** Safety Kevin Ellison (knee) again was a partial participant in practice but said his right knee is responding much better than it did a week ago. Ellison, who has missed the past four games, said he will play Saturday.
“Definitely. I feel good and ready to go,” he said. “Last week after working it was real stiff and swelling a little bit. It was painful. It feels way better this week. For the most part, I don’t feel limited when I move full speed.”
Coach Pete Carroll was not ready to declare that Ellison will play but said he has a chance.
“He got through practice,” Carroll said. “We didn’t practice him a lot. At this point I’m guessing he could play.”
** Fullback Stanley Havili, who sprained both his ankles on the same play against Notre Dame, also was limited Thursday. Both he and Carroll said they expect him to play.
“The left one is still really stiff,” Havili said. “The right one is weak.”
** Running back Stafon Johnson (thigh) made it through all of Thursday’s practice while continuing to limp. He sat out Monday and Tuesday and said he was in too much pain to finish practice Wednesday. He is not expected to sit out Saturday.
“It hurts,” Johnson said of his right thigh, “but there are some things you got to go through.”
More from the USC blog:
- USC football: Sarkisian isn’t Washington coach … yet
- USC football: Sarkisian reportedly headed to Washington
- USC football poll: Is Norm Chow overrated?
- USC football: 5 reasons why UCLA will beat USC
- USC football: 5 reasons why USC will beat UCLA
- USC football: Sarkisian, Chow and UW
- USC football: What separates the Trojans from the Bruins
