Considering that he hasn’t said much since becoming USC coach, and just about everything he said or did at Tennessee caused a ruckus, it’s amazing that this flew relatively under the radar last week:
Lane Kiffin suggested there’s a deep-down difference between players who want to play for USC and those who prefer UCLA.
The difference is so obvious, Kiffin said, that it takes almost no time for him and his staff to recognize it.
“We know within the first 10 minutes,” Kiffin said, “whether they’re the type of guys that want to play here or there.”
Whoa! Them’s fightin’ words!
So what exactly is the difference?
Kiffin said it had a lot to do with “the questions that they ask,” the way the recruits carry themselves and a certain “feeling” he gets about them from having worked this area so long.
For example, in discussing his new group of defensive backs, Kiffin said: “One of the things I like is not one of these guys asked about a depth chart or who was here or how much can I play or worried about being able to beat people out. Those are the guys that we want to come to ‘SC. Everyone was like that, but especially this group.”



