Chow Still In the Mix

Norm Chow, USC’s offensive coordinator, said last week that he was intent on remaining with the Trojans and helping Pete Carroll win a national championship.

But the Trojans’ success and Chow’s work with Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Carson Palmer has kept him on the list of several athletic directors seeking head coaches.

On Thursday, after the Trojans’ first full-squad practice for their Jan. 2 Orange Bowl game against Iowa, Chow said he met with Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart on the West Coast last Sunday.

“I have not heard one word since,” Chow said. “Obviously, they aren’t too interested in me. I’m trying to focus on Iowa.”

Kentucky is seeking a replacement for Guy Morriss, who guided the Wildcats to a 7-5 record before resigning to become coach at Baylor. The Wildcats were not bowl eligible because of NCAA sanctions and will be on probation for two more seasons with scholarship reductions.

New Orleans Saint assistant Mike Riley, who was hired by Barnhart at Oregon State, California Coach Jeff Tedford and West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez also have been contacted by Kentucky.

Barnhart has said that he wanted a coach in place by Christmas and that it would not be unreasonable for the coach to earn a salary similar to basketball Coach Tubby Smith, about $1.5 million.

Chow also is expected to be sought by Louisville, which lost John L. Smith to Michigan State on Thursday.

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USC posted signs forbidding autograph seekers from approaching players on their way to and from Howard Jones Field, but about dozen staked out a spot across the street.

Palmer and his family were escorted to Heritage Hall by three security officers after practice.

“There’s a lot of people tugging on him right now,” Carroll said. “He needs to just be with us and finish this thing off right.

“We’ll take good care of him and make sure he’s not distracted by stuff from the outside. We just want to make it a normal preparation -- as normal as you can make it when you’re the Heisman Trophy guy.”

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Senior middle linebacker Mike Pollard took virtually every repetition because his backup, freshman Oscar Lua, is scheduled to have knee surgery on Tuesday.

“I’m getting all I can right now,” Pollard said.

Carroll had said that fullback Lee Webb might return to linebacker and back up Pollard, but the more probable scenarios include moving weakside linebacker Melvin Simmons to the middle and replacing him with Bobby Otani. Or, strongside linebacker Matt Grootegoed could play in the middle or on the weakside with freshman Dallas Sartz taking his place.

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Kevin Arbet and Ronald Nunn, who were projected as the Trojans’ starting cornerbacks, each took another step in their rehabilitation.

Arbet, who had foot surgery at the end of training camp, took part in several coverage drills. Nunn ran a series of 25 sprints for the first time since having season-ending knee surgery after the third game against Kansas State. Nunn has had three operations on his right knee.