LOS ANGELES — USC coach Pete Carroll clearly has high expectations for projected starting quarterback Aaron Corp.

Otherwise, Carroll wouldn’t have compared him to Joe Montana.
Carroll evoked the name of perhaps the greatest quarterback ever when discussing Corp during Pac-10 media day Thursday.
“The guy I hoped Aaron would be like would be what Joe Montana was like,” Carroll said. “You go back to what Joe was like, you hear about him in his younger years — he was so resourceful and had great accuracy but could always kill you with his legs. Stature-wise, slender.
“Way back when, when we first started recruiting Aaron, that’s kind of what I wondered: How would Joe have looked in high school? What kind of attributes did he have?
“We’ll find out (about Corp). Aaron’s got a knack. He was a great high school player (who) won a lot of different ways.”
Corp, a redshirt sophomore, helped Orange Lutheran win a pair of CIF titles. He enters training camp, which starts Aug. 8, with a sizable but not insurmountable lead on freshman Matt Barkley from Mater Dei.
USC CONTROVERSY?
Carroll said he and the school went through “all the proper channels” in hiring a special-teams consultant last season.
Carroll addressed the issue after a published report suggested that USC’s employment of Pete Rodriguez in that capacity was a possible violation of NCAA rules.
“We’ve documented it,” Carroll said. “The topic has just come up because there’s an article on it. We dealt with this thing way back when to do it properly and do it the right way.”
Carroll said Rodriguez was paid by the school but declined to discuss further details of the arrangement, which reportedly included Rodriguez attending practices, watching games and reporting back to Carroll.
“To get to the point where we could have a guy be a consultant and come and see us, we did all of the homework, went through compliance, did all of the steps that you have to to make sure it’s OK,”
Carroll said. “The way we understood and interpreted it, we tried to do everything exactly the right way. And that’s it.”
Carroll said he and the school would “do everything we have to do to cooperate ... if anybody has any questions” regarding the Rodriguez situation, which conceivably could add another layer to the NCAA’s ongoing investigation into USC’s athletic department. The investigation centers on the issue of institutional control.
LB ISSUES
Carroll said that as of “right now” he isn’t counting on reserve linebacker Luthur Brown to be part of the team this season.
Carroll cited ongoing academic issues and said Brown hasn’t been working out with the team. Brown, a redshirt senior, also has been plagued by injuries.
Not having Brown would further deplete USC’S linebacker depth. Among the reserves, the only scholarship players with experience are sophomores Jordan Campbell and Uona Kaveinga.
USC also lost incoming freshman Frankie Telfort to a career-ending heart condition. He was penciled in on the weak side, where starter Malcolm Smith has endured health issues of his own this offseason.
Smith underwent surgery on his esophagus, Carroll revealed, and also has been ill in recent weeks.
BROWN OK
Carroll said starting left tackle Charles Brown is “fine” after suffering from a sore back this summer but that the coaches would monitor him during camp.