An Improving Arbet to Start in Secondary

Senior cornerback Kevin Arbet, who was hampered by a hamstring injury during the first few weeks of the season, is expected to start on Saturday in top-ranked USC’s Pacific 10 Conference opener at Stanford.

Arbet worked almost exclusively with the first-unit defense on Thursday in place of senior Ronald Nunn.

“This is the best I’ve felt in a couple years,” said Arbet, a sixth-year senior who sat out most of the last two seasons because of foot injuries. “I can’t wait to just seize the opportunity.”

In another move in the secondary, Darnell Bing regained his spot as the starting strong safety after playing as a reserve against Colorado State and Brigham Young because of a shoulder injury.

Manuel Wright started at tackle against BYU, but Coach Pete Carroll said redshirt freshman Lawrence Jackson would start at defensive end and senior Shaun Cody would return to tackle against Stanford.

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Tailback LenDale White (ankle) practiced and will play against Stanford.... Sophomore quarterback John David Booty will not be among the 64 players who will travel to Stanford. Booty said tests Wednesday on his injured right elbow showed no major damage, but doctors told him there was still inflammation from a bruised ulnar nerve and that his arm was at about 60% of its normal strength. Carroll said a decision about Booty and possible redshirt status would not be made until before the Oct. 9 game against California.... Walk-on quarterback Michael McDonald, who was arrested in May on misdemeanor drunk driving charges, was sentenced to three years of informal probation, fined and had his license suspended for one year, according to a court official at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.