USC safety Pinkard lost for season with knee injury

LOS ANGELES -- Southern California free safety Josh Pinkard tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the third-ranked Trojans' 50-14 opening victory over Arkansas and won't play again this season.

Pinkard, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound junior, said he heard his right knee "crack" while covering a punt against the Razorbacks last Saturday night. An MRI on Tuesday revealed the torn ligament, and he will undergo surgery sometime during the next few weeks.

"It's real unfortunate," Trojans coach Pete Carroll said after Tuesday's practice. "We're going to miss Josh badly. He's been such a special player for us."

Pinkard has the option of applying for a medical redshirt for this season. He started the second half of last season at cornerback, but entered this year as the starting free safety.

Freshmen Antwine Perez and Garrett Green were listed behind Pinkard on the USC depth chart entering the Arkansas game. Other possible replacements are freshman Taylor Mays, listed as the second-string strong safety, and senior Dallas Sartz, who shares a starting linebacker spot with Brian Cushing.

Pete Carroll on his lost safety: 'We're going to miss Josh (Pinkard) badly.' (Getty Images)

"The logical thing to do is to have Taylor just jump in there, because he was the third safety," Carroll said. "We don't have to rush into a decision. We're just trying to figure it out as we go. We're very fortunate we have two weeks to do this."

Idle this weekend, the Trojans face No. 21 Nebraska on Sept. 16 in their home opener. USC has won 46 of its last 48 games.

Linebacker Oscar Lua, who injured his right hamstring against Arkansas and didn't play after the first series, had an MRI on Tuesday. Asked if he expects to be able to play against Nebraska, Lua said, "I think so. We'll see how it feels after this week."

Also missing practice was starting cornerback Kevin Thomas, who sprained his ankle in the third quarter of the opening game. He wore an ankle brace on Tuesday, but the injury isn't believed to be serious.