USC football updates on Tee Martin, Todd McNair, Sam Darnold and more (2/7)

Over the weekend, former USC football faces were the talk of the town as Sam Darnold trade rumors heated up, Tee Martin found a new gig and Todd McNair got a new trial.

Here's what's been happening around Troy on Feb. 7...

USC football owns the Super Bowl

In honor of Super Bowl Sunday, let's start here: The Trojans are the kings of the Super Bowl.

It'll take some work for USC to retain that title, but Ronald Jones II can add to the tally with a Buccaneers victory over the Chiefs.

MORE NEWS: Updates on Bryan Carrington, Todd Orlando, Drake London and more

Sam Darnold inquiries are flying in

The New York Jets may not be fully committed to Sam Darnold, but there are teams out there ready and willing to bring in the fourth-year pro.

The simple fact is New York hasn't been good to Darnold. He's dealt with injuries, but more than anything, the dysfunctional Jets franchise has taken yet another Trojan quarterback and put him through the grinder.

If you're a USC fan, you should be hoping for Darnold to get a fresh start somewhere else before NY saps all of his potential from him.

Tee Martin to the Ravens

Former USC wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator Tee Martin landed in a great spot after the Tennessee Volunteers dismissed head coach Jeremy Pruitt. He's now an NFL assistant coach.

On the one hand, that's a great move for Martin, who has coached some seriously great wide receivers in his day.

On the other hand, the NFL will be quite the change of pace for him. Part of what made Martin a great college assistant is his ability to recruit. That will no longer be a factor for him.

Then again, it's worth noting how he stuck with coaching WRs when he was running USC's offense rather than swapping over to quarterback. He clearly enjoys coaching the position. We'll have to see how he does.

Todd McNair is still fighting the NCAA

Todd McNair's fight with the NCAA will apparently last longer than it takes George R.R. Martin to finish the Game of Thrones books.

While McNair focused on preparing for the Super Bowl as the Buccaneers' running backs coach, the 2nd District Court of Appeals granted him a new trial.

The verdict from the original defamation trial -- which was in favor of the NCAA -- was tossed because the jury foreman was an attorney whose law firm had done work for the NCAA. The judge further ruled the jury lacked sufficient evidence for its ruling.

So on it rolls.

Kedon Slovis outranks JT Daniels as Heisman candidate

No one should be surprised to see Kedon Slovis among the Heisman candidates for 2021. What is interesting is where he sits in Athlon's predictions relative to a former Trojans quarterback.

Slovis ranks seventh, one spot ahead of Georgia quarterback JT Daniels, whose transfer was prompted by the former's emergence in Los Angeles.

Daniels and Slovis will always be compared, so get used to this type of observation.