Just wondering ... what if center Kristofer O'Dowd was snapping the ball to Arizona's Nick Foles next season instead of Matt Barkley?
Photo by Kirby Lee, US PRESSWIRE

(NOTE: Since this was posted, the Pac-10 has opted to not follow the NCAA decision and will not waive its transfer waiver for within the conference. So, any USC players who wants to leave and stay within the conference will still have to sit out a year. So, what follows is just a what-could-have been situation.)

The NCAA has ruled — in the wake of imposing a two-year postseason ban on the USC football program — that the team’s juniors and seniors are eligible to immediately transfer without having to sit out a year.

OK, then …

Which players should Arizona coach Mike Stoops go recruit off the USC free-agent roster?

Just for fun, here’s our top five list of Trojans who would make good Arizona targets. This isn’t a list of the best USC juniors and seniors — but the ones who would be the best fits from a talent/position/need standpoint.

1. CB Shareece Wright
The senior missed all of the 2009 regular season because of academic problems, but he returned for the bowl game and intercepted a pass against Boston College. If Arizona could have paired Wright with junior Trevin Wade, the Wildcats might have had the best pair of cornerbacks in the country.

2. DT Jurrell Casey
Arizona is replacing its starting interior defensive line, and although there is depth at the position — and an intriguing fall newcomer in Willie Mobley — there is no sure-fire star. Casey, a junior who had 59 tackles, including nine for loss last season, would have provided that star power while joining potential all-conference ends Brooks Reed and Ricky Elmore. Nice.

3. C Kristofer O’Dowd
The Salpointe Catholic graduate could have come home for his final season of college football. Arizona doesn’t have a need here because it has senior Colin Baxter … but having two All-American-caliber centers would have been a pleasant problem to have, and one of those guys could have just slid to guard.

4. LB Malcolm Smith
Arizona isn’t set at weak-side linebacker, listing junior college transfer Paul Vassallo and sophomore R.J. Young as co-starters heading into the fall. Smith, a senior, started at the position for the Trojans last season, making 72 tackles — including 10 vs. the Wildcats. Given Arizona’s inexperience at all the linebacker spots, junior middle linebacker Chris Galippo and senior strong-side ‘backer Michael Morgan would have been welcome transfers from USC, too.

5. RT Tyron Smith
Smith, a former Parade All-American, has big upside after starting as a sophomore, and he is projected as one of the top offensive tackles for the 2012 NFL Draft. He would have fit nicely, given that right tackle is the only spot on the Arizona offensive line that doesn’t have a returning starter, although senior Phillip Garcia has experience.

Marquis Flowers was on the cover of the Arizona edition of ESPN Rise Magazine in October.

The Arizona Wildcats football team received a commitment Saturday afternoon from safety Marquis Flowers, giving UA a rarity — the top-rated player in the state.

At least that’s how Rivals.com currently ranks Flowers, from Millennium High School in Goodyear. Flowers made his choice during the Army All-American all-star game, picking the Wildcats over UCLA, ASU and USC.

“Mike Stoops is making a statement getting Marquis Flowers,” recruiting analyst Tom Lemmings said on the telecast. “For Arizona State and Arizona, to become elite teams, they have to keep the best ballplayers at home.”

That certainly helps, even though there are still only a handful of elite recruits in the state. USC has done a nice job recently of poaching those elite recruits — Devon Kennard, Everson Griffen, Kristofer O’Dowd (see list below) — while Arizona State is often next in line.

But the Wildcats grabbed highly rated safety Adam Hall from Palo Verde High last season and now have landed Flowers, whose all-around skills were on full display as a senior. He had 62 tackles and two interceptions last season, also rushing 135 times for 1,247 yards and 16 touchdowns. He caught 13 passes for 162 yards.

A bio on the Arizona Republic’s web site lists Flowers at 6-3, 195 pounds and says this:

“Easily passes the eye-ball test, there seems to be no position he can’t play. He can move from outside linebacker to safety to end on defense. On offense, you can put him at receiver or running back. He could be this year’s version of Adam Hall, last year’s Big School Player of the Year from Tucson Palo Verde, who is now at the University of Arizona.”

Here are the past seven top-rated players in the state (as rated by Rivals.com) and how they are faring/have fared since then:

2009 — DE Devon Kennard (Phoenix Desert Vista), USC
Made 34 tackles as a true freshman and played some outside linebacker late in the season. He had eight tackles in the regular-season finale against Arizona.

2008 — ATH Gerell Robinson (Chandler Hamilton), ASU
Once committed to Arizona, he was disappointing in his first two seasons at Arizona State. Robinson had 26 catches for 261 yards as a sophomore.

2007 — DE Everson Griffen (Avondale Agua Fria), USC
Had eight sacks as a junior and then declared for the NFL Draft without living up to his hype as a national top-10 prospect. Salpointe Catholic center Kristofer O’Dowd (USC) was ranked second in the state this season, but would have been No. 1 in most years.

2006 — DE Jermaine Williams (Phoenix Maryvale), ASU
Failed to qualify academically.

2005 — DT Ekom Udofia (Scottsdale Chaparral), Stanford
Turned into a solid plugger in the middle of the Stanford line who had 36 tackles as a fifth-year senior.

2004 — TE Zach Miller (Phoenix Desert Vista), ASU
Developed into a first-team All-Pac-10 player as a junior in 2006 and has had an increasingly good career with the quarterback-challenged Oakland Raiders.

2003 — DE Kyle Caldwell (Scottsdale Saguaro), ASU
Was a three-year starter for the Sun Devils, compiling 10.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss.

One final thought: For as good as Flowers might be, getting the No. 1 player in the state next year — CDO running back Ka’Deem Carey — will be 10 times as important

More on Flowers from ESPN Rise Magazine:
Flowers is must-see on the gridiron