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Morning Briefing: Enfield’s March Magic Yet to Arrive at USC, Kevin Greene is Speedy and Other Bullets

By Reign of Troy Staff

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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the first edition of the Morning Briefing from Reign of Troy, a new feature we hope becomes part of your daily routine. Aimed at being your one-stop shop for USC news, tidbits and much more, the Morning Briefing is our way of providing readers with an open-the-morning-paper feel at your finger tips, without the hassle of walking to your drive way. Without further ado, we hope you enjoy this first edition with a hot cup of coffee.

Three & Out:

  1. Trojans are one and done in Las Vegas: USC headed to Las Vegas as the ultimate cellar dweller, with a No. 12 seed attached to their name in the Pac-12 Tournament. Not even Andy Enfield’s March Madness magic could carry the Trojans over the fifth-seeded and NCAA-dreaming Colorado Buffaloes. Byron Wesley missed a three-point buzzer-beater that would have sent the game to overtime, and USC came up short, 59-56. While a buzzer-beater opportunity seemed unlikely with even as little as 10 seconds to go, the shot still severed as a microcosm for the Trojans’ game. They lived and died by the three all game long, shooting just 5-of-22 from behind the arc. And as you would expect, such an emphasis on perimeter shooting, while hitting at just a 22 percent clip, led to doom. With the loss, the college careers of Omar Oraby, J.T. Terrell and Pe’Shon Howard are over, and hope springs eternal with next season’s eligibility of transfers Katin Reinhardt and Darion Clark. Perhaps year two of the Enfield experiment can show a little spark, as he and assistant coach Tony Bland start to get “their guys”.
  2. Kevin Greene is actually kinda fast: If someone had told you a year ago that big burly defensive end Kevin Greene would be the fastest Trojan at the 2014 Pro Day, you’d have laughed. Well, with Marqise Lee and Silas Redd sitting out of the 40-yard dashes, that’s exactly what happened. Greene, who worked out with the tight ends, had an electronically recorded time of 4.54 seconds, according to USC. For comparison’s sake, Lee ran a 4.52 at last month’s NFL Combine in Indianapolis. It’s worth noting that 40-yard dash times are notorious for being potentially inaccurate, especially at pro day workouts, but the 6-foot-4, 255 pound Greene running in the ballpark of upper-echelon receivers is mind-blowing. On the other side of the coin, Xavier Grimble’s 5.02 mark won’t be doing him any favors. For a full list of Pro Day results, click here.
  3. Sark loves his dual-threat quarterbacks: At Washington, Steve Sarkisian had a propensity for recruiting mobile quarterbacks, as seen with the arrivals of Cyler Miles and Troy Williams in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Both were in the top two of Rivals’ rankings for dual-threat quarterbacks and had brighter futures coming out of high school than Keith Price, who was mislabeled as being dual-threat. Now at USC, Sark is continuing the trend. Jalen Greene and Ajene Harris were part of the coach’s first class, and just this week, Sarkisian extended a scholarship offer to Westlake’s Malik Henry of the 2016 class. At 6-foot-1, 177 pounds, he has some room to grow physically, and will bring forth a USC vs. UCLA battle for his services, according to Eric Sondheimer of the LA Times. Henry threw for 2,362 yards as a sophomore and should be an interesting recruit to keep an eye on during the next two falls.

They said it:

Twitter Points:

Question of the Day:

With USC’s annual Pro Day taking place yesterday, the draft stocks of former Trojans are being bantered about left and right in NFL circles. As a fan, how much stock do you put in the happenings of a pro day? UCLA’s pro day on Tuesday faced questioning over the potential of advantageous conditions compared to the NFL Combine, while USC’s was rather lackluster following news that Marqise Lee wouldn’t sprint in the 40-yard dash. What’s it mean? Answer our poll, and be sure to leave your thoughts below in the comments.

How much stock do you put in Pro Day results?

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