USC’s Robert Woods wants to make bigger plays

Woods and Lee were the fourth tandem of 1,000-yard receivers in school history last year, while Matt Barkley set the conference record with 39 touchdown passes with an offense that scored at least 30 points in each of its final 10 games.

Woods is considered the technician of the receiving corps, while Lee is thought to be the most gifted athlete, as evidenced by his weekly production of jaw-dropping highlights in practice. Woods is a low-key, humble star in interviews _ yet his Twitter handle is still (at)HeismanWoods.

Woods doesn’t shy away from those labels, seeing them as a compliment to his work _ yet he also produces one-handed, diving fireworks on a regular basis. Woods‘ work ethic reminds new Trojans receivers coach Tee Martin of Jerry Rice.

But Woods isn’t getting caught up in outside expectations. He’ll stick to his own goals and the Trojans’ week-to-week process of improvement, even while his fans await his next superlative achievement.

“We definitely don’t listen to any of the hype,” Woods said. “The hype is always going to be there. If you get in the game and you make a big play, that’s when you get hyped. It’s always going to be around. You keep the hype around, but if you just make your plays, the hype will come with it. We’re not even really allowed to talk about it.”

NOTES: Kiffin named QB Max Wittek as Barkley’s backup Tuesday morning, not really citing a reason for his selection over Cody Kessler. Wittek and Kessler are in their second year of competition for the job, with Kessler nominally holding the backup role last season. Neither QB has ever taken a snap in a game. Kiffin said the decision has no impact on next season’s competition, when Washington high-school star Max Browne also is expected to be in the mix. … The Trojans moved to their regular-season schedule of morning practices, which meant 6 a.m. reporting times. Kiffin said the team was a big sluggish, which he expected. … CB Brian Baucham returned to practice after being ruled academically eligible last week. Baucham is even more important to the Trojans after CB Isiah Wiley was declared academically ineligible.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.