Carroll Named Coach of Year

USC Coach Pete Carroll, who has led the Trojans to the top of both national polls and a spot in the Rose Bowl, has been named the Home Depot Coach of the Year and will be honored tonight during a nationally televised awards show in Orlando, Fla.

Carroll, in his third season, guided USC to an 11-1 record. The Trojans are ranked No. 1 going into a bowl game for the first time since 1972.

“It’s a great recognition of our staff and what we’ve accomplished together,” Carroll said before leaving Los Angeles on Wednesday. “It’s clearly a statement about all the work everyone puts into this thing.”

USC plays Michigan on New Year’s Day in its first Rose Bowl game appearance since defeating Northwestern on Jan. 1, 1996.

“Coach Carroll deserves [the award] for how he’s turned the program around,” quarterback Matt Leinart said. “He’s great, but I also think we have the best coaching staff in America in every aspect.”

Carroll, a finalist for several other coach-of-the-year awards, was part of a USC contingent that traveled to Florida.

Junior defensive end Kenechi Udeze, senior offensive lineman Jacob Rogers and sophomore wide receiver Mike Williams will be recognized tonight as members of the All-American team selected by the Football Writers Assn. of America.

-- Gary Klein