Press Row

Every now and then, I’ll occasionally put on the ol’ football analysis hat and tackle an issue that’s on my mind. Right now, I’ve been mulling one over that I’ve vented about to my friends, and the evidence is, once again, starting to build in my favor.

In general, USC football players fail at the pro level.

Let’s get some of the basics out of the way first: I’m looking more at the Pete Carroll-era USC teams, which have been marked by near-complete dominance over the college football scene, fielding some of the greatest teams of all time (like the one that ESPN essentially anointed the best ever…then watched them lose the National Title in one of my favorite football games I’ve ever seen.) Additionally, there are plenty of talented NFL players that came from USC, and even some from this particular timeframe in question.

But, on the whole, even the USC players that have been drafted very high just haven’t lived up to the hype at the NFL level. Call them a team full of Jeff Tedford professional disasters.

Thanks to the wonderful website DraftHistory.com, here’s a look at all of the USC drafted players since 2003.

Plenty of these guys really can’t be counted in a study like this—really, “dudes” like Dallas Sartz and David Kirtman won’t make or break your draft—but this list contains plenty of can’t-miss prospects that have either missed or are in danger of it.

So, let’s remove the minutiae and get down to the real meat here. Taken out of consideration:

- All 2008 draft picks (Ellis, Rivers, Baker, Lo-Jack, Rachal, Davis, Thomas, Booty, Thomas Williams, Chauncey) because it’s unfair to call them anything yet.

- 2007: Dallas Sartz (LB, Redskins, 5th) and Oscar Lua (LB, Patriots, 7th). Neither has played in an NFL game, and Sartz is with his third team overall (Redskins, Vikings, now in Seahawks camp).

- 2006: David Kirtman (FB, Seahawks, 5th) and LaJuan Ramsey (DT, Eagles, 6th). Kirtman played in six games in 2007. Ramsey was cut by the Eagles in the off-season and is currently in 49ers camp. He’s played in 15 NFL games.

- 2005: Matt Cassel (QB, Patriots, 7th) and Manuel Wright (DT, Dolphins, 5th—supplemental). Cassel is definitely getting his chance to prove he can be an NFL backup, but in his fourth NFL season, he now has to compete with rookie Kevin O’Connell for that spot. Wright played in nine NFL games—inexcusably earning a Super Bowl ring on the Giants roster last year—and is out of the league. He crumbled in the Nicktator’s wake.

- 2003: Kareem Kelly (WR, Saints, 6th) and Malaefou MacKenzie (RB, Jaguars, 7th). Kelly never played an NFL game. MacKenzie played in one.

Now, we’re left with a pretty good barometer of the best of the best that USC had to offer come draft time. Lucky for them, we’ll start with the 2003 draft, which boasts two of the best Trojans in the NFL today.

2003: Carson Palmer (QB, Bengals, 1st), Troy Polamalu (S, Steelers, 1st), Justin Fargas (RB, Raiders, 3rd)

I’m a big fan of Carson Palmer. I think he’s near the top of that post-Manning/Brady tier of QBs, and I’m a firm believer that Palmer is one of the big reasons for Bengals’ improvements this decade. No complaints here—this was a first overall pick that worked (amazing, considering Palmer’s near 1:1 TD/INT ratio and 57% completion percentage his first two seasons.)

No complaints from Polamalu, either. Four strait Pro Bowls and a terrific playmaker, although his style of play may sadly be contributing to a short-lived NFL stay, which might rob us of a really fun player to watch.

Fargas is a really interesting case. His entire draft stock was based on his 2003 season, when he split time in the backfield with Sultan McCullough. This was after transferring from Michigan in 2000 and spending his remaining years of eligibility with a variety of serious injuries.

Despite his injury history, his five years in the NFL have been relatively healthy, even allowing him to surpass the 1,000 yard mark last season after spending his career sitting behind a variety of underachieving backs like LaMont Jordan, Amos Zereoue, Tyrone Wheatley and Dominic Rhodes. Yet, given the possibility of a thunder/lightning attack with Fargas and Michael Bush, the Raiders picked Darren McFadden in this year’s draft, probably once again relegating Fargas to spot duty.

All that said, you can’t call Fargas a bust and tell the complete story. He’s been a serviceable NFL running back and still offers good quality as a backup. This was one of the stronger pro groups from USC players in this list.

2004: Kenechi Udeze (DE, Vikings, 1st), Jacob Rogers (T, Cowboys, 2nd), Keary Colbert (WR, Panthers, 2nd), Will Poole (CB, Dolphins, 4th).

Udeze is one of those players you will feel bad about calling a “bust”—someone like former Chicago Bulls guard Jay Williams or former Patriots/Dolphins RB Robert Edwards (who put together a rather nice CFL career).

