First two recruits under Carroll

New USC football coach Pete Carroll announced the acquisition of two recruits Monday:Frank Candela and Trevor Lancaster.

Candela, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound tailback/wide receiver/returner from Peabody, Mass. was supposed to attend Washington right out of high school, but chose to sign with the Milwaukee Brewers instead. After a four-year stint in the minor leagues, the 22-year-old freshman signed with USC and attended school on Monday.

"Frank is an outstanding, well-rounded athlete," said Carroll. "He excelled in football in high school and then in baseball these past few years. He'll certainly be one of the more interesting stories in college football. We see him as competing for our punt returner and kickoff returner jobs, as well as being a combination running back and wide receiver."

In high school, the then-senior Candela earned a wealth of awards, including a USA Today All-USA honorable mention. He rushed for over 1,700 yards and had 28 touchdowns that year.

Lancaster, a 6-foot, 180-pound kicker, from Bakersfield JC made all of his PAT attempts and made 12-of-17 field goal attempts, earning him a J.C. Grid-Wire All-American honorable mention last season.

"Trevor had the strongest leg we saw in junior college," said Carroll. "He was accurate and consistently put his kickoffs into the endzone. He'll compete right way for our placekicking job."

USC's special teams was a glaring problem last season and the Trojans are in dire need of a consistent kicker. Then-senior placekicker David Bell, the only bright spot on special teams, will graduate this year. His backup, sophomore John Wall, is out with a torn ACL and might redshirt next season, the Daily News reported last Friday.

That leaves senior David Newbury as the other placekicker but he hasn't seen action since the first half of last season, before Wall replaced him in the second half of the season.

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Fargas to come to USC

For those who remember former Notre Dame High tailback, Justin Fargas, running, hurdling and even backflipping over helpless defenders in high school, it will feel like the return of the prodigal son.

According to several sources, Fargas is set to announce his transfer to USC as early as today.

"I spoke to him on Friday," said Kevin Rooney, Fargas' high school coach. "He's going to try to get into USC, but first he needs to get a few things taken care of as far as grades go and registering for classes. It might take him a few days, but he plans to attend USC."

Fargas, who asked for and was granted his release from his Michigan scholarship in December, met with USC coach Pete Carroll last Friday and was impressed with what he saw.

Fargas, a redshirt sophomore, decided to transfer at the end of the season because he was frustrated by his lack of playing time at Michigan.

Before breaking his leg two years ago, Fargas was on track to be a tremendous running back for the Wolverines.

He ran for 120 yards in the pouring rain against Northwestern but soon after, suffered multiple fractures of his leg in a game against Wisconsin. The injury, as well as various complications with the surgery, set Fargas back and nearly ended his career.

After missing the 1999 season due to rehabilitation, Fargas returned to action this season and found himself buried in the depth chart behind tailbacks Anthony Thomas and freshman Chris Perry.

Fargas was so eager to get back on the field that he asked to be switched to safety after Michigan lost to UCLA on Sept. 16. Even then, Fargas didn't play that much because he switched over to defense midseason.

While Fargas will return to the backfield at USC he must first sit out the 2001 season as a transfer, which will leave him with only one season of eligibility remaining. Fargas, however, plans to petition the NCAA for a sixth season because of his injuries.

Fargas was one of the most widely recruited high school players in the nation. In his high school career, he rushed for 6,334 yards and 82 touchdowns. Fargas accounted for 5,765 yards and 73 touchdowns during his junior and senior years alone.

Fargas was leaning towards joining theTrojans out of high school, but reconsidered when John Robinson was fired.