USC was in shells and shorts for their penultimate practice of spring. Here's a rundown of the news:
Starting OG Andrew Vorhees underwent a minor surgery to repair a meniscus tear. This will sideline him for about the next 3-4 weeks and he's expected to return by the beginning of summer workouts in June.
OG Chris Brown was pulled during Thursday's practice because of a shoulder strain.
CB Je'Quari Godfrey limped off the field midway through practice.
TE Tyler Petite (hamstring) remained out after sustaining an injury last Saturday. He will not practice this Saturday.
WR Randal Grimes has been absent the past two practices.
OT Austin Jackson (foot) returned to practice.
C Brett Neilon (ankle) increased his workload.
WR Michael Pittman (shoulder) and DT Brandon Pili (back) were limited.
1-on-1s (OL vs. DL):
Juliano Falaniko beats Jalen McKenzie
Caleb Tremblay beats Jordan Austin
Justin Dedich stops Liam Jimmons and frustrates him to the point that it causes a tussle.
Frank Martin stops Connor Murphy
Clayton Johnston stops Kana'i Mauga
Alijah Vera-Tucker stops Jay Tufele
Brett Neilon stops Caleb Tremblay
Jacob Daniel stops Brandon Pili
Austin Jackson stops Christian Rector
Porter Gustin beats Chuma Edoga
Tufele beats Austin
Jimmons beats Dedich
***
I caught a bit of 7-on-7 before turning my attention to the line battles and saw Sears complete three in a row, to Erik Krommenhoek downfield, Vavae Malepeai and then Tyler Vaughns. Malepeai later caught a ball from Matt Fink. Helton noted afterward that the defense actually used eight defenders in this drill. Helton was happy to see his quarterbacks checkdown when they needed to. I can say with confidence that the backs have been targeted more this spring. Part of that is because all three backs are above average receivers. Helton added that the tight ends were similarly emphasized in the passing game this spring, though I personally didn't think they were targeted a great deal. (It's possible that I missed that.)
Impressions from 11-on-11:
Add another tool to Malepeai's arsenal: a stiff arm. We saw him deliver a few of them today, including a really effective one against Ykili Ross to extend what was already a long gain. Malepeai is fighting for every yard. There's a danger in that sometimes. On a separate run, he'd already picked up a first down with a burst up the middle when he was stripped by Biggie Marshall. Isaiah Langley recovered and took it to the house.
I thought the QB play was decent again. Sears showed off his improvisational skills when he scooped up a bad snap and quickly flung it to Josh Falo for a nice gain. (This was the second of consecutive bad snaps, a rare occurrence for sure.) In the final period, Sears had Velus Jones for a long TD but he floated the ball in the wind, which enabled Ajene Harris to deflect it and, after the pass bounced off Jones, come down with an acrobatic INT in the back of the end zone. Like a number of his fellow seniors on defense, Ajene has been playing some of his best football in spring.
I asked Helton about the sequence afterward and he said Sears made a great read but needed to put less air under the ball and get it there quicker, especially given how crowded things get in that part of the field. I guess you can see the cup half empty or half full in all this. It's a play I expect the starting QB to make.
Fink will have his lessons from today as well. He tried to connect downfield with Josh Imatorbhebhe but missed him. Langley's coverage was good but a good throw could have beaten it. Fink hasn't gone deep much in spring and this was an opportunity to complete one. Fink later had the defense on a string with a fake handoff, leading to an easy TD run going the other way on the keeper. It looks effortless at times when he runs. On the next play, he faked a handoff and tried to throw to Krommenhoek on the backside but the tight end hadn't slipped out of his block yet. It was a no-look pass of sorts, with Fink needing to give the design an extra second to manifest. Krommenhoek would have been wide open a moment later. Practice concluded with Fink fumbling a snap, which Gustin recovered. Turnovers, man.
One other play that stood out from today was a catch over the middle from Velus, who took a pair of shots from Levi Jones and Talanoa Hufanga. I know Velus can run and is dynamic in the open field. But if he can make these plays, it'll be hard to keep him off the field, and that much harder to defend the Trojans.
USC's final practice Saturday will fall in line with a regular practice more than a scrimmage, much less a game. The full pads workout will take place on Cromwell Field from noon to about 1:30. Helton said the team periods will include a run-heavy portion, red zone and then standard plays from different points on the field.
He added that USC will practice 25 times in August before its season opener on Sept. 1. A year after several schools opened camp in late July, the NCAA set a universal deadline that essentially eliminated a potential week of practice. USC will have 7-8 practices focused on installation and position battles before moving into its game prep routine.
We posted another edition of They Said It with Biggie Marshall, Ajene Harris, Cam Smith and Porter Gustin.
