UCLA football: Bruins may get offensive line help from transfer Albert Cid

UCLA has reached into the community college ranks again in an effort to shore up its offensive line.

Citrus College’s Albert Cid has committed to the Bruins, Owls Coach Ron Ponciano said. Cid, who is 6 feet 3, 325 pounds, has three years of eligibility remaining.

However, Cid still needs to complete his degree at Citrus to be admitted into UCLA so he can participate in training camp in August.

UCLA had two starters on its offensive line who were community college transfers last season, center Ryan Taylor and guard Eddie Williams. The Bruins’ line was a concern during spring practice after tackle Jeff Baca suffered a broken ankle.

RELATED:

Football: Morrell Presley, Courtney Viney to transfer

Basketball: Dan Guerrero reverses decision on student seating

-- Chris Foster

USC football: Receiver Brice Butler will remain with Trojans

Brice Butler, a USC receiver who did not participate in spring practice and contemplated transferring, will remain with the Trojans, the school announced Monday.

"We are pleased with Brice's decision to continue his development as a student-athlete at USC," Coach Lane Kiffin said.

Butler, a fourth-year junior from Georgia, caught nine passes for 112 yards and a touchdown last season.

Butler's father Bobby, a former NFL player, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in January that Kiffin did not give his son a fair chance.

Butler's absence from spring practice cost him a chance to work with new receivers coach Ted Gilmore. It also gave senior Brandon Carswell and sophomores Markeith Ambles and De'Von Flournoy a chance to compete for the starting spot opposite sophomore Robert Woods.

Butler will now compete for playing time with that group as well as redshirt freshman Kyle Prater and incoming freshmen George Farmer, Victor Blackwell and Marqise Lee.

RELATED:

Three Trojans selected in a row during NFL draft

Final spring scrimmage is a showcase for defense and running game

--Gary Klein

Photo: USC receiver Brice Butler makes a reception in front of Arizona State's Brandon Magee during a Pac-10 game at the Coliseum last season. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

UCLA football: Morrell Presley, Courtney Viney to transfer

UCLA tight end Morrell Presley and cornerback Courtney Viney will transfer, according to a source in the program that was not authorized to speak on the subject.

Presley was considered a coup when he committed to UCLA. Bruins’ Coach Rick Neuheisel went head-to-head with USC’s Pete Carroll and was able to lure him to Westwood. But Presley, ranked the top tight end in the nation by some scouting services, did not develop and became mired in off-the-field troubles.

Presley was suspended for a game after violating an unspecified team rule his freshman season. He was academically ineligible for the EagleBank Bowl that season. Last season, he was suspended one game after testing positive in a drug test, according to sources in the program.

In two seasons, Presley had 11 receptions for 63 yards. He will have two years of eligibility, plus a redshirt year, remaining.

Viney, as a fifth-year a senior, will be eligible to play immediately.

ALSO:

Pac-10 reportedly has new TV deal with Fox and ESPN

USC football: Nine Trojans selected in NFL draft

-- Chris Foster

Photo: UCLA Football players, left to right, Courtney Viney and Morrell Presley. Credit: Don Liebig/UCLA

Pac-12 secures television rights for 12 years

As reported Wednesday in the Los Angeles Times,  the soon-to-be Pacific 12 (the conference officially grows by two schools with the addition of Colorado and Utah July 1), signed a 12-year, $3-billion television deal with Fox and ESPN, the largest in college conference history, to begin in 2012-2013.

Fox will have the rights to 22 regular-season Pac-12 football games annually; six Pac-12 football championship games (in the even years of the contract in prime time); 22 men's regular-season basketball games; and three men's basketball tournaments (in the even years beginning in 2014). A minimum of eight regular-season football games will be broadcast on over-the-air Fox Sports, at least four of those in prime time. The other 14 games will be on FX, which is available in 99 million homes.

ESPN will get at least 80 Pac-12 events each year, including 22 football games, and will have the football championship game in the odd-numbered years. There will also be a new Saturday 7:30 p.m. PT weekly football game.

USC football: Game at Colorado moved to Friday night, Nov. 4

USC’s Pacific 12 Conference football game at Colorado has been moved from Saturday, Nov. 5, to Friday, Nov. 4, the conference and ESPN announced Monday. Kickoff will be at 6 p.m. PDT.

The game will be televised on ESPN2.

It will be USC’s first Friday game since defeating Louisiana Tech, 45-19, on Nov. 26, 1999, at the Coliseum. The Trojans' 1990 Kickoff Classic game against Syracuse also was played on a Friday. In the 1950s and 1960s, USC  played occasional Friday night games in the Coliseum when the school shared the venue with UCLA, a USC official said.

Colorado said in a release that school officials requested the game be considered for Friday instead of the standard Thursday window ESPN utilizes for Pac-12 games. The school also requested a delay in the kickoff to 7 p.m. MDT.

“I believe this game will provide us another opportunity to highlight our beautiful campus and its many achievements,” Colorado Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano said in a statement. “These rare weeknight games provide a spotlight on CU-Boulder for a national audience, and create a sense of community across the campus.”

Colorado has played Friday home games against Nebraska in every odd-numbered year since 1997, all on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

“This will be a great opportunity to showcase our entire program and the university,” Colorado Athletic Director Mike Bohn said in a statement. “It was a great atmosphere three years ago for the West Virginia game, and I am appreciative of the cooperation from the Boulder campus to make this happen.”

RELATED:

Final spring scrimmage is a showcase for defense, running game

Photos: USC's final spring scrimmage

Three Trojans drafted in a row

--Gary Klein

USC football: Nine Trojans selected in NFL draft

USC closed fast in the three-day NFL draft.

