Baucham hoping to return soon

Brian Baucham, USC’s third cornerback before he was injured in a motorcycle accident this month, visited practice Monday and said he hoped to return to workouts in three or four weeks.

“I’ve been truly blessed to just be alive,” said Baucham, whose left foot and knee were wrapped in bandages. “I could be dead in a casket right now.”

Baucham was traveling from his family’s Torrance home to USC on the morning of Sept. 17 when the accident occurred on the northbound 110 Freeway.

Baucham said he was riding a Suzuki 900 when a car cut him off and he hit the pavement.

“I was conscious through the whole thing,” he said. “I had a helmet on -- that saved my life.”

Baucham was taken to the hospital where he was treated for second-degree burns and abrasions. He was released the same day.

Baucham’s is one of a series of situations that have thinned the cornerback corps.

Shareece Wright, a projected starter, was declared academically ineligible before the season.

Baucham was injured after the Ohio State game.

On Saturday against Washington State, Marshall Jones suffered a cracked vertebra in his neck and will sit out the rest of the season.

Coach Pete Carroll said Monday that freshman Byron Moore would move up the depth chart.

“This is the kind of thing, when you talk to guys about redshirting, why you don’t tell guys that they’re redshirted,” Carroll said. “You work through the process and you see what’s going on and you make your decision when the time comes.”

Moore, who played at Harbor City Narbonne High, said he was excited about the opportunity.

“I was pretty much set on redshirting, but stuff happens so you just go day by day,” he said.

Barkley fine

Quarterback Matt Barkley participated in the one-hour practice and shared snaps with Aaron Corp and Mitch Mustain.

Barkley passed for 247 yards and two touchdowns against Washington State despite a bone bruise in his right shoulder, an injury that forced him to sit out the Trojans’ Sept. 19 loss at Washington.

“He says he’s so much better than he was a week ago at this time,” Carroll said.

“It’s still tight. He still feels it. So we’ll make sure we don’t overthrow him early in the week.”

Corp remains No. 2 on the depth chart, Carroll said.

Quick hits

With Malcolm Smith and Jordan Campbell nursing ankle sprains, Shane Horton could start at weakside linebacker against California on Saturday, Carroll said. . . . Receiver Ronald Johnson, who suffered a broken collarbone during training camp, is no longer in a sling, Carroll said.

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gary.klein@latimes.com

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