Three years in, it's probably unfair to label Vidal Hazelton a bust -- he did catch 50 passes as a sophomore in '07, four for touchdowns -- but given his recruiting hype out of Hargrave Academy, he hasn't looked anything like the next great USC receiver, either.

A big part of that is a series of injuries, which, according to Hazelton's dad, have plagued Vidal from the moment he stepped on campus. There's nothing unusual about that in a high-speed, high-contact sport -- except that Dexter Hazelton thinks his son's ailments have been handled somewhat, shall we say, lackadaisically by the Trojan staff. And after Vidal came away from a five-catch, 33-yard effort in the opening win over Virginia a little gimpy, Papa Hazelton decided to open up on Pete Carroll in civil but overtly simmering fashion on Labor Day, in an e-mail that made the USC rounds online Thursday:

Dear Coach Carroll:
[...]
I am at a complete loss for words because my son, Vidal, has not receivedâ¨treatment on his ankle and quadriceps since the team's return to Los Angelesâ¨on Saturday evening. As you know, Vidal suffered a contusion to his quadriceps muscle and sprained his ankle during the UVA game. To date (forâ¨over 36 hours), (1) his ankle has not been X-rayed and (2) he has receivedâ¨no treatment to either injury, other than having a boot placed on his ankle.

I must admit that I am completely perplexed by the lack of attention your⨠training staff is giving to Vidal's injuries. When I asked Vidal if he received treatment today, he told me that the training room is closed today.â¨In all of my years of associating with athletes, and corresponding withâ¨athletic trainers, I have never heard of a training room being closed on aâ¨holiday during the sport's season. This includes Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, etc.

You and I have discussed my dissatisfaction with the manner in which Vidal has received treatment for injuries in the past. Most notably, the double hernia that he played with for all of the 2007 season, and possibly the 2006 season - an injury that went misdiagnosed for the entirety of the season(s).â¨Given our discussions, I trusted that corrective action would be taken. However, this is clearly a policy issue that has not been addressed, and theâ¨results are intolerable.

Certain recommendations and rhetorical questions re: trust ensue, marked for emphasis by excessive question marks. "Repeat negligence" and "an intolerable policy issue" is a harsh criticism from a parent for any school, especially one that no doubt sells itself in large part as a state-of-the-art NFL training ground. Maybe that's why Hazelton's letter found its mark so quickly: he said Thursday that Carroll called later the day the message was sent and assured him Vidal was getting whatever "treatment" he required.

Not that it's done him much good on the field. Since that letter was written, the younger Hazelton has responded by barely getting into a game. He didn't catch a pass against Ohio State or Oregon State and has missed the wins over Oregon and Arizona State altogether. At least someone's looking after him.