COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : USC : Henry Replaces Holmes at Cornerback

Jerald Henry, a freshman cornerback from Serra High in Gardena, will replace senior Calvin Holmes in USC’s starting lineup Saturday against California at Berkeley.

Holmes has been victimized repeatedly this season.

“He has been in the right spots, but the plays have been made (around him),” said Chris Allen, the Trojan defensive coordinator. “He just hasn’t quite made the plays that we were hoping that he would make.

“Henry’s been doing a really good job, and we’re going to give him a chance to see if he can make the plays, because that’s a position where you’re going to get one-on-one coverage an awful lot. The guy that’s there has to make the plays.”

Curtis Conway’s days as a quarterback may be over.

Coach Larry Smith said that if Reggie Perry had been unable to return after tearing a tendon in his right pinky in the third quarter of Saturday’s 24-20 loss to Notre Dame at South Bend, Ind., he would have been replaced by freshman Rob Johnson.

“I think as the season progresses and we get more (time) to spend with Rob Johnson, (Conway) is being phased out more and more,” Smith said. “We’re practicing Curtis more and more at wide receiver.”