Friday was an eventful day for the Trojans football team, with Broderick Green being cleared to play by the NCAA, Sam Baker’s return to practice, Joe Adams’ commitment, and the evening’s annual Salute to Troy barbecue which formally introduced the players to 3,500 of the Trojan faithful.  Read on for details of the day’s football-related events in our latest practice roundup.

Who looked good

• Pete Carroll continued to rave about Stafon Johnson’s camp performance, declaring that the sophomore tailback will definitely be playing this season and telling Rivals, “He’s really difficult to tackle and he’s got great sense and great balance. He runs tough and holds onto the ball real well.”
• Overachieving freshman Ronald Johnson, who had aspired to be a two-way player at SC, realized the difficulty in playing corner and receiver and that he’s too important to the team as a deep threat, so he’ll be focusing on offense only, according to Scott Wolf.  Johnson will likely also get an opportunity to return kicks.
• Linebackers coach Ken Norton praised senior Keith Rivers to the Orange County Register: “He’s willing to sacrifice to be good. He’s willing to do film study. He’s willing to take care of his body. He’s willing to not go out at night if it’s during the season,” Norton said. “He understands what it takes.”

Injuries and problems

• After surviving almost all of fall camp and over 400 passes without throwing a pick, J.D. Booty threw at least two interceptions on Friday to first-team corners Terrell Thomas and Josh Pinkard during drills. (Rivals is reporting three total take-aways, while Wolf puts the number at two.)
• Though still uncomfortable, LT Sam Baker returned to practice Friday after taking a few days off to give his cracked rib a chance to heal. Carroll predicted soreness for the senior All-American but said that he can’t hurt himself anymore by playing with the injury. RT Charles Brown returned after sitting out of Wednesday’s scrimmage with back spasms.
• The thinning tailback corps received the encouraging word that both C.J. Gable and Allen Bradford are expected to return to practicing full-speed on Monday after running light drills on Friday. A Monday return would likely enable both to play against Idaho next Saturday.
• WR Travon Patterson, recovering from a dislocated toe, ran light drills for the first time in over a week. Senior linebackers Rivers (groin) and Thomas Williams (ankle) also returned to practice.

Also of note

• Josh Pinkard played mostly first-team cornerback Friday after having seemingly found a home at safety during Wednesday’s scrimmage.
• Fall camp adversaries Everson Griffen and Kyle Moore alternated at the first-team defensive end position opposite Lawrence Jackson on Friday according to Rivals.
• After being the butt of jokes and teasing that he weighed as much as 260 pounds during camp, Broderick Green set the record straight Friday, telling reporters he arrived in Los Angeles at 245 and now weighs 234 pounds.

Friday Insider: Green joins the mix (Rivals, $)
Trojans’ Johnson sticks to receiver (Long Beach Press-Telegram)
USC’s Shark attack (Orange County Register)