Corp avoids any big mistakes

With nine starters returning on offense, the competition to become USC’s starting quarterback probably won’t be determined by who makes the most plays.

It could come down to who makes the fewest mistakes.

Sophomore Aaron Corp arguably took an early lead Tuesday by avoiding what befell junior Mitch Mustain and freshman Matt Barkley: interceptions.

Meanwhile, Corp emerged unscathed in the turnover department as the Trojans completed the second of their 15 workouts.

“There’s room to improve, but overall I think I did pretty good,” Corp said.

On a day when senior Garrett Green was relegated to work at receiver and special teams, Barkley and Mustain shined at times but struggled at others and tried to shake off their mistakes.

Sophomore safety Drew McAllister intercepted a pass by Barkley during a five-on-five drill and another during the full-team scrimmage period.

Barkley said he needed to “just get used to throwing to the backs and let them make plays as opposed to trying to force throws when I kind of see a window but it’s not definitely open.”

Mustain was victimized early by several dropped passes and receivers who slipped. Safety Will Harris intercepted a pass by Mustain that was thrown toward the right sideline.

“It’s part of it,” Mustain said of the interception. “Just a simple mistake.”

Coach Pete Carroll again refrained from identifying a leader in the battle to replace Mark Sanchez, who passed up his senior year to enter the NFL draft and met Tuesday night with representatives from the Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars.

“It really isn’t a day-to-day evaluation to assess who’s where and what’s up,” Carroll said. “We need hundreds of plays here, which we’ll get by the time we’re done, and we’ll see where it fits.”

Green will apparently continue to be on the outside looking in.

“Until we get some turns and get us going I want to keep it in a three-guy rotation,” Carroll said.

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Quick hits

Tight end Anthony McCoy and defensive end Everson Griffen practiced after missing the Trojans’ initial workout because of disciplinary action taken as result of academic and absenteeism issues. . . . More than 100 NFL coaches and scouting personnel are expected to attend the Trojans’ pro-day workout today. The event is closed to the public.

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