LOS ANGELES -- One went to high school in the O.C. The other is a Jersey guy.

Together they form the best 1-2 linebacker tandem in college football.

Third-ranked Southern California has been known in recent years for offensive stars such as Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart, but this year its top two NFL prospects are linebackers.

Middle linebacker Rey Maualuga and outside linebacker Brian Cushing could give Virginia plenty of headaches Saturday.

Literally.

Maualuga "is a big-time thumper," Cushing said after a practice this month. "He's probably the hardest hitter in the country."

Cushing is no slouch himself.

"Brian's a physical specimen," Maualuga said. "He's determined to make the play. He'll make sure you feel him."

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Cushing is from Park Ridge, N.J. The 6-2, 240-pound Maualuga is from Eureka, Calif.

Both were prep All-Americans. Both have blossomed into preseason college All-Americans.

"It's good playing side-to-side with another great linebacker," Maualuga said.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. ranks both players among his top five seniors on his early "big board" for the 2009 NFL Draft, according to espn.com. He rates Maualuga the No. 2 player nationally, just behind Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis, and Cushing No. 5.

"You see those kind of things, you hear those kind of things, but that's all preseason stuff that doesn't mean anything until you produce during the season," Cushing said. "Hopefully I can live up to the expectations -- hopefully surpass them."

Maualuga recorded six sacks and a team-high 79 tackles last season.

He was named the defensive most valuable player of the Rose Bowl after recording three sacks and an interception and forcing a fumble in the team's 49-17 rout of Illinois. Cushing earned that honor in the previous Rose Bowl.

Maualuga loves being the man in the middle. Lindy's rates him the No. 2 inside linebacker in the nation after Laurinaitis.

"I can go from sideline to sideline. I can scare all the offense," Maualuga said.

The role also allows him to be the leader of the defense.

"I want to be the person to be making all the calls -- be the person in front of the huddle, make sure everyone's lined up at the right positions," he said.

Cushing, who had 25 tackles and one sack last fall, prefers coming off the edge. Lindy's rates him the No. 1 outside linebacker in the country.

He headed west in 2005, opting for the Trojans over Miami and Boston College.

"I watched the brand of football USC played. I love their kind of defense, their swarm kind of technique," Cushing said. "The players that have been in and out of the system, the national championships, I couldn't turn it down."

Moving to the other side of the country wasn't easy, though.

"It was tough at first, coming all the way out here, trying to settle in and adjust to a different kind of lifestyle," he said.

Cushing now loves the California life.

"The same weather every day? I can't complain about that," he said.

Maualuga also joined the Trojans in 2005, a choice that made his father happy. Talatonu Maualuga died of cancer in January 2006.

"My dad was sick at the time," he said. "My dad was a big ol' Polynesian college fan, and there's a lot of Polynesians here. ... He felt that being at USC was a [good] fit for me."

Maualuga flirted with the NFL Draft after last season, but he opted to return to Southern Cal for his senior season.

"The league's not running away," he said. "I needed work on pass coverage, learning my schemes better.

"Why not come back [for] one year and fix all that? ... It's fun being out here every day."