Floridian eyes the west

There is no doubt that USC Trojan head coach Pete Carroll has built an amazing program and is currently guiding his programs through one of the truly great runs in college football history.

One of the reasons is the culture of competition that has been created at USC. It is that exact culture that attracts many of the nation's top players to USC.

When you consider yourself one of the nation's best the challenge that USC presents gets your competitive juices going.

That us why cornerback T.J. Bryant (6-0, 175, 4.4) from Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln is fascinated about the idea of playing for USC and maybe somewhere in the Pac 10.

"The reason T.J. likes the Pac 10 is he wants to go against some of the nation's top wide receivers," Lincoln assistant coach Tony Collins said. "One of the reasons he likes USC is he will get to practice against the best.

"T.J. has told Pete Carroll that he wants to practice against Patrick Turner, Vidal Hazelton and he even wants a piece of Joe McKnight.

Bryant has offers from everyone in the Pac 10 except Stanford and UCLA. Lincoln has sent players in the past to Oregon and other western schools so it is not out of the question that USC or another Pac 10 school will be the lucky school that signs him.

Bryant is also a top-notch track athlete and could be recruited in that sport as well. He came in second at the state meet in the 330-HH as a sophomore. That would be impressive in any state but when you consider that the state is Florida, a state known for speed, makes that achievement even more impressive.

"T.J. is special," Collins said. "He's a combination of all the great ones we have ever had.

"T.J. is athletic and can cover like Antonio Cromartie who now plays for the San Diego Chargers. He's a great tackler Pat Watkins who is the starting free safety for the Dallas Cowboys.

"He is fast like Ryan Gilliam who signed with Oregon out of high school and recorded the freshman record for speed there. Gilliam is now at South Florida. T.J. is a big time hitter, like Greg Threatt who is playing the Miami Hurricanes.

"T.J. is only 16 and he won't turn 18 until the second month of his freshman season in college.

"Another thing about T.J is likes to practice and wants to take all the reps," Collins said. "That is another reason why he likes USC. He likes what he hears about their practices."

Besides Pac 10 schools that have offer Bryant, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Clemson, Florida State, Miami and Notre Dame are a sampling of the schools that have offered the talented corner from the Sunshine State.