ESPN College Football

LOS ANGELES -- It's about as rare as an empty seat in The Big Horseshoe.

What ... a logical move by the BCS folks? Please. A Nebraska fan who heard about the hiring of Bill Callahan and said "Ah, now I see why it took so long?" Nope. How 'bout a UT fan who sizes up the Horns matchup against OU and believes "Well, at least we got the edge in coaching." Um, no.

College football's great anomaly is a true freshman starting on the O-line. But don't bet against Jeff Byers. The incoming USC freshman has a chance -- a pretty good chance -- to become the first Trojan offensive lineman to start the opener since Travis Claridge did so back in 1996.

In his prep career at Colorado's Loveland High School, Byers not only dominated as a center, he also made 200 tackles (51 for negative yardage), 13 sacks and forced 13 fumbles. Last week he was honored as the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year in football. (Dwight Howard, who was the first overall pick in the NBA draft -- took home the overall boys award.) Recruiting analysts touted Byers as the best center to come out of high school in two decades. "Jeff does things on a football field you're not sure were possible until you see him do it," says Loveland coach John Poovey.

And after eight weeks at USC, the rock-solid Fort Collins-native has already impressed some of his new USC teammates.

"He has the right attitude," says QB Matt Leinart. "A lot of freshmen don't know what it's really like to work hard and he's setting a good example and we need that. We need guys to step up." Especially since the Trojans only return one starter up front.

Linebacker Matt Grootegoed says from observing Byers in workouts, he wouldn't be surprised at all if the kid starts the Trojans first game. "He's already so strong and mature," says Grootegoed.

Byers admits that is his goal. Although that doesn't necessarily mean he has to start at center. USC O-line coach Tim Davis' rule is that he starts his best five linemen, meaning even if Byers doesn't overtake center Ryan Kalil, who is coming off an impressive spring, the true freshman still could get the call to open up when the Trojans meet Virginia Tech Aug. 28.

The 6-foot-4, 295-pounder (he's up almost five pounds since coming west) says he appreciates the praise and the honors he received from his prep days, but realizes those types of things mean little once the Trojans start fall camp. "Right now I've got a clean slate, meaning I'm a big nobody," he says.

Maybe so, but Trojan fans should be excited to know he is a very big and imposing nobody at least.

Random notes

Despite a 10-3 record last season, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen stewed about his team's lax work ethic at times. This summer, Friedgen's staff is much more excited about this squad thanks in large part to the leadership efforts in the weight room of center Kyle Schmitt. The 6-4, 295-pound senior who, despite playing in the shadow of all-American OG candidate CJ Brooks, actually graded out as the Terps top O-lineman in '03.

One of new Texas D-coordinator Greg Robinson's missions this spring was to develop LB Derrick Johnson into the nation's best defensive player. "He coached him harder than anyone on the field and Derrick really responded," said Mack Brown. Motivated by a tape of his 15 worst plays Robinson put together, Johnson has been among the first players in the weight room every day this summer.

Rutgers continues to make waves in recruiting circles. In July, the Scarlet Knights not only beat Miami for one of the nation's top O-linemen, New Jersey's Brian Roche, but they also had a contingent of South Florida blue chippers attend their summer camp. Among them: the country's top RB Antone Smith, LB Elijah Hodge and five players from powerful Miami Edison High, including the Chancellor brothers Demerick and Chris. The key, RU coaches realize, is making a bowl game this season.

For years Boise State has racked gaudy numbers thanks to a slick offensive scheme and some unheralded players. This summer, the Broncos landed possibly the most touted QB prospect in school history when Kyle Seevers, a 6-6 gunslinger with 4.6 speed, picked Boise over Nebraska and BYU. As a junior Seevers completed 65 percent of his passes to go with a 27-5 TD-INT ratio.

Rookie Arizona coach Mike Stoops has made a great first impression and his timing coming to the desert is ideal. Scouts say this is a very good year for prep football in Arizona. Better still, four of the top five prospects (OT Daniel Borg, TB Terry Longbons, RB Xavier Smith and WR Chris MaGaha) are high on the 'Cats. The only downside is that Ekom Udofia, considered by many the nation's top DT, isn't. The 6-1, 290-pounder is considering USC, Miami, Oklahoma and Stanford, where his brother and sister went.

David Bruton, a lanky 6-2 safety with a 3.4 GPA from Miamisburg, OH, played the summer camp game to perfection. Bruton -- a late bloomer who had eight interceptions and three blocked field goals last season -- finished his junior year with offers from Wisconsin, Duke, UConn, Miami (Ohio) and Cincinnati, but wanted to expand his options. So he sat down with his parents and coach Tim Lewis and mapped out a game plan of which midwestern schools he could hit for one-day camp auditions.

The plan -- rigorous, but not too uncommon these days -- was to go to six (Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Michigan State and Pittsburgh) camps. Bruton's first stop was June 14 at Purdue, where he worked out some of the kinks (re: camp jitters) and ran a respectable if not great 4.6 forty. But the next week, at Michigan, he took home a "Smokehouse" award for the fastest player at his position, clocking a 4.41. That set Bruton's confidence soaring for his visit to ND, his dream school, where he impressed Ty Willingham enough to get an offer from the Irish. He accepted, becoming ND's first verbal of the recruiting season.

A quick cautionary note about laughing at your rival's misfortune. Beware the ugly triangle of bad news that hit Florida's Big Three this offseason: UF fans mock Miami for Willie Williams and then star LB Channing Crowder goes off and gets arrested. FSU fans mock them and then starting OL Bob Meeks supposedly attacks a cop. UM fans laugh at that and then their best player, a son of the chief of police no less, allegedly gets involved in a similar type deal. Must be a karma thing. Oh, and if you think it's a Florida thing, don't because if you do, chances are your star linebacker probably will find his name in the police blotter next week.

One last bit from USC. LenDale White, coming off an eye-popping rookie season where he ran for 728 yards and 13 TDs, appears ready to sidestep any sophomore jinx. White reports that he has shed about 10 pounds since last winter (down to 233) and does look a bit leaner. The reason? "I was a Del Taco, Wendy's kind a guy," he says. "Basically, if you see it on Figueroa (the main drag near the USC campus), I was there. It used to be almost an everyday thing, but now it's once a week. Instead, I'm eating a lot of salads."

Bruce Feldman is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. His first book Cane Mutiny: How the Miami Hurricanes Overturned the Football Establishment comes out in the fall of 2004. He can be reached at bruce.feldman@espn3.com.