Holt Receives Offer From Idaho

Nick Holt, USC’s linebackers coach, was offered the head coaching job at Idaho on Wednesday and is expected to announce he has accepted the position some time after the Trojans’ regular-season finale against Oregon State on Saturday.

“We’re still talking it over with my family,” Holt said Wednesday night. “I’m not going to do anything until after the weekend.”

Holt, 41, would not discuss details of the offer, but he would earn about $200,000 a year as coach of the Vandals. Idaho finished 3-9 this season under Tom Cable, whose contract was not renewed.

Holt was an assistant coach at Idaho from 1990-97 and was defensive coordinator his last four seasons there. He was defensive line coach at Louisville for three seasons before joining the USC staff in January 2001.

USC, second in the bowl championship series standings, has clinched a berth in the Rose Bowl but is hoping to earn a berth in the BCS title game in the Sugar Bowl.

Idaho officials have said they would accommodate a new coach’s request to remain with his former team and coach in a bowl game.

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USC linebacker Matt Grootegoed, who sat out the last four games because of an ankle injury, will play in the regular-season finale against Oregon State, Coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday.

“Barring any stumble in the shower or something like that, we’re in good shape,” Carroll said.

Grootegoed, selected first-team All-Pacific 10 Conference in 2002, returned to practice Tuesday.

Grootegoed, a junior, originally sustained the injury Oct. 11 against Stanford. He played a few plays the following week against Notre Dame but sat out games against Washington and Washington State.

He practiced one day during the bye week before USC’s Nov. 15 game at Arizona but aggravated the injury and sat out victories against the Wildcats and UCLA.

Grootegoed participated in some of the workout Tuesday and nearly the entire practice Wednesday.

“I still feel a little pain, but it feels a lot better,” said Grootegoed, who this week was voted second-team All-Pac-10 despite playing in fewer than three conference games. “I’ll be ready to play.”

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USC will honor the late Ricky Bell at Saturday’s game.

Bell, who rushed for 3,689 yards in his career, was an All-American tailback in 1975 and ’76. He was chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the first pick in the 1977 NFL draft.

Bell died of heart disease in 1984.

The first 30,000 fans at Saturday’s game will receive trading cards honoring Bell.