SB Nation - Kristofer O'Dowd

Cal/USC features best NFL Draft talent of the weekend

Mocking Dan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:11:35 -0000

Following California's crushing defeat last week to Oregon, the Golden Bears' game has less importance in the world of college football.

However, the exact opposite is true for draft followers. That is evident when you consider that scouts from the Browns, Chiefs, Dolphins and Patriots will be in attendance. There will be great matchups and top prospects all over the field Saturday night.

As Chris Steuber of Scout.com pointed out, it's no coincidence that each of those teams run a 3-4 defense.

One of the main matchups they'll watch is between Cal defensive tackle Tyson Alualu against USC center Kristofer O'Dowd. Alualu, a senior, projects best as a 3-4 defensive end. He's strong but still agile inside and quick off the snap. He's a disruptive player with four sacks in 2009.

O'Dowd has been impressive after missing the first game of the season due to a dislocated knee cap. He can handle large interior defenders himself thanks to his pro-ready size. O'Dowd is better than any of the centers in last year's draft.

A badly sprained knee against Ohio State has slowed ultra-athletic USC safety Taylor Mays. He was unable to run laterally until just before last week's game against Washington State.

Although still not fully recovered, no game could help Mays' stock more than this one when he gets the task of tracking down Cal's Jahvid Best. Against the Bears he can show he can play disciplined football against the run.

The same can be said for Best proving himself. There are questions about how well he plays against superior competition. Best had the worst game of his career last season against the Trojans when he ran the ball 13 times for just 30 yards.

The stock for both Best and Mays could greatly fluctuate due to this game.

In the receiving game, no matchup is more intriguing than the possible one between Cal senior cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson and USC junior wide receiver Damian Williams. Neither of the talented playmakers have had a statement game this season and could do so here.

Should USC junior defensive end Everson Griffen go against California senior offensive tackle Mike Tepper, it could provide Griffen a great highlight reel. Griffen is stronger and faster than Tepper, who projects as a solid backup.

The Trojans' top offensive tackle, senior Charles Brown, could also have his hands full against Cal junior end Cameron Jordan.

Those are the top head-to-head battles, but each team has plenty of quality, draftable prospects.

For USC, have keep an eye on Anthony McCoy (TE), Josh Pinkard (S/CB), Jeff Byers (G), Michael Morgan (OLB), Joe McKnight (RB) and Stanley Havili (FB).

The talent for the Golden Bears might not be as great, but also watch out for Verran Tucker (WR), Devin Bishop (MLB), Kevin Riley (QB) and Darian Hagan (CB).

Previewing the season: USC Trojans

jtlight — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:42:25 -0000

More photos » AP

Matt Barkley is a microcosm of this USC football team. Incredibly talented but inexperienced. Will this team have the consistency to go undefeated? (AP Photo/University of Southern California)

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Another season, and USC starts right where they left off, at the top of the conference. As vulnerable as they may be this year, they are still the favorite to win the conference, and rightly so. The coaching staff has proven year after year that they can develop talent and they will no doubt contend nationally again this year.

This year, USC is coming to Autzen on Halloween night, which is sure to be quite the experience, especially if both teams live up to expectations up to that point in the season.

Oregon Offense vs. USC Defense

The last few seasons, the Oregon offense has struggled against USC. Even the prolific 2007 offense scored only 24 points and were actually outgained in the game. While some have attributed that to some sort of deficiency with the spread offense, the real culprit is the fact that over the past few years the USC defense has been sickeningly loaded with talent and experience. As Matt Hinton pointed out earlier this week, excluding Taylor Mays and Josh Pinkard as they are still playing at USC, every regular starter USC's defense over the past two years has been drafted, and nine of those players in the first two rounds.

The simply fact is, this type of talent will not be easy to replace, even for USC. And the across the board theme is inexperience. On the defensive line, they return tackle Christian Tupou, while having extremely talented ends in Nick Perry and Everson Griffen, though the knock on Griffen up this point in his career is that this talent has never been realized. At the linebacker spot, it's more of the same. The 2-deep has 8 "very highly touted" players, and the USC defensive coordinator has claimed this new unit is faster than last years dominant group. The only experienced unit is the USC secondary, which is led by Taylor Mays at safety and Josh Pinkard at cornerback. Mays is simply a physical freak that makes the entire unit better. Not only can he hit like TJ Ward, but has the speed to cover the entire field, which has helped makes USCs pass defense the best in the nation.

This will be a very good test for both the Oregon offense and the USC defense. Oregon's offensive line will hopefully have all its kinks worked out by the 8th game of the season, while USC will have to play very disciplined football to stop the Oregon offense. If Oregon's line does not get manhandled like it did in last year's game, then Oregon has a great shot to move the ball well.

