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The LA Times' Brady McCollough summarizes the latest news in the Name, Image, Likeness matter -- which would allow student-athletes to profit off those three components through a third-party. For instance, a star QB could get paid to sign autographs or promote a local business.

With that, though, the NCAA wants a compromise on some guidelines and parameters.

I think there is a predisposition by many to reject anything the NCAA interjects -- and I agree that this is long overdue to stop prohibiting college athletes from earning money available to them -- but I also agree there has to be some oversight to make sure this doesn't just become a loophole for boosters to buy recruits and create a competitive balance nightmare. It's a very divisive topic with many feeling there should be nobody telling the kids what they can earn and from whom, with another crowd (seemingly far smaller and less vocal) concerned with how this will be manipulated.

As quoted from the LA Times report, here's the breakdown of what the NCAA wants to include in advancing any such changes:

• "Regulation of payments by an undetermined body that ensures: transparency by the athlete, third party and institution which shows a “genuine” transaction and not “disguised form of pay for athletics participation”; schools or boosters are not using NIL opportunities as a recruiting inducement, and; that payments are consistent with what is considered to be fair market value for the service in question.

• "Regulation of agents and professional representation hired by athletes.• "Prohibition of schools and conferences to play a role in an athlete’s NIL activities, including allowing the student to use conference and school logos, trademarks or other intellectual property in any endorsement.

• "Prohibition of a school to pay an athlete directly for NIL activities, keeping with the NCAA’s principle that athletes are students, not employees."

Read the LA Times' full story for comments from NCAA leaders and more perspective on what this means.

Meanwhile, our poll question today is simple. Are the NCAA recommendations on Name, Image, Likeness appropriate and fair to the student-athletes?

**Visit our Trojan Talk board to vote and track the live results**

On Tuesday we asked, which freshman/redshirt freshman wide receiver will have the most catches in 2020 for USC?

Redshirt freshman 5-star Bru McCoy was the majority choice, receiving 14 of 21 votes with fellow redshirt freshman 4-star Kyle Ford drawing 4 votes and true freshman 4-star Gary Bryant Jr. receiving the other 3.

This was an expected outcome -- McCoy was the highest profile addition for USC last year as the No. 12 overall prospect in the 2019 class. But the true answer might not be as clear this fall.

Here's one opinion ...

With Michael Pittman off to the NFL and taking 101 catches and 1,275 yards with him, there is certainly opportunity to be had in the high-flying USC passing game. As we touched on yesterday in assessing the potential 2021 Trojans draft prospects, my feeling is that junior Amon-Ra St. Brown will be the biggest beneficiary in terms of extra touches while finally getting a chance to truly show what he can do as an outside receiver. Redshirt senior Tyler Vaughns, meanwhile, should maintain his steady high-level production (he had 72 catches for 912 yards and 6 TDs last season). And sophomore Drake London's performance over the final five games -- an average of 5 catches per game and a TD in each -- foretells a big role for him as well.

So where do the rest of the touches go and how many will there be?

Well, McCoy, Ford and Bryant are three very different players. (USC also has another talented true freshman in 3-star WR Joshua Jackson, who was included as a poll option and will be competing for an outside WR role).

In the one spring practice we had to glean any insights, McCoy worked as an outside receiver as expected, and considering the caliber of player he was at Mater Dei HS, his motivation to prove something -- after sitting out last season following his dual transfers to and from Texas and missing months of practice due to a lingering illness -- it easy to see McCoy earning his way onto the field at least in a rotational role behind St. Brown and Vaughns. That said, those two and Pittman rarely came off the field last year, and if the coaching staff doesn't force some rotation at those spots it's hard to project how many targets would even be available there.

Ford, meanwhile, already looks to be the Trojans' strongest wideout at a muscular 6-foot-2, 210 pounds. It was not surprising at all in that one spring practice to see the coaches use him as an inside receiver. While he and London are of very different builds and different athletes in general, there is an overlapping logic to the two in the way of creating physical mismatches out of the slot similar to what a pass-catching tight end would contribute. If that's the role Ford sticks in, it makes sense and I could see him thriving as a big possession receiver. In addition to his physicality, he has tremendous hands.

But the question is even more pronounced with Ford -- how many touches will be available in that role? If St. Brown and Vaughns are outside -- and to be fair, we didn't get to see St. Brown in action that spring practice so this is more of a presumption -- and London reprises his interior role, it would seem that Ford would be competing for opportunity either when London comes off the field or in 4-wide sets with no tight end where both he and London lined up inside. That's a fun scenario to envision -- for USC fans, not defensive coordinators.

There is another wrinkle there, though. Bryant, the 4-star 2020 Rivals100 speedster, is unlike any other player the Trojans have on the roster. He is a prototypical slot weapon with blazing speed, plus hands and a knack for getting open. I've contended since he signed with USC that the coaches have to find a way to get him significantly involved this season for that reason -- he's a weapon they don't otherwise have and he's tailor-made for this offense with his catch-and-run potential.

If the coaches come to feel the same way about Bryant, then that makes it harder to find touches for Ford. It was fitting that those two spent a lot of that one spring practice rotating at the same spot. While they're entirely different players, they could be essentially competing to show which one gives the offense a more valuable added dimension.

Therefore, I think it's most likely that McCoy (by earning a significant-enough rotation role behind St. Brown and Vaughns) or Bryant (by becoming what many fans hoped Velus Jones could be last year in this offense) end up with the best opportunity to lead the bunch in catches in 2020.

I think it's a toss-up between those two, with the slightest edge to McCoy. But would I be surprised if Ford is the breakout star? Not at all. Also, to be clear, all those aforementioned wide receivers are versatile. This is merely to suggest the role that seemingly makes most sense for them -- not to suggest they are limited as such. And Jackson is a plenty capable prospect in his own right, and a guy the coaching staff identified and prioritized early in the recruiting process.

It's a fun question to consider from a USC standpoint because any of the outcomes are appealing.

-Grad transfer OL Keldrick Wilson talks USC and other finalists

-USC basketball junior Elijah Weaver enters the NCAA transfer portal: What's it mean for the Trojans?

-Trojans Today - April 28: Our breakdown of USC's 2021 draft candidates

-Elijah Weaver comments about his transfer portal decision ...

-Opinions on the NIL-NCAA matter ...

-Well played ...

There's a good discussion ongoing about the notion of starting the next college football season in the spring. Join in and share your thoughts.