May 10, 2013; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Robert Woods (10) runs a drill during rookie minicamp at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills have reached a rookie deal with former Trojan wide receiver Robert Woods on Monday morning, according to the Associated Press.

Drafted in the second round and 41st overall in April’s NFL Draft, the Southern California star was regarded as one of the most well-groomed wide receivers out of college, and this fall he will compete to start opposite Stevie Johnson.

Woods set a number of records at USC, en route to finishing his three-year career there with
2,930 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns.

Over the weekend Woods participated in the NFL Player’s Association’s “Rookie Premiere” event in Los Angeles, and today, he returned to Buffalo to begin Buffalo’s three-day minicamp.

Aside from Woods, the Bills drafted Marquise Goodwin from Texas in the third round and signed Da’Rick Rogers as an undrafted free agent later as apart of an effort to rebuild the wide receiver corps under new coach Doug Marrone.

So far, Buffalo has reached a deal with seven of eight rookies that it drafted this year. Only quarterback EJ Manuel out of Florida State remains unsigned.

Most important player: USC Trojans
(Kevin Gemmell | ESPN Pac-12 Blog )

So why Kennard over, say, Morgan Breslin or Leonard Williams or Dion Bailey (who by the way should flourish back at his natural safety spot)? Because Kennard could blow up in 2013 in this new scheme. There is going to be so much focus on Breslin — we know what we’re getting with him — that Kennard is going to get plenty of one-on-one opportunities to make plays in the backfield and/or stuff the run.

Buffalo Bills “In Conversation” to Start Robert Woods as No. 2 Receiver
(Josh Hill | FanSided)

The Bills obviously aren’t going to rush the decision to start Woods, but he’s got the chops to do so and the time spent between now and the beginning of the season can go a long way in preparing him to be one half of a potentially deadly receiving duo. But for now, Woods says he’s just trying to get settled in with the Bills and their new system. “Right now it’s just trying to catch the pace and the rhythm and keep it going,” Woods said, via WRG 550 AM. “Right now we’re just setting the fundamentals of the game. It’s going to get different when the whole team comes back.”

Breaking Down 2014 Offers by the Numbers
(Rick McMahan | Bleacher Report )

At least early on, there are specific units that are being targeted for re-stocking and in looking at the 2013 roster; it is easy to see how graduation and reduced numbers to start with are mandating increased attention in these areas. Obvious units of need—such as defensive line—are receiving increased attention while others, well, not so much.

Ole Miss Offers Juju Smith
(Ricky Widmer | FanSided 150 )

2014 athlete John “Juju” Smith received another offer from the Ole Miss Rebels. Smith is the 2nd best athlete and California recruit. He is also ranked 39th on the Fansided150 2014 Football Rankings.Out of eight predictions, the 247 Sports Crystal Ball currently has Notre Dame and USC as the favorites to land the 2014 recruit. Although the Irish and Trojans are the leaders, some of the experts are predicting UCLA to make a push when it comes to Smith.

Tweets of Note

Lakeland (Fla.) Lake Gibson safety Kendall Gant tells me #USC assistant Ed Orgeron offered him a scholarship today es.pn/10oosMp

— Blair Angulo (@bangulo) May 14, 2013

2014 CB Denzel Fisher of Compton Centennial –> RT @denzelfish: USC and San Jose State visited practice !

— Blair Angulo (@bangulo) May 15, 2013

Per @bellevuefb, USC has offered Budda Baker

— Scott Enyeart (@ScottEnyeart) May 15, 2013

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Recruiting is the fickle mistress that has a hefty impact on college football. She promises a bright and successful future, but rarely does she deliver the full bounty with which she teases. And does she tease: she makes fans wait nearly a full year before giving us anything definitive, knowing full well that many, many things will change over the course of that time.

Fans love her and (mostly) hate her, but no matter how many times recruiting pulls the rug out from under the college football world, we know that she is the life’s blood of college football programs.

No fanbase understands the fluctuation between victories and pitfalls better than that of the USC Trojans.

Recently, recruiting has been USC’s strongest selling point, due in part to Lane Kiffin and his staff of juggernauts in the trade. It has also been one of the biggest disappointments for Troy, with the debacle leading up to the 2013 National Signing Day, when a number of USC’s most prized recruits all abandoned ship in the days before the event.

But before USC was dealing with mass de-commits and the Matthew Thomas situation this year, Kiffin was tasked with keeping together the class of 2010, built by Pete Carroll but dramatically impacted by NCAA sanctions.

The Class of 2010 is entering its fourth year at Troy and–for those who have stayed–it has been a tumultuous period, filled both with incredibly exciting highs and incredibly embarrassing lows.

Let’s take a look at the players that comprised this class, and what has happened to them over the past four years. In our first of three parts, we’ll look at the skill players on offense.

