McKnight will visit with an old friend

USC running back Joe McKnight will see a familiar face next week when the 11th-ranked Trojans travel to ninth-ranked Arizona State for their Thanksgiving Day game.

McKnight and Arizona State defensive lineman Jonathan English grew up in New Orleans and have been close friends since the fourth grade.

The two freshmen were teammates at John Curtis Christian School and lived with coach J.T. Curtis after Hurricane Katrina displaced their families in 2005.

Author Neal Thompson chronicled the team in the book “Hurricane Season.”

“It’s going to seem weird playing against him,” McKnight said after USC concluded its final off-week practice Thursday.

“But I’m looking forward to it.”

So is English.

“It’s just the same guy I’ve always known, but it’s going to be fun to see him in a different jersey,” English said by phone.

McKnight and English were displaced to different Louisiana cities after Katrina hit, McKnight to Shreveport and English to Alexandria.

English said he moved in with Curtis about a month later and McKnight followed a few weeks after. “It was nice to have a place to stay and be in New Orleans,” English said. “I tried to look at it in a positive way. My family was safe.”

McKnight and English remain close and talk regularly on the phone. Their mothers will travel together to Arizona.

After the game, McKnight will stay a few days to visit with English. “It should be fun,” he said.

Quarterback John David Booty, another Louisiana native, practiced more extensively after coaches kept him out the last three days to rest his right middle finger.

“I felt great throwing the ball,” Booty said. “This has been a good bye week and I’ll come back ready to go.” Booty said the open date allowed him to “really get on top of my school stuff.”

Booty is scheduled to graduate in December with a degree in sociology. He is taking classes this semester in linguistics, East Asian language and geography.

“I’ve had easier,” he said, chuckling.

Coach Pete Carroll on Oregon’s loss to Arizona and the difficulty of winning a conference title: “It’s hard to do this. You never know what’s going to happen. We just have to keep playing and approach it like a great championship opportunity.”

USC coaches dispersed after practice to various high school playoff games, the start of their first big recruiting weekend since the open date after the season opener against Idaho. Carroll said he would attend two games Thursday and that three assistants were heading out of state.

Offensive tackle Sam Baker continued to participate in limited drills and Carroll said he would be surprised if Baker did not play against Arizona State. . . . Linebacker Keith Rivers’ left ankle remained in a protective boot, but he might practice Sunday when the Trojans return from two days off.

gary.klein@latimes.com