SC NOTEBOOK: POLAMALU KEEPS MOVING.

Byline: Scott Wolf Staff Writer

If it's Wednesday, Troy Polamalu must be at a new position.

For the third time in three weeks, Polamalu has been switched, and it's even getting difficult for the freshman to figure out where he is playing.

``Yeah, it's very confusing,'' Polamalu said. ``I can't get comfortable anywhere at the moment. I might be nose guard next. They'll probably move me to offense after that.''

One week before USC played Hawaii, Polamalu changed from free safety to weakside linebacker. He had four tackles, a sack and a forced fumble against the Rainbow Warriors.

But this week Polamalu has pulled another switch, going to strongside linebacker, where he is backing up Sultan Abdul-Malik.

``It's a normal progression for top-notch players,'' USC coach Paul Hackett said.

Polamalu, who is 5-foot-10, 200 pounds, might be one of the smallest strongside linebackers in the Pac-10.

``Maybe the toughest too,'' Hackett said.

Added Polamalu: ``I'm in there with bigger guys. I just want what's best for the team.''

With Polamalu's move, Darryl Knight, who last month was fighting for a starting spot at weakside linebacker, has dropped to No. 3 strongside linebacker.

Strong hurt: Tailback Frank Strong aggravated his bruised knee and did not practice, leaving his status for the game in doubt. Strong was supposed to share the No. 2 tailback position with Sultan McCullough, because sophomore Malaefou MacKenzie is out with a sore hamstring.

``I'm afraid it's something that might be nagging,'' Hackett said. ``His knee was banged hard in practice. But they say he will be ready for the game.''

Stevenson nicked: Freshman wide receiver Steve Stevenson strained his arch in practice and was limping badly but said he hoped to be ready for the game.

``It's nothing real bad, I should be able to play,'' Stevenson said. ``I know my body. Hopefully by Friday, the pain won't be too bad.''

Rideaux rests: Cornerback Darrell Rideaux took Wednesday off but will return to practice today. Rideaux has a stress fracture in his back, but the injury is currently not considered serious.

It's similar to the injury tailback Chad Morton suffered against Florida State last year, which nagged him for several games.

Bring on a game: After a bye week, and nearly two weeks of practicing against each other, the Trojans are antsy to play a game, Hackett said.

There was a brief scuffle that drew Hackett's ire during practice.

``The bye, I don't want to say it backfired on us, but we're banging into each other more than necessary,'' Hackett said. ``We've only played one game and some teams have played three.''

Kicking makes grade: Hackett is finally happy with USC's kicking game, having David Newbury handle field goals and David Bell on kickoffs.

``What's going good is this kicking thing,'' Hackett said. ``It's going pretty well. . . . We have a chance to be a pretty respectable special-teams group.''

Bell is also handling the backup punting duties behind Mike MacGillivray.