As it turns out, Aaron Corp‘s knee might be the least of Southern Cal’s injury worries.
Kristopher O’Dowd, an All-American candidate at center and widely considered the lynchpin of the Trojans offensive line, suffered a dislocated kneecap during the first series of USC’s scrimmage last night.
“I’m disappointed as can be about Kris getting hurt,” head coach Pete Carroll said. “We’re fortunate that we have depth, but it’s just a crusher that he got banged up like that.”
The early prognosis is that O’Dowd will miss at least 3-4 weeks. As a freshman, the same injury knocked the All-Pac 10 lineman out for four weeks.
Whether it was a coincidence or not, quarterback Matt Barkley struggled more so than he’s had throughout the entire camp.
The true freshman finished the scrimmage going 5 of 19 for 109 yards, although he didn’t throw an interception during his work with the first-team offense. Carroll didn’t seem the least bit concerned over Barkley’s bump in the road.
“I liked the way he hung in there,” Carroll said. “This defense is capable of covering people like that."We felt like he needed to be in a difficult situation to bring him along.”
While Barkley struggled, Mitch Mustain continued to shine, albeit against the second-team defense.
The Arkansas transfer completed 10 of 15 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Corp is continuing his return from a slightly cracked fibula. Corp, who missed the last week of practice, is able to jog but not run, and an X--ray scheduled for yesterday was postponed until today.
