USC NOTEBOOK: ASSISTANT COACHES SHOUT IT OUT IN PRACTICE.

Byline: Scott Wolf Staff Writer

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Tempers flared on USC's practice field Thursday, but this time the culprit wasn't offensive lineman Fred Matua or any other Trojans player in a routine scuffle.

Instead, wide receivers coach Lane Kiffin yelled at offensive coordinator Norm Chow during the workout, in an incident that drew the attention of several observers at Nova Southeastern University, where the Trojans are conducting Orange Bowl workouts.

Neither commented on the incident afterward and practice quickly resumed to its normal pace. It was reminiscent of an incident during the Paul Hackett era, when assistants Steve Greatwood and Ed Orgeron became involved in an argument during training camp at UC Irvine.

--No Chow: New Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross said he would not hire Chow as the Orangemen's new coach.

``It's not going to happen, I wouldn't ask him to come,'' Gross said. ``I wouldn't take him away from USC.

--Oklahoma ties: USC cornerback Ronald Nunn is playing for his fourth national championship in the past five years, but it's a feat almost matched by Oklahoma linebacker Lance Mitchell.

That's because Nunn and Mitchell were teammates at City College of San Francisco, where they won two junior college titles and went 24-0. Nunn said Mitchell wanted to attend USC, but enrolled at Oklahoma because the Sooners allowed him to enroll for spring practice.

USC made Mitchell wait because of academic issues.

``He was pretty close. He wanted to come but he couldn't get into school until the fall,'' Nunn said. ``He wanted to participate in spring practice. I talked to him last night and we reminisced about our old City College of San Francisco days.''

Nunn has lost just three games in his five-year college career; Mitchell has lost four. That CCSF team also featured New York Giants safety Gibril Wilson, who nearly came to USC, but instead attended Tennessee.

``I was the only guy willing to wait to come in the fall,'' Nunn said. ``Everyone else wanted to go in the spring.''

Nunn also knows Oklahoma safety Chijioke Onyenegecha, who played at CCSF.

--Ankle update: LenDale White continues to be more optimistic than Pete Carroll about his sprained ankle.

``I'm about 85-90 percent,'' said White, who was held out of contact Thursday to avoid further damage. ``Coach Carroll looks at the worst outlook possible. I'm going to get in his ear and let him know I'm ready to go.''

He then joked, ``But if I get caught from behind in the game, it's because of my ankle.''