Coaches Peek Into the Future

With much of the offense -- including Matt Leinart -- in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony, top-ranked USC used its first practice of the postseason to scrutinize two underclassmen expected to battle in the spring for the vacated quarterback position.

John David Booty and Mark Sanchez got nearly all the snaps in a Saturday afternoon session.

“It just feels good to get out here and get a chance to compete,” Booty said.

Booty is a redshirt sophomore and Sanchez is a freshman.

“This is the time we check out some guys and move some people around and get a look into what spring football’s going to be like,” Coach Pete Carroll said.

The Trojans will practice today and twice more during the week before starting preparations in earnest for their matchup against No. 2 Texas in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4, Carroll said.

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The absence of Reggie Bush, who won the Heisman, and LenDale White, who went to New York to watch, meant the Trojans could experiment at tailback. And that meant safety Darnell Bing got a fair number of carries.

“This was just a fun little experience,” Bing said.

But with juniors Bush and White eligible for the NFL draft in April, Carroll told a slightly different story.

“We need to recruit a big running back and they’re hard to find,” he said. “If we needed to, he would be an option for us next year.”

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The entire coaching staff plans to fly to New York to celebrate with Bush at the Heisman banquet Monday night, Carroll said. In previous years, only a few coaches have gone.... Offensive lineman Chilo Rachal suffered a neck stinger and sat out the end of practice.... Linebacker Keith Rivers, nursing a hamstring injury, said he hopes to return to practice in a week.