Freshmen Continue to Earn Rave Reviews

Everywhere you look, another freshman is making an impression for USC.

Kareem Kelly, Marcell Allmond and Steve Stevenson are among the Trojans’ top five receivers.

Cornerback Darrell Rideaux and defensive tackle Bernard Riley are going to get playing time, and linebackers Aaron Graham, Omar Nazel and Chris Prosser have all caught the coaches’ eyes.

So has another freshman who came in with absolutely no fanfare: walk-on cornerback Kevin Arbet.

Walk-ons usually blend into the landscape for a few years, then maybe get a leftover scholarship for all their hard work on the scout team.

But Arbet looks like a player.

He comes by it naturally. His father, Jeff Simmons, was a wide receiver for USC from 1980-82--and, by coincidence, was recruited by Coach Paul Hackett when he was a Trojan assistant.

Wyoming and Nevada were among the schools that offered Arbet scholarships. But he packed his bags for USC with his family ready to pay the roughly $30,000 a year it will cost to attend the university.

“I’ve always wanted to be a Trojan since I was little, since my dad went there,” Arbet said. “I knew once they saw me play I’d get a chance.”

The expense of tuition at a private university tends to limit USC’s pool of walk-ons, and one like Arbet is especially rare.

“I haven’t been doing this very long, but I don’t think it happens very often. Once every three or four years maybe,” said Hackett, who generally considers awarding any spare scholarships to walk-ons only their junior or senior years but said Arbet “might make me change my rules.”

Arbet couldn’t be happier.

“I’m living out my dream,” he said.

He just hopes he won’t have to pay for it every year.

“I’ve got to get that scholarship.”

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Linebacker Markus Steele won’t scrimmage for the first time until this week, but his ability is obvious even in shorts.

“How natural and fluid his movement is stands out,” Hackett said.

Steele arrived in camp late because of transfer paperwork, but Hackett said “there’s a chance” he could start the first game at weakside linebacker.