USC NOTEBOOK: NEW ASSIGNMENT FOR SETO.

Byline: Scott Wolf  Staff Writer

There's been no announcement, but it has become a foregone conclusion around USC that linebackers coach Rocky Seto will switch to the defensive line, replacing new Mississippi coach Ed Orgeron.

``I'm considering it,'' USC coach Pete Carroll said. ``It's a possibility. I haven't decided anything yet.''

The switch would allow Carroll to make graduate assistant Ken Norton a full-time coach. Carroll does not want to lose Norton, and Norton said he would prefer to be a full-time coach.

``Those thoughts are there,'' Norton said. ``Those options will be there after the Orange Bowl, but I don't want to get distracted from the game. That's the most important thing.''

Norton said Orgeron spoke to him about the Rebels' staff.

``He mentioned it to me, but I'm not a Mississippi guy,'' Norton said.

If the change occurs, it would be Seto's second position switch in three years. He coached safeties two years ago and moved to linebackers this season.

--Welcome back: Former USC assistant Shawn Slocum attended practice and said he would be an assistant at Mississippi.

``I'll be coaching linebackers in some capacity,'' he said.

Slocum was at USC in 1998-99, and his dad, R.C., was a USC assistant under John Robinson.

``I have some great memories here,'' he said.

It appears special teams coordinator Dennis Slutak will remain with the Trojans and not follow Orgeron to Mississippi.

--NFL update: USC quarterback Matt Leinart said he hasn't submitted paperwork to the NFL to gauge his draft stock but is aware he needs to make a decision after the Orange Bowl.

``I realize it comes up fast after the bowl game,'' he said. ``I can't really talk about it.''

Leinart received his Heisman Trophy on Monday. USC's copy will arrive later.

--Ellis scare: Defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis was carted off the field at the end of practice with a bruised knee.

``It hurt pretty bad,'' Ellis said. ``But I'll be OK.''

Guard Jeff Byers said he might have a cartilage tear in his hip, and Carroll said Byers could be replaced by John Drake in the starting lineup.

``I feel I can go,'' Byers said. ``It's a shame. It's no fun to be hurt. Especially for the Orange Bowl. You feel like you're letting people down.''

Byers said his hip started hurting about midway through the second quarter of the UCLA game.

Drake was USC's starter until he sprained his ankle against Washington State in mid-October and lost the job to Byers.

``I knew when I started feeling better, I would start contributing,'' Drake said. ``Definitely, I think I can start.''

--Team barbecue: The Trojans took buses to Malibu after practice Tuesday for a barbecue. Guests included former Trojans players Ronnie Lott, Lynn Swann and Al Cowlings.

--No respect for Leinart: Oklahoma defensive end Larry Birdine said Leinart was overrated and not worthy of winning the Heisman Trophy.

``He's definitely overrated,'' Birdine said. ``Like I said, he's a good quarterback, but he's not a Heisman-winning quarterback.

``I feel like they're, I'd say, a one-and-a-half-man team. I want to respect them just because I have to play them, but then I watch them on tape and everything, and I realize that they're an average team.

``Matt Leinart, he's the Heisman Trophy winner, but he hasn't been driving them - or he hasn't been winning games. Up till the last four or five games, Reggie Bush has been their difference-maker. We feel like if we take Reggie out of the game, we're gonna win.''