The Trojans practiced again at Carson’s Home Depot Center on Friday and Saturday, and now are off for a short Christmas break before returning to campus for their final week of Rose Bowl preparations on Wednesday. Here are the latest developments:

• LB Brian Cushing suffered a painful knee bruise in Friday’s practice after colliding with a teammate, but surprised teammates by returning to practice on Saturday.
• The status of the other injured Trojans hasn’t changed: OL Chilo Rachal (knee), RB Chauncey Washington (hip), and WR Patrick Turner (quadriceps) did not participate in any of the weekend practices, but are expected to return to action on Wednesday. And it is looking like LB Keith Rivers (ankle) won’t be anywhere close to 100% in time for the Rose Bowl, but he is still expected to participate.
• While Washington has been out, Stafon Johnson has taken most of the first-team reps in his place, and appears to have regained the form that he showed before a late-September foot injury that slowed him for the remainder of the season. Joe McKnight should also see increased field time against Illinois.
• Freshman RB Marc Tyler continues to impress during practice, and has been performing admirably in the role of Illini tailback Rashard Mendenhall (who has a similar running style) on the service team.
• Several of USC’s draft-eligible juniors–including linebacker Rey Maualuga and safety Kevin Ellison–are expected to ask the NFL for an evaluation of where they might go in the draft, although most (if not all) of those juniors are expected to return to school next year.
• One player, at least, has been thinking about the more distant future. OL Sam Baker told the OC Register that he hopes to become a coach when his playing career is done.

Friday practice from Home Depot Center (Scout, $)
Saturday practice from Home Depot Center (Scout, $)
Insider: Bowl prep revisited (Rivals, $)
Cushing is banged up again (LA Times)
Players will see what NFL thinks (LA Times)
USC’s Baker thinking beyond NFL (OC Register)
USC’s McKnight could have expanded role (Daily News)