Six players were selected Saturday in rounds four through seven, giving USC a total of nine draft picks.

On Thursday, offensive tackle Tyron Smith was chosen with the ninth pick by the Dallas Cowboys.

On Friday, defensive tackle Jurrell Casey and cornerback Shareece Wright were third-round picks by the Tennessee Titans and San Diego Chargers, respectively.

The Cleveland Browns drafted tight end Jordan Cameron in the fourth round Saturday. Receiver Ronald Johnson went to the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round and tailback Allen Bradford was chosen five picks later by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On consecutive picks in the seventh round fullback Stanley Havili went to the Philadelphia Eagles, receiver David Ausberry was selected by the Oakland Raiders and linebacker Malcolm Smith was taken by the Seattle Seahawks and former USC coach Pete Carroll.

RELATED:

NFL draft featured wise decisions and baffling picks

UCLA's Ayers and Moore selected in second round

NFL draft first-round selections

--Gary Klein

Photo: USC defensive tackle Jurrell Casey participates in a drill at the NFL scouting combine. Credit: Brian Spurlock / US Presswire

USC football: Lane Kiffin releases end-of-spring depth chart

Last year, when USC Coach Lane Kiffin released a depth chart before the Trojans’ final spring scrimmage, he said, "It really doesn't mean very much" because some returning players were injured and could not be evaluated.

Last week, Kiffin declined to release a depth chart until after Saturday’s final scrimmage, noting, “It doesn’t mean anything.”

The depth chart was finally posted Monday.

Here’s the two-deep heading into fall, when several freshmen are expected to compete for spots (click on thread to see the chart):

USC football: Matt Barkley gives fans a quarterback's point-of-view experience

USC quarterback Matt Barkley was outfitted with a camera on his helmet during the Trojans' practice and scrimmage at the Coliseum last weekend.

The intent by FoxSportsWest.com was to give fans a point-of-view experience as Barkley commanded the huddle and ran plays.

The result can be seen here.

Barkley is the second USC player to wear a camera during practice. Receiver Robert Woods had one on his chest during a workout.

The Woods experiment was interesting, but Barkley's helmet-cam captured images that were easier to view and had video-game qualities.

RELATED:

Coliseum will feature 6,000-square-foot video board

First look at Trojans' 2011-12 nonconference basketball schedule

-- Gary Klein

Photo: Southern California Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley (7) at spring practice at Howard Jones Field. Credit: Kirby Lee / US Presswire

USC football: Coliseum will feature 6,000-square-foot video board

Construction of a 6,000-square-foot video board at the Coliseum is scheduled to be completed during the upcoming football season, the USC website reported Monday.

The screen, which will be at the west end of the stadium, will measure 150 feet wide and 40 feet tall.

Several college football stadiums have been outfitted with giant screens, perhaps most notably Texas' so-called Godzillatron.

Last season, USC played at Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium, which also features a huge video board.

-- Gary Klein

ALSO:

Matt Barkley, Robert Woods becoming foundation of USC's offense

For former USC coach Peter Daland, about to turn 90, life is going swimmingly

Photo: Allen Bradford completes a 56-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., in September. Credit: David Joles / Minneapolis Star Tribune / MCT

 

UCLA football: Quarterback Kevin Prince cleared to do more work in spring

UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince has been cleared to increase his participation in spring practice.

Prince underwent knee surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee and also had a microfracture procedure to stimulate the growth of new cartilage in October.

Prince was limited to individual passing drills but was cleared to run laterally by his doctor. That will allow him to participate in seven-on-seven drills. He will still be held out of all contact drills.

Richard Brehaut, Brett Hundley and Nick Crissman are the only scholarship quarterbacks participating in spring practice. Darius Bell is out following shoulder surgery.

A decision on the starting quarterback is expected to be made in August. Prince was the No. 1 quarterback heading into the 2010 season but started five games before being sidelined with the knee injury. Brehaut replaced him.

ALSO:

Sports Arena to be primary home venue for UCLA's 2011-12 season

Bruins lose tackle Jeff Baca indefinitely

-- Chris Foster

Photo: UCLA Bruins quarterback Kevin Prince (14) walks off the field after losing to the USC Trojans 28-7 in a Pac-10 NCAA football game Nov. 28, 2009 at the Coliseum. Credit: Alex Gallardo / Los Angeles Times

USC Football: Marc Tyler returns and weighs in on his conditioning

USC tailback Marc Tyler completed a full practice Thursday for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury on the first day of spring workouts.

But Tyler, a fifth-year senior, acknowledged that he was too heavy.

“Shoot, that’s the only problem right now,” Tyler said of his weight.

Tyler said he weighed 232 pounds, about 15 more than he did during a breakout 2010 season when he emerged as the Trojans’ starter and rushed for a team-high 913 yards and nine touchdowns.

Tyler had initially blamed inadequate stretching for his injury. But after meeting with running backs coach Kennedy Pola, he said he regretted comments that were called inaccurate by Coach Lane Kiffin.

Tyler said his weight was the result of “the Christmas break, having no bowl game; that was a long break,” which caused him to give in to fast-food urges.

“By the summer and the season I want to be probably about the same [weight] as last year,” he said.

More later at latimes.com/sports.

RELATED:

USC and Tennessee Titans settle lawsuit over Kennedy Pola hiring

Scout.com ranks Trojans commit Arik Armstead top nationwide player in class of 2012

-- Gary Klein

Photo: USC's Marc Tyler runs into the end zone in front of the Arizona St. defense in the 2nd quarter at the Coliseum November 6, 2010. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times