Oregon Defense vs. USC Offense:

With all the hubbub over Aaron Corp vs. Matt Barkley, many seem to be forgetting the the strength of the USC offense is their offensive line, which is the best in the nation, and led by preseason all-americans Kristofer O'Dowd and Jeff Byers. The should be paving the way for the USC stable of running backs, which include Stafon Johnson, C.J. Gable, Joe McKnight, and fullback Stanly Havili. Meanwhile, whoever ends up under center will have a large amount of targets to pick from, including All Pac 10 WR Damian Williams.

At the QB position, my feeling is that Aaron Corp will end up taking the position. Matt Barkley has not seized his chance with Corp injured, and when he was around, Corp did not make mistakes, and with the talent on the line and at the skill positions, that could be all that USC will need.

The real question is, how will this unit respond in pressure situations? The knock on USC the past year years is that they never came through in those games they probably should have won. With some key inexperience as well as new coaches on offense, USC may struggle, but will like be just fine as they overcome their opponents with sheer talent.

Special Teams:

I really feel that this will be a wash. Both teams have talented returners, but at this point, the kicking games are solid but at this point, neither have reached that upper level. If Jackson Rice continues to impress, that could be a key advantage in this game

Conclusion:

USC is as vulnerable this year as they ever will be, and I think that Oregon and Cal will have a great chance to challenge them for the conference title. I believe USC will falter this year. I don't believe that they will be consistent enough on either side of the ball to get through it's schedule without a loss. And Oregon and Cal could be the teams to beat them. Let's not forget, the last team to beat USC when favored was Oregon in 2007.

But, USC is the favorite for a reason, and until either team can consistently challenge the Trojans, before the season, the chances are better for a loss than a win.

USC Football Evening Links

Paragon SC — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 02:00:13 -0000

A few things from earlier today...

Damian Williams has bruised quad - OCR
He will be fine...

Ayles Update - Inside USC with Scott Wolf
Hope the Kid is OK!

USC's Kristofer O'Dowd hopes to be ready by opener - Los Angeles Times
Here is hoping for the best!

USC Trojans - best offense in college football - Buster Sports
Good read!

Getting to know De’Von Flournoy - OCR
This kid is going to be a stud!

ESPN's Scott VanPelt on the Pac-10
Mostly USC and Oregon...

Here's hoping USC is ready to end sports scandals...
The DT can do better than this...

Robert Woods chooses USC
USC picks up a big commitment!!

San Jose State football News
Here is a brief look at SJSU

Running back Chris Polk glad he stayed at Washington | Seattle Times
Former USC recruit Chris Polk almost called it quits...Hmmmmm

USC's Kristofer O'Dowd out 3-4 weeks with a dislocated patella

Paragon SC — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:30:13 -0000

Kristofer O'Dowd was injured last night in USC's opening series during their scrimmage last night at the Coliseum.

Starting center Kristofer O'Dowd, regarded as a linchpin for an experienced line expected to ease the transition of a new quarterback, suffered a dislocated right kneecap during the first series of a scrimmage Monday night at the Coliseum.

O'Dowd, a junior coming off shoulder surgery, went down at the end of a mistake-prone first series on a running play that ended with Joe McKnight's fumble.

Senior Alex Parsons replaced O'Dowd, who is expected to be sidelined three to four weeks.

"We're fortunate that we have depth, but it's just a crusher that he got banged up like that," Coach Pete Carroll.

As a freshman in 2007, O'Dowd also dislocated his right kneecap in the fourth game against Washington and missed four games.

Yes, we have some depth but losing O'Dowd is tough. If we are to believe that he will only be out 4 weeks he could still miss the Ohio State game. That could hurt us tremendously. I would not be surprised though if he was on the field for that game.

We'll see...

This is the same injury he suffered in his freshman season.

This is what I wrote then...

Make no mistake this can be a serious injury. This is not as common as the ACL injury in athletes but an ACL injury must be ruled out and that can be done with a number of different tests. Surgery is not indicated unless the injury is recurrent and is usually a last resort.
Treatment for this injury obviously depends on how severe the injury is, but special care is taken to strengthen the Vastus Medialis of the Quad Muscle structure. This muscle helps to place a medial pull on the patella, reducing the lateral, dislocating force.

