Marqise Lee Returns to USC Practice

Despite being projected to finish behind the Oregon Ducks, Stanford Cardinal and UCLA Bruins in the Pac-12 Conference this season, the USC Trojans are still hoping to contend for a BCS bowl bid this season. Of course, they’ll need their best player – Heisman hopeful Marqise Lee – to have any chance to get there.

USC fans everywhere uttered a collective gasp when Lee went down with what appeared to be a potentially serious shoulder injury last week, but fortunately for them and for bettors pinning their hopes and their hard-earned cash on the Trojans, Lee returned to practice just four days later on Wednesday.

According to ESPN.com, Lee participated – albeit sparingly – in both of the team’s practice sessions, one of which he wore pads for. Although the work load was limited – and rightly so – the team was certainly thrilled to see Lee back in action with the season just a couple of weeks away.

Not only were the Trojans happy to have their best player back at work, they were also likely relieved to have one less injury to worry about, as they currently have 23 players who are unavailable for contact drills due to injury.

Now, USC just has to hope that Lee’s bone bruise isn’t nagging and that it doesn’t return at a crucial moment or game this season. If Lee were to miss time, the Trojans would be without their best offensive weapon and would certainly be at a massive disadvantage against many Pac-12 foes.

However, for now it looks like there isn’t much to worry about. As long as coach Lane Kiffin and his staff are smart, they’ll limit his practice time and reach the opening game kickoff with a 100-percent healthy Biletnikoff Award winner.

Though even with Lee all season, don’t expect the Trojans to be a real threat to win the Pac-12 title. They’ll be competitive and most likely bowl-bound, but with so many talented squads coming out of the West this year, USC’s projected fourth-to-fifth place Pac-12 finish seems about right.