Struggling MacKenzie Going Home

After two difficult months, tailback Malaefou MacKenzie has taken a leave of absence from the team, and school, to spend the winter at home in Western Samoa.

MacKenzie was already struggling with a knee injury suffered in training camp when his father died last month. After the funeral, he returned to USC only to re-injure the knee on his first day back.

“He’s just not ready to take on school,” Coach Pete Carroll said. “It’s unfortunate so many things have happened to him and piled up on him.”

The fifth-year senior struggled with the decision to leave, quarterback Carson Palmer said.

“It was a big decision but it was the right decision,” Palmer said. “He needs to be at home with his family and get his head right.”

With the ability to run and catch, MacKenzie was expected to play a big role in USC’s new spread offense. Now, because he used a medical redshirt season after tearing ligaments in his left knee in 1998, he must petition the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility.

It is not commonly granted, but former USC basketball player Jarvis Turner played a sixth year. Either way, Carroll said MacKenzie hopes to return to school in the spring.

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Tuesday marked outside linebacker Matt Grootegoed’s first day of full-contact practice in weeks and the redshirt freshman announced his return with a big hit on tailback Justin Fargas. Soon after, Carroll pronounced him the probable starter for Saturday’s game against Arizona State at the Coliseum.

The defense needed some good news with so many players on the sideline. Chris Prosser, who replaced Grootegoed the last two weeks, was still recovering from a slight concussion and did not practice. Safety Antuan Simmons rested his mildly sprained left ankle. Defensive linemen Ryan Nielsen and Bobby DeMars continued to sit out, though both will try to return today.

With Bernard Riley out for the season, Nielsen could be asked to shift to nose tackle. If he cannot make it back, Carroll might turn to freshman Mike Patterson, who saw limited action against Washington.

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USC coaches reiterated that center Lenny Vandermade, a freshman All-American last season, was replaced by Norm Katnik against Washington because he did not perform well the previous week. Plans to rotate Vandermade into the game were scrapped when the Trojans came out running successfully.

Even Katnik, who is Vandermade’s roommate, was surprised. “I was asking him why he didn’t play,” Katnik said “He didn’t know. He was frustrated.”