Although John David Booty (fractured finger) could have participated in Wednesday’s full practice session, he didn’t; coaches held him out of half of the session. The good news for Booty is that he did not experience any swelling in his second day since returning to action, and he once again proved that he could throw while wearing a protective glove. However, the coaches strongly hinted that Mark Sanchez will get his second start at quarterback on Saturday in South Bend, and reinforced those hints by giving Sanchez all of the first-team snaps on Wednesday. Here’s what else emerged from USC’s Wednesday practice:

• DE Kyle Moore returned to practice after his knee injury was diagnosed as a bruise and nothing more.
• OG Chilo Rachal did not return to practice as expected; while his injured knee seems better, his calf is now giving him problems. Coaches indicated that both Rachal and OT Sam Baker (hamstring) would make the trip to South Bend, although it still seems unlikely that either will play barring an emergency situation. Butch Lewis and Alatini Malu will start at LT and RG, respectively.
• Some good news on the offensive line front: Thomas Herring was able to return to practice on Wednesday, giving the team another body to serve as a backup. Herring, however, is nowhere near 100%, as he is still suffering from a sprained ankle.
• CB Shareece Wright made it through part of practice until his injured hamstring tightened up again; he is still expected to play on Saturday, however. Fellow corner Terrell Thomas (hamstring) was unable to practice for the third straight day, and Mozique McCurtis took his place with the first-string defense. Thomas hopes to practice on Thursday.
• RB Stafon Johnson is still suffering pain in his injured foot and did not look good in the few drills that he was able to join on Wednesday, and barring a dramatic improvement in the next few days, seems less and less likely to play on Saturday. Fellow tailback Broderick Green (foot), however, was able to participate in contact drills for the first time since his surgery. For now, Green is practicing with the scout team only.
• LB Rey Maualuga showed considerable improvement after receiving an injection for his painful hip injury, and while he’s not 100% and hasn’t practiced all week, he now seems to have a bit of a chance to play against Notre Dame.
• Because of all the injuries, the Trojans expect to bring an unusually large traveling squad of 80 or more players to Notre Dame.

Insider: Recoveries sound better than they look (Rivals, $)
Wednesday Practice Report (WeAreSC, $)
It’s beginning to look a lot like Sanchez (Scout)
Sanchez takes all first-unit snaps (LA Times)
Davis needed to block more? (OC Register)
Booty deserves shot at comeback (OC Register)
USC midseason: Uphill fight (OC Register)
USC’s Tyler wanted Clausen to start for Notre Dame (Daily News)
USC, Carroll struggling to overcome injuries, high expectations (Daily News)