Woods Leaves Team to Consider Future

Another day, another quarterback going, going . . .

Quincy Woods, looking at No. 3 quarterback at best, wasn’t at practice Tuesday after leaving USC’s team Monday night to consider his options--which include switching to receiver, transferring to a non-Division I school or watching sophomore Mike Van Raaphorst, freshman Carson Palmer and maybe freshman Jason Thomas all play ahead of him.

“Quincy needed a little time to sort out what he wants to do,” Coach Paul Hackett said. “I told him I was more than happy to give him 24 hours.”

A year ago, Woods and John Fox battled for the starting job, a position Fox won.

Now Fox is a tight end after realizing four days into camp he didn’t have a shot at No. 1, Woods is a non-entity--and Hackett has a starting quarterback who is a sophomore and two true freshmen as backups. And one of the freshmen, Thomas, has already had to be talked out of transferring once.

“I told Quincy that at this point he will not be in a position to compete for No. 1 or No. 2,” Hackett said. “He’s in his fourth year here and I felt it was important to let him know.

“I’m urging him to a move to wide receiver, but not forcing him.”

Woods, a junior who redshirted as a freshman, was a Parade All-American out of Rich East High in Park Forest, Ill., passing for 2,240 yards and rushing for 700 as a senior.

But he has appeared in only six games at USC, attempting 12 passes, and his option talents and ineffective passing are not a fit with Hackett’s variation of the West Coast offense.

“I told him to ‘veg.’ Isn’t that the term they use?” Hackett said. “Just ‘veg’ and relax and decide what he needs to to do.”

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Receiver R. Jay Soward was sent off the field during the afternoon practice by assistant coach Mike Wilson after a verbal confrontation.

“I just got mad,” said Soward, who talked to Wilson and Hackett after practice.

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Position changes: Redshirt freshman Eric Reese to cornerback from tailback and redshirt freshman Henry Wallace to linebacker from fullback. Freshman Miguel Fletcher was asked to consider corner. “Miguel fees very strongly he wants to remain a tailback,” Hackett said. . . . There are no USC practices today at UC Irvine.