One of the soft spots in recruiting with Caesar was his lust for big-name recruits and disdain for those who did not fit the profile he wanted at certain positions.
The prime example is Stanford tailback Toby Gerhart. USC’s baseball coaches begged Carroll to recruit Gerhart. But he was not from the cookie-cutter mold of tailback that Carroll wanted (such as Joe McKnight).
Then there was Oregon tailback LaMichael James. USC’s track coaches recruited James but Caesar did not show any interest despite the obvious speed of the tailback. He was only 5-9 (probably shorter) and plus he had the audacity to run track. Much like Gerhart had the temerity to also play baseball.
And that meant, no interest.