In the News

The Trojans had a bevy of official visitors this weekend; including Tyron Smith, Chris Polk, Armond Armstead, Drew McAllister, Wes Horton and UCLA commitment Derrick Coleman.

One player who is no stranger to the Southern California campus is Elk Grove (CA.) Pleasant Grove HS defensive lineman Armond Armstead. This was not Armstead’s first trip to USC, but his official visit gave him a chance to see aspects of the program he was previously unavailable to.

“It was cool,” Armond said of his trip. “We went to the practices, ate and went out at night. I thought it was fun, the practices were pretty tempo.”

“Mondo” has only seen one other school practice, and immediately noticed the difference between the two programs and their approach on the practice field.

“They (USC) were the first practices I went to,” he said. “The practices were definitely more active, and it was a lot less sitting around than Cal’s practices were.”

The majority of visitors in this weekend are current USC commitments, and Armstead got a chance to hang out with a few future teammates.

“I spent time with all the commit’s a lot,” he commented. “It was me, Wes, Tyron, Drew, Derrick Coleman and Chris Polk.”

Coleman is not currently committed to USC, in fact he is committed to the Bruins, something Armstead was not to sure of.

“Derrick Coleman was cool,” he said. “I think he actually de-committed from UCLA, or at least that’s what it sounded like he was saying.”

The defensive line drills at USC are some of the most competitive during practice, something Armond has already become familiar with.

“I watched my position,“ he said. “I noticed a lot of the stuff they did at camps over the summer they were doing out there.”

The official visitors were also taken to the USC men’s basketball tea’s exhibition game against Fresno Pacific, one they lost handily.

“We went to the basketball game,” he said. “It was cool besides the fact they got ran.”

Christian Tupou, a native of northern California was Armstead’s host, and the two seemed to get along rather well.

“My host was Christian,” said Armstead. “He was cool, I just was hanging out with him. He’s a real laid back guy.”

While on campus, Armstead had the chance to speak to current commitment and wavering mind Chris Polk.

“He’s (Chris Polk) probably going to USC,” said “Mondo.” “But I think his parents are trying to do something different. He’s done in a few weeks, so I think he’s coming.”

Armond was accompanied by his parents, who enjoyed themselves as well.

“I thought it was classy,” said Guss Armstead, Armond’s father. “We really got a chance to get a lot of the information about the way they operate. Basically having a good perception for how they see Armond fitting in and academics, we basically got a glimpse into what life at USC is like.”

Along with the current commitments getting to hang out, a lot of the parents hit it off as well.

“I was talking to Tyron’s dad a lot,“ Guss said. “We were talking about Tyron coming out and working out with Armond and talking about the future and going to the games and traveling on the road with the boys.”

The “Trojan Family” does not only extend to the commitments and current players, something Guss had the opportunity to realize first hand.

“Everybody was real cool,” he said. “It made you feel like you were part of a family already. Mike Garrett gave us a lot of information, and they covered all the bases.”

Fresh off an in-home visit with the coaching staff last week, Guss had a chance to speak with coach Carroll a bit more.

“Coach Carroll really has a lot passion for the program,” Guss noticed. “Its easy to see why they’re so successful. We got to talk to coach Holt and he gave us a real good idea of where Armond will be fitting in and how they plan to use him.”

Armond even spoke with a few current Trojans, who had a little bit of advice for his freshman year.

“Sedrick Ellis and Lo Jack were talking to him to,“ Guss said. “They were telling him if he comes in and works hard, he has a very good opportunity to make an impact early.”