Palmer Wastes No Time in Delivering Answers

A few down-and-outs and a few fade patterns were all it took to answer questions about Carson Palmer’s recovery from a broken collarbone.

“If anything, he’s stronger,” receiver Marcell Allmond said. “When I’m running a route, I have to get my head around quicker or the ball is going to hit me in the face.”

Palmer, who was injured in the third game of the 1999 season, threw with characteristic zip Monday as USC began training camp at UC Irvine. The coaching staff gave him more than half of the snaps in the morning session, more than they had planned on.

“He was fresh,” Coach Paul Hackett said. “Maybe we got a little overzealous.”

Palmer saw it differently.

“I was hoping I’d get a little more work,” he said. “Maybe because it’s the first day and I’m excited. It just flew by.”

Once the excitement wears off, Hackett said, the sophomore quarterback will probably feel the effects of so much time off. It could be a while before Palmer returns to playing shape and finds a consistent rhythm, his coach said.

Palmer sounded impatient: “I’ve got to get as many reps as possible. It should take about a week.”

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With senior cornerback Antuan Simmons at home in Sacramento, recuperating from abdominal surgery, the defensive secondary is in flux. The coaches say they have enough talent to choose from--it is a matter of deciding who goes where.

Cornerback Kris Richard, who led the Trojans in interceptions last season, is the closest thing to a sure bet. At the other spots, Hackett said, “we’re going to juggle everything.”

Secondary coach Dennis Thurman sees a developing competition between cornerbacks Darrell Rideaux and Chris Cash. Rideaux started in Simmons’ place the last two games of the 1999 season. Cash, a junior college transfer, impressed in spring practice.

“That’s what these two weeks are about: Who’s going to perform every day?” said Thurman, a star safety at USC in the late 1970s. “If somebody’s going to let up, somebody else is going to pass him by.”

Freshman Matt Grootegoed looked impressive Monday. So did sophomore Kevin Arbet, who intercepted a pass.

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Offensive lineman Zach Wilson missed the first day of camp while finishing a summer school class. . . . The Trojans are waiting to see if defensive lineman Sagan Atuatasi will be academically eligible. . . . Defensive end Jamaal Williams was taken for precautionary X-rays after being leg whipped and receiver Steve Stevenson sat out the afternoon session because of a pulled hamstring.