PASADENA, Calif. -- The first sound was a loud crack followed by boos from Penn State fans that cascaded down onto the Rose Bowl turf.

Jordan Norwood didn't hear them -- he couldn't even feel his legs after a helmet-to-helmet hit from USC safety Taylor Mays rendered him motionless on the field in the third quarter.

Mays was flagged for the illegal hit, but Norwood called it a "good hit."

"I couldn't feel my legs," Norwood said.

"I was just focused on trying to get up and making sure I was alright."

Norwood had to be helped off the field by two trainers and looked badly hurt. His legs were wobbly and he struggled to walk in a straight line.

But just two plays later, Norwood returned to the offense.

Eventually caught a touchdown pass to pull the Nittany Lions closer to mounting a comeback in their 38-24 loss.

Norwood, one of the more quiet members on the Lions, said the hit didn't intimidate he or his teammates.

The Penn State wideout said Mays "half-way apologized" to him and that the Trojan safety said he "wasn't trying to take a cheap shot."

"That's a big dude hitting him like that," Penn State safety Anthony Scirrotto said. "[Jordan] always bounces back though.

"He played in the Orange Bowl freshman year and (then-Florida State linebacker) Buster Davis smacked his head off and he got right up, so it was expected from him.

"He's the toughest guy on our team I feel."

Mays, who outweighs Norwood by 59 pounds, came charging head-first as the wideout ran a slant toward the middle of the field.

Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark threw the pass to Norwood who dropped the ball when Mays popped him.

Clark said he should have looked Mays off of his receiver more.

"I was real concerned," Clark said. "I felt kind of bad that I didn't look off Taylor Mays more, because it looked like he was just watching me. I threw it and he didn't come off the middle of the field at all.

"I looked right, but not enough to shake him."

Senior wideout Deon Butler said he knew his roommate and teammatewould get up.

"The doctors wanted to hold him out," Butler said.

"But you're not going to hold that kid out of his last game."

Clark echoed Butler and Scirrotto's evaluations of Norwood, saying he wasn't surprised when Norwood returned.

"That's Jordan, man," Clark said of the receiver.

Unlike Norwood, some of his teammates weren't as lucky.

Sophomore running back Evan Royster left the game in the first quarter with a left knee sprain. It appeared that Royster was injured throwing a block for Clark near the end of the first quarter.

Shortly after he sustained the injury, Royster went to the sideline, was fitted with a knee brace, and his joint was wrapped in ice.

Royster did not return to the game.

Freshman running back Stephfon Green played in place of Royster, but sustained a right ankle sprain in the fourth quarter.

Green left the field walking with crutches.

Junior offensive tackle Dennis Landolt also sustained a left knee injury.

Quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno said he was not sure about the specifics of the injuries during the game.

"They give us the update on who's in, who's out, but they don't tell us what it is," Paterno said.

Royster, Green and Landolt were not made available to the media following the game.