Spring Cleaning for Defense

At last, there is no quarterback question at USC.

It’s Carson Palmer, and nobody is going to get a chance to unseat last season’s freshman phenom--even if anyone could.

There remain quite a few other issues for the Trojans as they finished spring football drills Friday, however.

Start with a defense that was the strength of the team last season but must rebuild after the departure of first-round draft pick Chris Claiborne, cornerback Daylon McCutcheon and safeties Rashard Cook and Grant Pearsall--five starters and eight solid contributors in all.

“It’s weird not seeing Chris Claiborne in front of me or next to me,” said David Gibson, USC’s leading returning tackler. “We’re not going to have a lot of superstars. But we definitely have a lot of good players who will work their butts off.”

The biggest transition is at linebacker, where Zeke Moreno moved from strongside to the middle to take over for Claiborne, and Sultan Abdul-Malik--who led USC with eight sacks as a defensive end last season--dropped back to strongside linebacker, his high school position.

Gibson, the starter at weakside linebacker last season, returned to his more natural position at strong safety, leaving Darryl Knight to play the weakside--probably with competition in the fall from Markus Steele from Long Beach City College.

On the other side of the ball, there is more than a little concern about who will catch Palmer’s passes.

Beyond spectacular but inconsistent R. Jay Soward and dependable Windrell Hayes, the Trojans don’t have a wide receiver who has caught a pass in a game, though the returning running backs and tight ends caught quite a few last season.

“Wide receiver is the scariest position on this football team,” Coach Paul Hackett said. “Seeing us in four wides early on would be a real shock. I can’t imagine us playing a lot of receivers until [the newcomers] have time to develop.”

That means USC’s rather impressive group of incoming receivers will get an opportunity right away: Freshmen Kareem Kelly from Long Beach Poly High, Marcell Allmond from St. Paul in Santa Fe Springs and Steve Stevenson from Covina Charter Oak, along with junior Craig Mitchell from West L.A. College.

And Soward, the sometime superstar, gets one more chance to fulfill his potential.

“It’s just focus and determination,” said Soward, who is famous for his big plays and kick returns but caught only 44 passes last season. “I just have to make people believe and let them know I’m a better receiver than when I first got here. . . . I don’t want to be called a special-teams player. I want to be known as a wide receiver.”

Given the situation at receiver, look for USC to get “creative” and take advantage of its strength, the team’s depth at running back.

Expect speedy, darting tailback Chad Morton--who rushed for almost 1,000 yards last season--to line up at receiver at times, as will sprinter Sultan McCullough, who made a big impression in the spring before becoming academically ineligible.

With Petros Papadakis, Frank Strong and Jabari Jackson, and with Malaefou MacKenzie coming back after knee surgery, the Trojans are flush in the backfield.

“I would not be surprised if you see three or four backs on the field at the same time because of the receiver situation,” Hackett said.

Of course, it all depends on the guys up front.

“The big issue is, as it always is, the offensive line,” said Hackett, who calls USC’s line a long-term project.

Recent developments on the line include the emergence of Donta Kendrick at left guard ahead of Jason Grain, and Travis Claridge showing his versatility by working at right tackle in addition to right guard with Matt Welch out until preseason drills because of shoulder surgery. Hackett also is intrigued to see how Faaesea Mailo does after returning from a Mormon mission to Japan, especially after hearing the sometime sumo wrestler hasn’t gained too much weight.

It was an eventful spring for the Trojans, who lost linebacker Mike Pollard and receiver Troy Garner for all of next season because of knee surgery.

They also said goodbye to quarterback Jason Thomas, who sat out as a freshman because of ankle surgery and quickly realized this spring he wasn’t going to get a chance to compete with Palmer and announced he’ll transfer.

Thomas has visited Nevada Las Vegas and doesn’t have any other trips planned, and his father, Charles, said it’s “probable” his son will join former USC coach John Robinson at UNLV, though he won’t make an announcement until later.