alas, he plays strong safety along with Cravens. As for Dion Bailey, who is switching to safety from linebacker? He is not only out for the spring, but he’s also considered to be a strong safety and not necessarily in line to vie against Shaw.

With scholarship restrictions and injuries, now’s when the Trojans really need Shaw and McQuay to make it threw spring at optimal health. USC does not want to go into fall camp both being forced to break in a new secondary in earnest, and one partially void of spring reps.

In The Clubhouse (13 commitments)

Who’s Enrolled?

• Kenny Bigelow — DT — Elkton, MD (East Christian)
• Max Browne — QB — Sammamish, WA (Sammamish)
• Su’a Cravens — S — Vista Murrieta, CA (Vista Murrieta)
• Justin Davis — RB– Stockton, CA (Lincoln)
• Chris Hawkins –CB– Rancho Cucamonga, CA (Rancho Cucamonga)
• Leon McQuay III –S– Tampa Bay, FL (Armwood)

Who’s Committed?

• Nico Falah — OL — Bellflower, CA (St. John Bosco)
• Jason Hatcher — DE — Louisville, KY (Trinity)
• Michael Hutchings — LB — Concord, CA (De La Salle)
• Ty Isaac — RB — Joliet, IL (Joliet Catholic)
• Steven Mitchell — WR — Mission Hills, CA (Bishop Alemany)
• Torrodney Prevot — DE — Houston, TX (Alief Taylor)
• Jalen Ramsey — DB — Nashville, TN (Brentwood Academy)
• Khaliel Rodgers — OL — Elkton, MD (Eastern Christian Academy)

The Battleground (4 open scholarships)

Who’s Likely?

• Quinton Powell — LB — Daytona Beach, FL (Mainland) – Powell visited USC on January 18th and shut down his recruiting. He visited Florida back in December and will make his decision live during ESPN’s National Signing Day coverage.
• Eddie Vanderdoes — DL — Placer, CA (Placer) - Vanderdoes will make his decision live on MaxPreps.com at 5 p.m. Pacific time on Signing Day. He visited USC back on January 18th, followed by his two final trips to Notre Dame and Alabama.

Who’s a Longshot?

• Kylie Fitts — DE — Redlands, CA (East Valley) - Fitts de-committed in early January when USC decided to defer his scholarship to the fall, as opposed to being an early enrollee. Since then, Fitts has visited UCLA, Notre Dame and Utah.
• A’Shawn Robinson — DT — Fort Worth, TX (Arlington Heights) -  Robinson visited USC in December along with the Fitts and other early enrollees, spurning a Texas banquet in the process. He visited Austin on January 26th and has made it clear that he’s committed to Texas.
• Matt Thomas — LB — Miami, FL (Booker T. Washington) –   Thomas came to Los Angeles to visit USC on January 18th and is considered to be a strong Miami lean after his Florida State recruiter, James Coley, took the offensive coordinator role at Miami.

Three Storylines to Watch:

1 . Can Lane Kiffin close strong? The Trojans’ recruiting class had as many as 18 commitments back in the summer, which was one over the limit of 17. But since then, six have de-committed, including Jason Hatcher, who re-committed earlier this week. Kiffin and the Trojans have been saddled with a narrative tied to USC’s 7-6 record and Sun Bowl loss, but if they can close by signing Eddie Vanderdoes or Kylie Fitts, they’ll go a long way towards repairing that image.

2.  Just where will the average-star rating finish? Despite being saddled with sanctions that limit USC’s class to 15 scholarships(plus two carryover initials for early enrollees), the Trojans don’t have a single commitment from a three-star player. Dating back to 2002, USC has topped out with an average-star rating of 4.22 in 2007 and 4.20 in 2010, a record they will seemingly shatter in 2013, as they stand at 4.43. Should USC add three five-stars on Signing Day without losing a commit (Vanderdoes, Thomas and Robinson) they would max out at a Rivals rating of 4.53, in addition to setting a record with nine five-star commits. That seems to be a longshot, but that’s quite the ceiling for a 7-6 team in the middle of sanctions. Click here for more on USC’s star rating.

3. Can USC keep Ramsey and Prevot on board? Five-star corner Jalen Ramsey has been tied to the Florida Gators for months and rumors and pundits see him landing either in Gainesville or Tallahassee, with the rival Florida State Seminoles, including Mike Farrell of Rivals. For Prevot, multiple visits to College Station to visit Texas A&M may be concerning for the Trojans, even if the Aggies have 92 players committed to their class. Well, not quite 92. UPDATE: Ramsey de-committed late Monday night.

The six-foot-two, 185-pound safety has already graduated and will enroll at Troy later this month. McQuay took official visits to Vanderbilt, Oregon, Florida State and Michigan before taking one to USC. He is USC’s seventh early enrollee.

McQuay first took in the USC experience in September, on an unofficial visit Labor Day weekend. In December, Lane Kiffin and his arsenal of top recruiters visited him in his Tampa, Florida home. It was then that McQuay really got hyped on USC, for more reasons than one.

The coaching staff and the Los Angeles setting appealed greatly to McQuay, but it is the academia that USC boasts that had his parents sold on the program. Sources close to the family say the McQuays were blown away by the academic opportunities their son would have at USC, and they are huge proponents of higher education. McQuay intends to study musical engineering, a major that USC offers as apart of the Thornton School of Music.

With McQuay in the mix, USC now boasts a menacing safety tandem with Su’a Cravens, Gerald Bowman, Josh Shaw and McQuay expected to compete immediately during spring ball.