Freshmen Are Quick Studies

USC freshman Matt Leinart likes the way his future is shaping up at quarterback even though he is engaged in a tight battle with redshirt freshman Matt Cassel . . . to back up veteran Carson Palmer.

Leinart has been getting most of the snaps with the second-team offense this week because Trojan Coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Norm Chow already had a chance to see what Cassel could do in spring practice.

So far, Carroll likes what he sees in Leinart.

“He’s been very steady for a young pup out there,” Carroll said Thursday. “I’m real impressed that he can handle it and he’s poised. I’m looking forward to seeing how far he can take it. Sometimes guys hit the wall with learning, but he just seems to keep moving on through it and hasn’t taken a step back.”

At 6 feet 6 and 220 pounds, Leinart is listed as an inch taller than Cassel, who also weighs 220. Their strengths differ greatly, though.

When asked to assess his understudies, Palmer said Cassel possesses greater arm strength and quickness, while Leinart’s greatest attribute is his accuracy.

“It’s a tough battle because they’re two real good quarterbacks,” Palmer said. “It’s going to take coach Chow a while to find out who’s going to be the next guy.”

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Leinart said his development has been accelerated by Chow’s simplified schemes, which have helped him pick up the offense quickly. Those same schemes last season helped North Carolina State freshman quarterback Philip Rivers set nine single-season school passing records.

“Everything is going smoothly,” Leinart said. “With Norm Chow leading the offense, it’s a quarterback-friendly offense. All you have to do is throw the ball.”

Leinart, moving rather awkwardly, struggled to complete a 40-yard crawl on his hands and feet along with other freshmen who were being punished for what Carroll described as “a little lapse in their attention.”

Carroll gave the freshmen a football earlier in the week and instructed them to guard it closely, symbolizing the act of limiting turnovers on the field. Leinart said the group forgot to monitor the ball at lunch Wednesday, and a senior snatched it. “We were kind of careless,” he said.

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Tests on junior guard Derek Graf disclosed a crack in his right tibia near the knee joint. Graf will require further tests to determine whether the injury will require surgery. The reserve is expected to miss at least a month.