Kennard to have surgery

Devon Kennard, a senior defensive end for USC, will have surgery Monday to repair a torn right pectoral muscle, a situation on the eve of training camp that will test a unit already lacking depth.

“It fell at a really unfortunate time, the worst possible time,” Kennard said in a phone interview Friday. “But it’s not something that’s going to kill me.

“I’ll rehab and get back out as soon as I can and hopefully play the middle to the end of the season.”

The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Kennard said he was injured while lifting weights Thursday. He had been scheduled to start opposite senior Wes Horton, giving the Trojans a formidable, experienced duo on the edge.

The Trojans open training camp Aug. 6 in preparation for their Sept. 1 opener against Hawaii.

“If Devon is going to miss a lot of time, we just have to move forward and someone is going to have to step up,” said senior safety T.J. McDonald, a team captain.

Fourth-year junior Kevin Greene, redshirt freshman Greg Townsend Jr., junior

college transfer Morgan Breslin and incoming freshman Leonard Williams are among the players who could replace Kennard. Violation?

Reserve quarterback Max Wittek may have violated NCAA rules related to the recruitment of Penn State running back Silas Redd, a former Pop Warner teammate in Connecticut.

NCAA rules forbid coaches and players from speaking publicly about recruits. Wittek was interviewed and quoted about Redd in a story published Tuesday by USCFootball.com. The next day, USC’s sports information staff sent an email to reporters who cover the team regularly advising them of the rule and requesting that players not be asked about recruits or quoted.

The Times was included on the email list but electronic searches for the advisory show it was not received. Wittek was interviewed and quoted about Redd in a story that appeared on The Times website Thursday and in Friday’s paper.

“We are disappointed that any media outlet would ask a coach, student-athlete or staff member to comment about a prospect, and then use such a quote, when it is well known that NCAA rules preclude us from making such a comment,” USC spokesman Tim Tessalone said. Tessalone said he did not speak with Wittek about the rule until after both the USCFootball.com and Times reports had been published. Tessalone said he was not sure whether another staff person spoke with Wittek before that.

Redd and family members were expected to visit USC this weekend.