After a 5-sack rookie campaign, Udeze tore his left ACL in 2005 and struggled in 2006, managing to not record a sack despite starting in 15 games on one of the NFL’s top defensive lines. In 2007, it looked like he could regain his promise from his rookie season, as he came back to ring up five more sacks.

This past off-season, however, Udeze learned he had leukemia. Obviously, Udeze’s career is on hold and football is nowhere near a priority at this point. The Vikings traded for Jared Allen to fill Udeze’s place.

Sadly, if the book on Udeze were closed, he finishes with 11 sacks in 47 career starts, or less than one every four games.

Rogers, an oft-injured tackle who probably had first round talent but seventh round durability, played in two games for the Cowboys in 2004 and was cut during 2005 training camp. The Broncos gave him a shot in 2007 camp, but he failed to stick. When he was released on March 17, 2006, he was the highest drafted player from the 2004 to get cut.

Colbert, selected ten picks after Rogers, was one of many players bestowed with the dubious task of taking attention off of combustible WR Steve Smith. Despite from good production his rookie season (47/754/5) and last year (32/332/0), the Panthers let Colbert test the waters in free agency, where he landed in Denver, where he’ll compete with a very random bunch of receivers to take attention away from another combustible WR in Brandon Marshall.

Poole played in 15 games for the Dolphins as a rookie and has not seen regular season action since. He spent 2005 and 2006 on IR, then got released. He was a camp casualty with the Chiefs in 2007 and in 2008, getting cut on August 10th.

If Keary Colbert, he of 109 career catches in four seasons, is your best player from the lot, that doesn’t speak well to a successful crop. Granted, we may never know how good Udeze might have been, and Rogers probably didn’t deserve to be selected in the second round—but, it’s a real possibility that 365 days from now, no Trojans from the 2004 draft will even still be in the league. Ouch.

2005: Mike Williams (WR, Lions, 1st), Mike Patterson (DT, Eagles, 1st), Shaun Cody (DT, Lions, 2nd), Lofa Tatupu (LB, Seahawks, 2nd)

In the train wreck that was the 2005 NFL Draft, USC offered a good bit of star power that has yielded very little bang for its buck.

Williams’ story has been well-chronicled: after becoming one of the most dominant receivers in college football history, he made a wise decision to follow Maurice Clarett and his challenge of the NFL’s early-entry rules. That didn’t work out so well. He was drafted tenth overall by the Detroit Lions, despite running awful 40-yard dash times in workouts and not playing football in almost 18 months once training camp hit.

An overweight, inconsistent mess as an NFL player, Williams was given one more chance to redeem himself in Tennessee. He was cut by a team starving for any kind of depth and production at the receiver position, which should tell us everything we need to know about his NFL worth. His career might be over after three seasons, 30 games, 44 receptions, 539 yards and two touchdowns. Williams defines the term “draft bust.”

It’s not as easy, however, to so simply apply this label to defensive linemen. A guy like Patterson, for instance, doesn’t have stats that jump out at you (125 tackles and nine sacks in 38 games). But, Patterson fits the bill for what the Eagles need at defensive tackle and has done a pretty good job. The Sporting News thinks he’ll make his first Pro Bowl team this year.

Cody, on the other hand, has been a major disappointment in Detroit and might not even make the team this year. Playing with two of the better defensive tackles in the NFL in Cory Redding and Shaun Rogers during his career, the Lions expected more production than averaging exactly one tackle a game and not registering a sack since October of his rookie year.

Tatupu, obviously, has been the savior of this class. With three straight Pro Bowls and a new long-term deal under his belt, he’s cemented his place as one of the better young linebackers in the NFL (on a very underrated defense). Sadly, it looks like he’ll be the only player from this draft class to do anything at the pro level.

2006: Reggie Bush (RB, Saints, 1st), Matt Leinart (QB, Cardinals, 1st), Winston Justice (T, Eagles, 1st), Deuce Lutui (G, Cardinals, 2nd), LenDale White (RB, Titans, 2nd), Frostee Rucker (DE, Bengals, 3rd), Dominique Byrd (TE, Rams, 3rd), Darnell Bing (S/LB, Raiders, 4th).

The absolute peak of bustdom, this haul of former USC stars littered the NFL with some of the founding fathers of the modern-day USC juggernaut. Leinart was LA’s Tom Brady; Bush finished his career as one of the most dynamic players in college football history; White owns the USC career record for touchdowns. Byrd was considered one of the top playmaking tight ends in the ’06 draft. With years of pro-style experience, Lutui and Justice were supposed to step right in with NFL experience; and Bing started for three years in the USC secondary.

(I’ll always remember Frostee Rucker as the only guy with an angle to stop Vince Young’s iconic touchdown run that won Texas the national championship; he’s the last guy to hopelessly dive at VY’s legs. Not that I’m blaming him or anything.)

