No New Damage Is Found in Shoulder of USC’s Hance

USC quarterback Brandon Hance said Friday that an arthroscopic procedure on his surgically repaired right shoulder revealed no new damage and that he expects to be at full strength for training camp.

Hance had major surgery last May after transferring to USC from Purdue. He requested the arthroscopic follow-up procedure performed last week because of discomfort he experienced throughout spring practice, which concluded April 5.

“They found some loose cartilage floating around, and they said that’s what was causing most of the pain,” said Hance, who will be a junior next season. “They took care of that, so I should be able to start throwing in a couple of weeks.”

Hance, redshirt sophomore Matt Leinart, redshirt junior Matt Cassel and redshirt sophomore Billy Hart will resume competition to become the starter, though Leinart will begin training camp in August with a slight edge. John David Booty also plans to be in the mix after announcing Wednesday that he was forgoing his senior year of high school to enroll at USC this fall.

“It will be pretty tough [for Booty] to learn all that stuff in a short period of time as well as build relationships, but he sounds like a talented kid,” Hance said. “If he picks everything up and there doesn’t seem to be a problem, he would be in the hunt.”