Scholarships Help Walk-ons, School

It pays to be a good student at USC.

Especially if you are a walk-on football player.

Coach Pete Carroll acknowledged Thursday that several walk-ons were recently awarded scholarships not only for their selfless contributions on the field but also for their projected value to the program’s score on the NCAA’s annual Academic Progress Rate (APR) report.

“The awareness that’s been elevated because of all the attention about the NCAA stuff certainly has played a role,” Carroll said. “There’s a new emphasis for the guys to do better.”

The APR report, based on a survey of all NCAA-member institutions, is part of broad academic reform in which teams must satisfy minimum standards or face penalties that include eventual loss of scholarships and banishment from postseason play.

A preliminary report released in March was regarded as a trial run because the NCAA will not begin handing down sanctions until next year. Teams must reach an APR score of 925, which equates to a graduation rate of approximately 50%, to avoid penalties.

USC’s football team scored 910+. The plus sign indicated that with expected adjustments calculated by April, the score would be above the cutoff line.

In mid-August, junior fullback Mike Brittingham, senior tailback Andre Woodert and junior offensive lineman John Lanza were awarded scholarships. Last week, senior offensive lineman Ross Burruel and junior receiver John Zilka were similarly rewarded. All are doing well academically and are on track to graduate.

“Without hard work on the field, I don’t think I would have got one,” said Brittingham, who plays mainly on special teams. “But it definitely helps. It’s not hurting the cause.”

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Carroll and several coaches left immediately after Thursday’s practice so they could attend high school football games.

The Trojans will practice earlier than usual today and will be off Saturday, affording coaches more opportunities to attend high school and junior college games.

“It’s a huge opportunity for us,” Carroll said.

The Trojans also are off Sunday.

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Running back LenDale White (hamstring) practiced for the first time in three days but was limited to individual drills.... Defensive end Kyle Moore said results of an MRI exam of his knee revealed nothing more than a sprain and that he hoped to be ready to play against Arkansas.... Safety Darnell Bing (hip) did not practice for the third day in a row and Carroll said the junior would not work out until Monday.