The book is obviously still out on all of these players, but the evidence must be presented. Bush’s most notable play while in the NFL, ironically, has been all about the bust. Leinart’s off-the-field escapades have overshadowed his similarly mediocre career to date, despite being surrounded by an impressive cast of offensive weapons. Winston Justice’s lone NFL start yielded six sacks from Osi Umenyiora. Byrd was released in April after 6 receptions, 83 yards, a touchdown and an arrest after allegedly hitting someone with a glass at a bar. The Raiders tried to convert Bing to a linebacker, failed, and cut him. He spent most of last year on the 49ers practice squad and is currently in camp with the New York Jets. He has yet to play in an NFL game. Rucker has played in five NFL games and made eight tackles total. He also had a run-in with the law after being charged with two counts of spousal battery and two counts of vandalism in 2006.

This leaves us with White and Lutui as the only two reliable contributors at the pro level thus far. Lutui, to date, seems to have been lost in the shuffle in a miserable offensive line and now must fight off Elton Brown for his job. Lutui did start all 15 games he played in last year, and he does have time to turn it around. That said: what the heck seems to be wrong with offensive linemen in Arizona? I don’t think I can name one significant lineman in my lifetime that played for the Cardinals. Even Leonard Davis has a mediocre career in red and white, gets overpaid in Dallas—and goes the Pro Bowl.

Depending on who you ask, LenDale White has either been good, or a disappointment. Regardless, you can’t really classify him as a bust, for similar reasons you can’t call Justin Fargas a bust. White, much like Fargas, crossed the 1,000 yard marker last season. He only averaged 3.7 yards a carry and got called inconsistent—yet, Eddie George did this for eight years and was loved and revered. First round pick Chris Johnson could play the Reggie Bush role—no, not the NFL version—and open the defense to some fourth quarter bludgeoning.

Of everyone in this class, White’s outlook looks the rosiest. This class possesses so much talent, that any or all of these players could turn it around at any moment. It will be the failure or success of this class, however, that could have the greatest impact how pro evaluators see USC prospects in the future. Say what you will about Bush’s NFL potential; he still shouldn’t be getting outshined by former undrafted free agent Pierre Thomas. Leinart was supposed to be a star. Winston Justice may be on the Robert Gallery plan, after getting some time at guard in Eagles camp. Lutui, Rucker, and Bing are fighting for jobs. Byrd has no job.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. This should have been the “stamp” class for USC, like the 2004 Miami draft class. Instead, it’s become the “stump,” which could turn out killing the Matt Sanchez’s, Stafon Johnson’s, and Everson Griffen’s of the future.

2007: Dwayne Jarrett (WR, Panthers, 2nd), Steve Smith (WR, Giants, 2nd), Ryan Kalil (C, Panthers, 2nd)

It’s really difficult to call anyone entering their second NFL season a bust, or a success, for that matter. The light can “turn on” almost overnight, especially so early in a player’s career.

Take Steve Smith, for example. Smith had a miserable regular season. Hampered by injuries for most of the year, Smith never really got into a groove and had a bunch of drops.

Smith played well, however, in the Giants’ Super Bowl run. He finished with 14 receptions for 152 yards, including a respectable 5 for 50 in the championship game, including a huge 12-yard gain on third-and-11—the play right before Eli Manning’s touchdown throw to Plexico Burress.

He’ll enter the season as the third receiver in New York, and could eventually take over Amani Toomer’s role when he decides to retire. Smith’s problem thus far has been staying healthy. Groin and hamstring injuries have limited him in this year’s training camp.

Depending on how you look at Kalil, he either earned the starting center job this year, or just wasn’t worse than Justin Hartwig. After starting three games last year, this will really be anyone’s first extended look at what he can do at the NFL level.

Jarrett was the third former USC receiver asked to wave his arms in the air to distract the defense from Steve Smith (the other being Keyshawn Johnson). Seven games, six catches, 73 yards, and Smith thinks his latest USC friend kind of sucks. Jarrett also was arrested for DWI in January.

So, of course, he’ll rebound in his sophomore season, right? If so, he’ll do it riding the pine; so enamored with Jarrett were the Panthers, they brought back Mushin Muhammad and signed DJ Hackett.

Typing this out and doing this research has, honestly, been miserable. I’d honestly rather not have any ammunition for this article. I would be thrilled to see Reggie Bush and Adrian Peterson dueling for the NFL rushing title this year, or Leinart and Tony Romo battling for an NFC Pro Bowl bid. That’s how it should be; the can’t misses shouldn’t miss. Some of the ultra-talents and first rounders should make it. A few late round players should surprise, based on their experience on a winning program.

But for a team that many openly wondered about putting them on the field against the 2-14 49ers, having only Palmer, White, Tatupu and Polamalu do anything in the NFL to this point must be a great disappointment. Hey, how did their head coach fare in the NFL, anyway?

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