The biggest, and possibly best news, to come out of USC Trojans' practice today was the return of defensive ends Wes Horton and J.R. Tavai. Both players missed a majority of practices last week due to injury. Tavai appeared to be back at full speed, while Horton was taking it easy. The return of both players, completely healthy or not, will ease the minds of some in Troy who were concerned about the lack of depth at defensive end, especially after losing true-freshman DeVante Wilson for an entire season. Coach Lane Kiffin added to the good news saying he was particularly impressed by defensive end Morgan Breslin's performance in a scrimmage.
As for the offense, Kiffin wasn't happy with a lackluster performance by the group in a scrimmage on Saturday. The Trojans players got the message and practiced up to the head coach's expectations on Monday. Kiffin's predecessor Pete Carroll used to push his players to compete against each other for the top spot at their particular position in an effort to keep the competitive edge up. Kiffin takes a slightly different approach when it comes to preventing complacency in the players, "We try to challenge our guys not to be the best at their position group but to be the best in the country."