Dillon Baxter

Baxter came to USC as one of two promising running backs, hailing from San Diego and looking poised to be the next larger-than-life Trojan running back. He was a consensus high school All-American, and a YouTube video of him torching his USC teammates in a practice session implied that big things could be expected from him.

From Day One, Baxter showed that he had the desire to live the glamorous athlete, but none of the drive to do so on the field.

He wanted to indulge in the carefree, party-all-the-time days of Pete Carroll but instead found himself in a much more rigid and aloof program run by Lane Kiffin, which he did not fit into.

A string of off-the-field antics–including accepting a ride in a golf cart to practice from an NFLPA-certified agent (albeit a USC student) and getting caught smoking marijuana in fall camp–it became abundantly clear that Baxter would not pan out at USC. He was ridden from the Trojan program in 2011, departing for San Diego State. But his tenure there was short lived; he was dismissed from the team for “various reasons” in February 2012.

Last season, he suited up for Baker University in Kansas, playing at the NAIA level. Baxter ran for 869 yards as Wildcat in 2012, scoring seven touchdowns and averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

D.J. Morgan

Morgan was the other tailback in this class, and unlike Baxter, he has stuck it out in Troy. He came to USC as a standout hurdler and football player, but a season-ending injury his senior year at Taft of Canoga Park forced him to redshirt as a freshman. Since recovering, he has made cameo appearances in games but spent a substantial amount of time in Kiffin’s doghouse over his first two seasons because of ball-security problems.

In 2012, Morgan showed maturity as the third string back behind Curtis McNeal and Silas Redd. He ran for 201 yards on 41 carries, scoring one touchdown and fumbling just once. He currently is vying for a backup job in 2013.

Soma Vainuku

This Eureka high school athlete was the lone fullback in 2010, but has only played one season so far at USC. Vainuku greyshirted in 2010, redshirted in 2011 but played in all 13 games in 2012, eight of which were starts. Vainuku split time with 2012 freshman Jahleel Pinner, with Vainuku being the main lead blocker on running plays.

Where he was the most noticeable however, was in the passing game and not necessarily for the right reasons. In a Week 3 loss to Stanford, Vainuku dropped what may have been a knockout punch to the Cardinal what would have put USC up two touchdowns in the middle of the third quarter. He had multiple drops in the loss at Arizona and again on fourth and goal against Notre Dame, on what was a poorly thrown Max Wittek pass at his feet.

Going into 2013, he’ll again split time with Pinner and get a majority of the reps as a lead blocker in the I-formation.

Kyle Prater

Prater was the No. 3 overall recruit in the nation when he came to USC in the fall of 2010. He originally committed to the Trojans under Pete Carroll, and cancelled an early enrollment after Carroll’s departure, only to stick with Kiffin on Signing Day. Unfortunately for the big 6-foot-5 wideout, injuries kept him out of the spotlight at USC. He redshirted the 2010 season and despite playing in 10 games in 2011, he had just one catch for six years.

After two years of slowly progressing and failing to find his place in the rotation, he announced that he was going home to Illinois, and transferred to Northwestern, where he was granted a hardship waiver to play immeditately in 2012. Prater caught just 10 passes for the Gator Bowl champs, while playing all 13 games.

Markeith Ambles

Despite being more known for his “Trogans” tweet than anything done at USC, Ambles was one of two recruits to follow Kiffin from Tennessee. Ambles was the third ranked wide receiver in the 2010 class according to Rivals, giving USC the top trio.

He had a slew of off-the-field drama that kept him from suiting up, and ultimately, he would be removed just a year after he got to USC, due in part to academics. He spent 2012 at Arizona Western College, recording 44 catches for 757 yards and six touchdowns. This season, he will play for the Houston Cougars of the American Athletic Conference, with two years of eligibility left.

Robert Woods

While Prater and Ambles were two of the top three receivers, Woods was the household name with an incredible tenure at Troy. He had 65 catches as a freshman and was a big factor in a near upset of No. 4 Stanford, in which he recorded 12 catches for 224 yards and three touchdown. While it was a national coming out party for Woods, he was only getting started, as finished with 65 catches as a freshman, before dazzling as a sophomore to set a then-Pac-12 record with 111 catches in 12 games despite a nagging ankle injury.

Woods ended his record-setting career with 250 receptions for 2,933 yards and 32 touchdowns, standing as the leading wide receiver in USC history, at least for a year before Marqise Lee shatters his records.

The former Serra High Cavalier departed USC early for the NFL, where his talents were recognized by the Buffalo Bills, who drafted him in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

* * * *

Six players into this 2010 class, and already more than half of them are no longer with the Trojan program. In the next installment, we will take a look at the tight ends and quarterbacks that USC signed in 2010, followed by the defensive talent that they pulled in for this class.