WALDNER: Former Serra lineman Harris wakes up to his potential as a USC senior

As has been noted here, there and everywhere, USC has cornered the market on receivers who prepared for their college football experience at Serra High.

So it is that much has been written and said about sophomore Robert Woods and freshman buddies Marqise Lee and George Farmer.

How many fans, casual or otherwise, know a fourth Trojan is a former Serra Cavalier?

That would be defensive tackle DaJohn Harris.

"DaJohn is the original Serra guy," Woods said.

"DaJohn is doing what he has to do," Lee said.

What Harris is doing is playing a critical role in USC's 2-0 record.

"People probably pay attention to us because we're the young ones," Lee said.

Farmer turned 18 in July; Woods is almost 19 ; Lee turns 20 late in November. Harris, in his fifth year on campus, is four months short of his 23rd birthday.

"We all look up to him," Woods said. "He keeps us all in order. He's a great leader for us."

Harris is a leader of a defense that is shedding a recent reputation of folding in the fourth quarter. He is quietly becoming a leader of a team that is playing tough football after two seasons of earning a soft label.

Part of the problem for USC was former Trojan coach Pete Carroll's style. He pampered players who came to believe they were entitled on as well as off the field.

Harris, a fifth-year senior, had a medical problem during his first three years as a Trojan. That's why in practice after a play in which he looked as if he belonged in the NFL there would be reasons to question why he had a college scholarship.
The problem, doctors finally figured out, was sleep apnea, which left him without the energy required to play consistently at a high level.

He was treated, first with medication and a CPAP device, and then with surgery.

The 2011 view from the press box is Harris was USC's best defensive lineman against Minnesota, and he and fellow defensive tackle Christian Tupou had such a strong push against Utah that defensive end Nick Perry ran free often enough to create havoc.

Asked how he felt he played in the opener, he shrugged.

"You never know how you really played until you watch the film," he said.

Pass the popcorn.

"Hearing my name (called by the Coliseum public address announcer after USC stops) I feel like I played really well," he admitted.

He grinned.

"I can play better," he said.

Ed Orgeron, USC's defensive line coach, agrees.

"I think DaJohn's playing at about 70-80 percent," he said.

This was not a complaint. It was a hard-to-please teacher pointing to how much better his pupil can, and he expects will, become.

Harris was better, as was the entire USC defense, in the fourth quarter against Utah.

"We put our hats on," he said with pride.

Some critics were going tisk-tisk-tisk, and those were the polite ones, because USC needed to block a field goal with 00:00 on the clock to avoid the game going into overtime. Harris talked about how much fun it was.

"As weird as it might sound, I love nail-biters," he said. "When it's a nail-biter, you have the best against the best."

Returning to the discussion about the attention the young Serra grads receive, Harris said, "The other guys (the so-called skill players) get the glory, the D line and the O line, we just grind."

The only grinding Harris and associates are doing up front is on the opposition.

Harris did not bite when a television reporter tried to provoke him with USC coach Lane Kiffin's week-old statement about having only two great offensive players after outstanding statistical games turned in by Woods and quarterback Matt Barkley against Minnesota.

The young coach, try as he might to appear otherwise, lacks seasoning at the tender age of 36. He loses his compass at times. His statement quickly became coach throws darts, says all but two Trojans are chopped liver.

Harris was asked, "How many great players do you have?"

He did not hesitate.

"Countless," he said.

Without hesitation or blinking, it is safe to say Harris has come out of the Serra shadow to be counted on by USC.

Clearing out the notebook ...

Update: Former El Camino College tackle Miles Mason slid over to guard in the second half and cleared the way for former South Torrance High and Harbor College running back John White on his 1-yard touchdown run for Utah against USC.

Mason had a scholarship waiting for him at USC had he compiled enough credits to be a mid-year transfer during the 2010-11 school year. When that did not happen, he opted for Utah, where he was a late enrollee because he still needed the summer to round up enough credits to qualify for admission.

He missed the first two weeks of Utah's preseason camp, then practiced for two weeks before starting the opener against Montana State at tackle after being cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center and then practiced a third week before the USC game.

Based on his play Saturday, plus the fact ECC line coach Gene Engle called Mason the best offensive lineman at El Camino since former NFL player Derrick Deese, it's fair to assume the Trojans would be stronger with him in their lineup. ...

Local stuff: A proposal to name the West Torrance High football stadium "Fred Petersen Stadium" in memory of the former West head coach who died in August, is working its way through the Torrance School District pipeline. The dedication is expected to be Oct. 3.

Small world dept.: The Timberwolves were still conducting their search for a coach when Kevin Love, their star, was preparing for his over-hyped beach volleyball appearance in the Manhattan Beach Open.

Asked about the possibility Larry Brown could get the job, Love dead-panned, "That's intriguing."

Asked about the possibility Rick Adelman could get the job, Love grinned and said, "Well, I know his offense."

He learned the offense as a Portland fan when Adelman coached the Trail Blazers.

He also knows one of Adelman's sons, Patrick. They were teammates on the Lake Oswego High Lakers.