Byers will play center for injured O’Dowd

With San Jose State finally on the horizon, the USC coaching staff is in the process of determining who will play where against the Spartans on Saturday.

The first order of business: setting the starting offensive line.

With junior center Kristofer O’Dowd out for the opener with a dislocated right kneecap, offensive line coach Pat Ruel has adjusted his five-man lineup.

Redshirt senior Jeff Byers will slide over to center from his usual spot at left guard; redshirt junior Butch Lewis, who started at right tackle last season, will take Byers’ spot.

“I think Coach Ruel’s trying to get his best guys on the field, and he sees Butch as the next guy in line,” Byers said after practice Tuesday. “Butch is smart and he understands how to play football.”

O’Dowd, named on the preseason Rimington Award Watch List, missed all of spring practice while recovering from shoulder surgery. While he was out, Byers practiced at center with a few players filling in at the guard spots.

“I think it was something that was kind of planned the whole time,” Byers said. “I don’t think, with the injury Kris had, that there’s any point in rushing him back.”

And while O’Dowd has served as the de facto leader of the offensive line for the last two seasons, calling out protections before every snap, linemen say it should be a seamless transition for Byers.

“Kris is gonna be there,” said senior Alex Parsons, who is slated to start at right guard after starting the final 10 games there last season. “He’s just not gonna be on the field with us. We’re still prepared and we’re still confident about Jeff making the right calls. It’s just another guy in there.”

Sophomore Tyron Smith is penciled in as the starter at right tackle, causing Lewis to move over to the guard spot. Other players likely to see time on the line include redshirt senior Nick Howell and redshirt junior Zack Heberer.

“I think that’s the great thing about having eight or nine guys that can play,” Byers said. “I don’t think we’re in a state of flux at all. Yeah, we’re missing a great guy who makes the team better, but at the same time, we aren’t taking a big step backwards.”

O’Dowd said on Monday that he hopes to be back for the Sept. 12 contest at Ohio State.

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It’s been four days since junior receiver Ronald Johnson broke his clavicle catching a 34-yard pass from true freshman quarterback Matt Barkley in Saturday’s mock game.

Since then, redshirt junior David Ausberry has taken his spot — and the spotlight that comes with it.

“It’s very unfortunate for him, but it’s an opportunity and I’m gonna do whatever I can with it,” Ausberry said. “We’re gonna be ready for whatever role we need filled.”

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound split end will fill the spot Johnson’s injury created, but the two are certainly different players.

“We’re receivers,” Ausberry said. “We both catch the ball. But he’s one of those guys that we put on the perimeter a little more. I’m more of a jump ball, go across the middle kind of guy.”

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Backup quarterback Aaron Corp, recovering from a cracked bone in his left fibula, said Tuesday that he has no plans to transfer.

Corp, a redshirt sophomore, had been named the starter in April, but lost the starting job to Barkley in recent weeks.

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Coach Pete Carroll announced that Devon Kennard and Jarvis Jones — both true freshmen — will receive playing time in Saturday’s opener. Carroll even brought up the possibility that Jones will rotate in for starting strongside linebacker and redshirt senior Michael Morgan in the first quarter.

Kennard is listed as the primary backup to junior Everson Griffen at one defensive end spot.