Williams Documents Are Going to NCAA

For two years, Mike Williams relied on USC quarterbacks to get him the ball and on his skills to turn those opportunities into big plays.

Now, however, the ball -- and his future as a college football player -- are out of the All-American receiver’s hands.

USC, which opens its season Aug. 28 against Virginia Tech, will supply final academic information regarding Williams to the NCAA today or Tuesday, Coach Pete Carroll said Sunday. Carroll said the school hopes to receive a ruling on Williams’ status two or three days after the NCAA receives the information.

Williams, who caught 176 passes and scored 30 touchdowns the last two seasons, left school in February, announced he was turning pro and hired an agent -- thereby forgoing his final two seasons of eligibility. Williams made his decision after a U.S. district judge ruled that the NFL’s mandate that a player must be three years removed from high school to be eligible for the draft was a violation of antitrust law. That ruling was later overturned by an appeals court.

Williams severed professional ties with his agent, completed four-unit summer-session classes in geography and cinema, and has said that he has documented the return of all benefits he received from his agent and endorsement deals.

USC has petitioned the NCAA for a progress-toward-degree waiver and reinstatement of Williams’ eligibility -- separate requests that must both be granted for Williams to play college football again.

Williams practiced sporadically with the Trojans during the first week of training camp, but Carroll last week decided to keep Williams away until the NCAA rules on the case.

Kay Hawes, an NCAA spokeswoman, said last week that she could not comment specifically about the situation. But speaking generally about the processes followed by the NCAA’s Progress Toward Degree Committee and Student Athlete Reinstatement Committee, she said, “They are completely different bodies making completely different analyses of completely different information.”

Williams’ case, therefore, is two-pronged. Part of it involves Williams the student, the other involves Williams the athlete.

The NCAA could:

* Grant both the progress-toward-degree waiver and the reinstatement of eligibility requests, making Williams eligible for all or part of the season.

* Grant the progress-toward-degree waiver but deny the reinstatement request, making Williams permanently ineligible.

* Grant the reinstatement request but deny the progress toward degree waiver. In this case, USC could petition on Williams’ behalf for a future semester. Williams, however, would almost certainly leave school and prepare for the NFL draft.

* Deny both requests.

USC can appeal to NCAA appellate bodies if one or both requests are denied.

After a scrimmage Saturday, quarterback Matt Leinart acknowledged that he has had to start looking to others in key situations as the Trojans contemplate adjustments to an offense without Williams.

“I think it’s been a little adjustment because you know when Mike’s on the field he’s going to make a big play -- when Saturday came he stepped up and you knew he was going to play his A game.

“But I have a lot of confidence in all the other guys playing. Our backs are catching the ball well and our fullbacks are catching the ball well, so there’s a lot of weapons that maybe this year we’re going to have to utilize a lot more.... We’re going to have five or six guys catching a lot of balls.”

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The Trojans practiced Sunday night at the Coliseum to simulate game conditions for the opener and for other night games.... Fullback Lee Webb sat out because of a sore foot. Defensive lineman Shaun Cody and running back LenDale White returned to practice.