Carroll Looks for Maturity

It was a quiet confidence that enveloped Howard Jones Field when camp officially broke Thursday morning and USC, ranked eighth in the country, made its way to Heritage Hall to prepare for its afternoon charter flight to the Deep South for Saturday’s season opener.

Certainly it was a different scene from the raucous one that had played out when the Trojans finished two-a-day workouts a week earlier. Maybe it was because they fully realized the task at hand and what lay in wait at sixth-ranked Auburn.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how your team operates once you get to this level of seriousness,” Coach Pete Carroll said. “I’m anxious to watch the guys ... and we’re going to coach up the young guys along the way on how to handle themselves and how loud to talk and how much respect to show and all of that.”

Carroll also is interested in seeing how a pair of freshmen react on the field.

“Steve Smith and Darnell [Bing] are going to have to perform like veterans if we’re going to be where we want to be. That’s a lot to ask.”

Both, though, said they were up to the challenge.

“It’s a little bit of pressure out there,” said Bing, a redshirt freshman who will start at strong safety after sitting out last year while getting his academics in order. “But I figure that me and Steve Smith should be able to handle it because we’ve got older guys ... helping us out there, teaching us whenever we need help. It’s like a big family. They support us.”

Smith, a true freshman flanker listed second on the depth chart, said that sophomore split end Mike Williams had acted as a tough-love mentor.

“Mike gets on me every day,” Smith said. “He just tells me, ‘Stay focused, don’t look into the crowd, keep a level head.’ ”

And Carroll looking at him to contribute so soon?

“I try to just take it as a positive,” he said, “and just run with it that he’s looking for big things and I’m trying to produce.”

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Junior linebacker Matt Grootegoed, who had missed drills during the week because of back soreness, practiced Thursday and said he was fit to play.

“Oh, yeah, I’m ready. No question about it,” he said. “A big game like this, nothing’s going to hold me out of it.”

With Auburn’s diverse stable of running backs, Grootegoed figures to be heavily involved as the Trojans’ strong side linebacker.

“That’s what you play football for, to tackle these guys,” he said. “I’m excited about it, especially with the group they have.”

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Senior left tackle Jacob Rogers, who has an injured left foot, did not practice, but Carroll said that was merely to rest him.