Hackett, Montana Renew Bet

USC Coach Paul Hackett called Joe Montana on Wednesday to renew his annual wager with the former Notre Dame and San Francisco 49er quarterback.

“We’ve had a bet over all the years we’ve been at different places,” said Hackett, a USC assistant early in his career who went on to work with Montana as an assistant with the 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.

The usual stakes: A case of wine, which got a little expensive from 1983 to ’93 when USC lost 11 in a row during a 13-game winless streak against the Irish.

“Oh boy, 11 in a row, I kind of ducked out of some of those payments for a while,” Hackett said.

USC has won the last three, and before Montana hung up, Hackett extended an invitation.

“I told him we had a couple of extra seats on the plane, but he said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ ”

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Receiver R. Jay Soward practiced for the first time since suffering a concussion Saturday and wore a yellow no-contact jersey.

“R. Jay was really slowed down today, not himself, but he’s going to be fine,” Hackett said. “It’s going to take most of the week, but by Saturday he’ll be fine.”

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Injured offensive linemen Donta Kendrick and Brent McCaffrey took part in one portion of practice and are expected to be available Saturday, but probably won’t start.

If Kendrick can play, it’s that much more unlikely USC will call on reserve guard Lenny Vandermade, who is slated to redshirt, as is No. 3 center Norm Katnik.

“I’d still like to be able to redshirt them,” offensive line coach Steve Greatwood said.