Sports Illustrated’s Austin Murphy delves into what seems to be a uniquely Trojan problem these days: the team practices so hard, and at full speed, that it often leads to key injuries early in the season (i.e. Patrick Turner, Matt Spanos, Joe McKnight). While the Trojan depth generally allows the coaching staff to compensate for such injuries, the loss of 3 fullbacks in 2006 virtually took away two positions in the USC offense - the fullback and the tight end. Jeff Byers sums up the Trojan philosophy:

How do you become great? You practice the way you play…It’s football. You hit people, you bang people every day. Guys are gonna get hurt. What has made this program so successful, I feel, is how we practice. You can’t change that just because you get guys banged up.

Casualties of the Trojan wars (Sports Illustrated)