He arrived in Columbia as a defensive lineman, playing sparingly his first two seasons and hampered by a nagging foot injury as a sophomore. He began last season on defense before moving to offensive guard at midseason.

The move left him ill at ease.

"I had dropped to 275 (pounds). I wasn't feeling it, really," Tucker said. "But I had to do what I had to do. It turned out better for me."

Especially when he was moved back to defense in January -- at his request.

The 6-foot-1, 295-pound Tucker came out of spring drills as the starter at nose guard and remains a fixture there as USC's season opener Sept. 1 against Central Florida nears.

Most expected Tucker would be supplanted by Stanley Doughty, but Tucker has worked hard -- and Doughty has acknowledged he was one of several players coach Steve Spurrier said needed to muzzle their giggling and joking around.

"You know how Stanley is," Tucker said. "I was just letting him do what he does. This summer I worked real hard. I was real dedicated. I missed like two or three workouts this whole summer."

The work has paid off -- as has the move back to defense.

"Back in the spring I had asked Coach could I go back to defense," Tucker said. "I told him I think I can prove myself there. He said, 'cool.' Since the spring, I've been proving myself."

Spurrier took note of Tucker's offseason work ethic.

"He's been attentive," Spurrier said. "His attendance in the winter (and) summer conditioning was almost 100 percent. That's a big key."

In Tuesday night's scrimmage, Tucker was credited with one sack for a 10-yard loss on quarterback Blake Mitchell. He also hauled down elusive freshman tailback Bobby Wallace for a 4-yard loss.

"(Assistant) coach (Tyrone) Nix always says ... 'Every scrimmage come out and prove yourself,' " Tucker said. "So I try to do that every time we have a scrimmage."

Tucker has definitely caught Nix's eye.

"Tucker has had a great camp. He's really been playing well," Nix said. "He's been consistent and playing within the scheme."

Tucker played in eight games a year ago, including one start -- at left offensive guard against Kentucky. Until he came to USC, Tucker said he had not played on the offensive line except for a "couple of plays" at Southwest DeKalb High School in Decatur, Ga.

Now that he's back on defense, he's eager to see what 2005 holds for him.

"I finally got a chance to prove myself," he told reporters, "and let y'all see what I can do now."