USC FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: BAKER WON'T LEAVE EARLY FOR NFL.

Byline: SCOTT WOLF Staff Writer

Memo to agents: USC offensive tackle Sam Baker said he will return for his senior season no matter what happens this year.

In an unusual statement for a USC junior, Baker said he will not entertain thoughts of turning pro early and will return for the 2007 season. It's an early victory for USC coach Pete Carroll, who could not convince Reggie Bush, LenDale White, Winston Justice, Darnell Bing or Fred Matua to return for their season years.

``My dream is to play in the NFL, but in another year, I could become a much better product for the NFL,'' Baker said. ``I'm going to stay in school.''

Baker said he considered obtaining an insurance policy for this season but ultimately decided against it.

``We checked into it but decided it was too expensive, plus I'm only a junior, so if I got hurt I could come back the following year,'' Baker said.

Baker is one of USC's top pro prospects and a preseason All-American. Junior defensive end Lawrence Jackson remains undecided on his plans after the season.

Mixing it up: Carroll is using a 3-4 defense at times as he tries to take advantage of the abundance of linebackers. In the new alignment, Jackson usually flips over to the other side and a linebacker, say sophomore Brian Cushing, basically becomes a defensive end.

``We're looking for the best combination of guys to play,'' Carroll said.

Since Carroll arrived at USC, the Trojans usually played a 4-3 defense.

Secondary shuffle: Freshman safeties Taylor Mays and Allen Bradford worked with the first-team defense for evaluation purposes, along with freshman cornerback Shareece Wright.

``They are talented enough, it's just experience and more turns that will make it happen for them,'' secondary coach Rocky Seto said. ``If they're good enough, we'll play them.''

Sophomore cornerback Cary Harris (Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks) worked ahead of presumed starter Kevin Thomas (Rio Mesa of Oxnard) during Friday's practice.

If USC played a nickel formation, Terrell Thomas, Harris and Kevin Thomas would probably be the three cornerbacks.

Terrell Thomas is fully recovered from last year's knee injury and will start at cornerback. He intercepted a John David Booty pass during Friday's practice.

``He's bigger and just as fast (as before the injury),'' Seto said.

New punter: Walk-on Greg Woidneck, who previously attended Arizona State, looked like the starting punter with a strong display in his practice debut.

``He made a real good statement for himself,'' Carroll said.

Catch of the day: Freshman wide receiver Vidal Hazelton made a one- handed grab that demonstrated why he was ranked the No. 2 receiving recruit in the country by most recruiting services.

Tofi update: Defensive tackle Travis Tofi said doctors believe he aggravated a stress fracture in his foot, although they were still waiting for results of a MRI.

Tofi's foot was placed in a protective boot Friday. Meanwhile, wide receiver Jamere Holland, who is out for the season, is officially listed as having a fractured collarbone. He will have surgery next week.

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