Starting OG Andrew Vorhees underwent a minor surgery to repair a meniscus tear. This will sideline him for about the next 3-4 weeks and he's expected to return by the beginning of summer workouts in June.
OG Chris Brown was pulled during Thursday's practice because of a shoulder strain.
CB Je'Quari Godfrey limped off the field midway through practice.
TE Tyler Petite (hamstring) remained out after sustaining an injury last Saturday. He will not practice this Saturday.
WR Randal Grimes has been absent the past two practices.
OT Austin Jackson (foot) returned to practice.
C Brett Neilon (ankle) increased his workload.
WR Michael Pittman (shoulder) and DT Brandon Pili (back) were limited.
1-on-1s (OL vs. DL):
Juliano Falaniko beats Jalen McKenzie
Caleb Tremblay beats Jordan Austin
Justin Dedich stops Liam Jimmons and frustrates him to the point that it causes a tussle.
Frank Martin stops Connor Murphy
Clayton Johnston stops Kana'i Mauga
Alijah Vera-Tucker stops Jay Tufele
Brett Neilon stops Caleb Tremblay
Jacob Daniel stops Brandon Pili
Austin Jackson stops Christian Rector
Porter Gustin beats Chuma Edoga
Tufele beats Austin
Jimmons beats Dedich
***
I caught a bit of 7-on-7 before turning my attention to the line battles and saw Sears complete three in a row, to Erik Krommenhoek downfield, Vavae Malepeai and then Tyler Vaughns. Malepeai later caught a ball from Matt Fink. Helton noted afterward that the defense actually used eight defenders in this drill. Helton was happy to see his quarterbacks checkdown when they needed to. I can say with confidence that the backs have been targeted more this spring. Part of that is because all three backs are above average receivers. Helton added that the tight ends were similarly emphasized in the passing game this spring, though I personally didn't think they were targeted a great deal. (It's possible that I missed that.)
Impressions from 11-on-11:
Add another tool to Malepeai's arsenal: a stiff arm. We saw him deliver a few of them today, including a really effective one against Ykili Ross to extend what was already a long gain. Malepeai is fighting for every yard. There's a danger in that sometimes. On a separate run, he'd already picked up a first down with a burst up the middle when he was stripped by Biggie Marshall. Isaiah Langley recovered and took it to the house.
I thought the QB play was decent again. Sears showed off his improvisational skills when he scooped up a bad snap and quickly flung it to Josh Falo for a nice gain. (This was the second of consecutive bad snaps, a rare occurrence for sure.) In the final period, Sears had Velus Jones for a long TD but he floated the ball in the wind, which enabled Ajene Harris to deflect it and, after the pass bounced off Jones, come down with an acrobatic INT in the back of the end zone. Like a number of his fellow seniors on defense, Ajene has been playing some of his best football in spring.
I asked Helton about the sequence afterward and he said Sears made a great read but needed to put less air under the ball and get it there quicker, especially given how crowded things get in that part of the field. I guess you can see the cup half empty or half full in all this. It's a play I expect the starting QB to make.
Fink will have his lessons from today as well. He tried to connect downfield with Josh Imatorbhebhe but missed him. Langley's coverage was good but a good throw could have beaten it. Fink hasn't gone deep much in spring and this was an opportunity to complete one. Fink later had the defense on a string with a fake handoff, leading to an easy TD run going the other way on the keeper. It looks effortless at times when he runs. On the next play, he faked a handoff and tried to throw to Krommenhoek on the backside but the tight end hadn't slipped out of his block yet. It was a no-look pass of sorts, with Fink needing to give the design an extra second to manifest. Krommenhoek would have been wide open a moment later. Practice concluded with Fink fumbling a snap, which Gustin recovered. Turnovers, man.
One other play that stood out from today was a catch over the middle from Velus, who took a pair of shots from Levi Jones and Talanoa Hufanga. I know Velus can run and is dynamic in the open field. But if he can make these plays, it'll be hard to keep him off the field, and that much harder to defend the Trojans.
USC's final practice Saturday will fall in line with a regular practice more than a scrimmage, much less a game. The full pads workout will take place on Cromwell Field from noon to about 1:30. Helton said the team periods will include a run-heavy portion, red zone and then standard plays from different points on the field.
He added that USC will practice 25 times in August before its season opener on Sept. 1. A year after several schools opened camp in late July, the NCAA set a universal deadline that essentially eliminated a potential week of practice. USC will have 7-8 practices focused on installation and position battles before moving into its game prep routine.
We posted another edition of They Said It with Biggie Marshall, Ajene Harris, Cam Smith and Porter Gustin.
