USC tailback Stafon Johnson made his first public appearance since suffering a season-ending throat injury in a Sept. 28 weightlifting accident. He did not speak or take questions, but he looked fit and mostly upbeat at a news conference at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Flanked by his mother, Kim Mallory, and the surgeons who operated on him, Johnson listened as the doctors mentioned speech, swallowing and breathing therapy ahead. Discharged from the hospital, he remains outfitted with a breathing tube in his throat. Dr. Ryan F. Osborne said it was "a bit too early for us to make any definitive statements," regarding Johnson's speech. "But at this point in time we are happy with the progress that he has made thus far and we're very optimistic for his longtime prognosis."