Here is a little anatomy and physiology from the Athletic Advisor:

The Dislocated Patella(Click Here for an MRI of a dislocated patella)
The patella (knee cap) is a sesamoid bone. A sesamoid bone is one that is encased in tendon or ligament. The patella is located inside the quadriceps tendon. The patella acts as a fulcrum to increase the strength of the quad muscle. It is held in place by the quadriceps tendon above, the patellar tendon below, and very thin ligaments on either side. The patello-femoral joint is formed by the patella and trochlear groove of the femur.
Due to the twisting nature of sports, the patella can dislocate (come out of joint) with an awkward twist of the femur (thigh) on the tibia (shin). A twisting motion causes the patella to shift to the side. Usually, the patella moves laterally (to the outside). This occurs because the quadriceps muscle contracts to maintain the stability of the body. The shin has shifted so that the line of pull of the quads causes the patella to shift laterally. The patella is pulled laterally because it wants to remain in line with the muscle.

The patella can dislocate more easily in some people than others. Individuals with a greater "Q-angle" are at a greater risk for patellar dislocations. The "Q-angle" is formed by envisioning a circle around the patella, the line of pull of the quad muscle forms the tail of the "Q." If the tail of the "Q" is more than 25 degrees off of the center of the quad-patella-patellar tendon line of pull, it is considered an abnormally high "Q-angle."

This places the patella at a greater risk to slide off of the femur. The quad-patella-patellar tendon mechanism wants to form a straight line when the quad muscle contracts, due to this, the patella is pulled laterally. This places a person with a high "Q-angle" at a greater risk for patellar dislocations.

Another risk factor for patellar dislocations is a malformed patella or trochlear groove (the groove located between the two heads of the femur) . The back side of the patella should have a peak, like an inverted mountain top. The trochlear groove should look like the valley between mountains. If either the mountain or the groove are not large enough, the patella is more prone to dislocate.

This is demonstrated by the x-ray. The back side of the patella is flat. This accounts for the sideward lean of the patella. This patella is prone to dislocate and is partially dislocated or subluxed in the x-ray. X-rays are necessary to rule a fracture of the patella. In some cases the mountain peak of the patella will be "knocked off" when it impacts with the femur. This piece of bone can cause severe damage to the joint if it is not properly addressed.

The retinaculum is the band of connective tissue that attaches to the medial and lateral structures of the knee joint, including the patella and patellar tendon. In a patellar dislocation this is either stretched or torn. Most surgeons I have discussed this with pretty much agree that this is usually a tear and not a stretch of the retinaculum. The amount of stress placed upon the tissues during this injury usually result in a some sort of a tear.

I am not surprised that he had a recurrence of this injury. With as hard as these guys play this is one of those injuries that can happen repeatedly as more stress is placed on the joint.

I have faith that Parsons will step up but lets not kid ourselves, losing O'Dowd could have some major implications.

So how did you spend your summer...Kris O'Dowd

Paragon SC — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:30:10 -0000

Here is a nice write-up on USC center Kris O'Dowd...

Center Kristofer O'Dowd is the anchor of one of America's most dominant offensive lines.

But this summer, he also became one of the anchors of a revolutionary elementary school outreach program.
As part of his Writing 340 class this summer, O'Dowd and a few of his USC classmates created a free online summer school website for elementary schools in the cash-strapped L.A. Unified School District. O'Dowd, a third-year starter for the Trojans, ran the language arts program for kindergartners through second-graders on SOSClassroom.org, producing online content to help the kids through a summer that has seen all L.A. schools drop summer classes for financial reasons.
O'Dowd and his classmates worked with teacher Mark Marino of Hancock Park Elementary School to create the unique website and then speak to the school's students on July 24.

Just another example of USC players giving back to the community. Especially when it comes to young kids.

Conquest Chronicles Links for July 2nd

Paragon SC — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:45:55 -0000

Just throwing a few things out there today. More later...

Scout.com: 2010 Draft Spotlight: An "aMaysing" One
Great Write-up on Taylor Mays

USC's Mays and O'Dowd also earn Playboy All-American honors - Pac-10 - ESPN

Greg Hansen Sunday Notebook : USC, O'Neill a good fit | www.azstarnet.com ®
Some positive thought on Kevin O'Neill

Fault USC for the negative perception of the Big 10 " The Trojan Empire

Pac-10 commish Hansen opens up as he steps down - Pac-10 - ESPN
Meh...Miller seems mesmerized by Hansen. But he has shown us this before.

Jets Rookie QB Sanchez Feels He’ll be the Opening Day Starter " NFL Gridiron Gab
The Mark Sanchez-Kellen Clemens Jets QB battle that is set for training camp is expected to be one of the better QB battles to watch this summer.

BULLS: Bulls introduce James Johnson and Taj Gibson