USC practiced in full pads Tuesday. Here's the news:
LB Cam Smith, S Ykili Ross, OG Andrew Vorhees, OTs Clayton Bradley and Austin Jackson, TEs Tyler Petite and Erik Krommenhoek, and DL Liam Jimmons all returned to practice.
WR Michael Pittman participated in all but 11-on-11.
OT Chuma Edoga did not practice. Helton said he expects him to return Wednesday.
RB Markese Stepp and WR Josh Imatorbhebhe remained out. LB Eli'jah Winston also did not practice. DL Jacob Lichtenstein was limited.
LB Porter Gustin is still out. But I get that feeling that he'll practice in some capacity next week.
I asked USC WR Michael Pittman if he thinks Gustin will play vs. UNLV.
"Knowing him, there's a good chance that he does play Game 1," Pittman said. "My personal opinion, I don't think that they're gonna be able to hold him out."
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Jack Sears took the majority of reps today, with JT Daniels a close second. Matt Fink was again the odd man out. Just went back through my notes and found that Daniels has never had a day where he only received a handful of reps. Sears and Fink have been alternating those days for the past two weeks. I would say that is as telling as anything.
Helton said he sat down with each of the quarterbacks again following Saturday's scrimmage and told them what they needed to progress in this week.
"I want to continue the process because I want the guys to continue to compete. They all need to progress. And I want to make sure I'm right, too. Another week does not hurt, to be able to put us in that situation. We're getting plenty enough work with all three, which is good. And I think it makes all three of them better plays if called upon this season."
I then asked what he wants to see from Daniels this week. Helton said his decision-making was great in the scrimmage but h missed a couple throws. Daniels, mind you, completed all but two passes. The intended target got a hand on the ball in both instances, but one would have been a tough catch and neither was placed as well as Daniels usually puts it.
"I really want this week to be precise -- aim small, miss small, be accurate," Helton said. "He's been a deadly accurate quarterback and hen you get in those live game situations, I want to see that accuracy."
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Cornerback Greg Johnson and safety Bubba Bolden primarily worked with the first team.
Hunter Echols got an extended run with the first team. It looks like he and Kana'i Mauga are the first outside linebackers off the bench, behind Jordan Iosefa and Christian Rector. Juliano Falaniko is also in the mix.
ICYMI: USC announced its team captains for the season: C Toa Lobendahn, LBs Porter Gustin and Cam Smith, and S Marvell Tell. It's the second consecutive years that the defense has had three and the offense one. It's also the first time in five years that a quarterback is not an offensive captain. I asked Helton how that might manifest in the locker room and he grinned.
"It kind of makes me smile because I think our defense is leading the way right now," Helton said. "You can feel a lot of leadership with our defense, and defense wins championships. So it's an OK thing. That's what I told the guys when they voted for those four captains, you don't have to have two offense and two defense, name the guys that are leading our football team and they took it to heart."
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1-on-1s (OL vs. DL)
Jordan Iosefa beats Jalen McKenzie
Erik Krommenhoek stops Echols
Krommenhoek stops Bryce Matthews
Falaniko beats Liam Douglass
Vorhees stops Malik Dorton
Dorton beats Vorhees
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Brandon Pili beats Brett Neilon
Jay Tufele beats Jacob Daniel
Kana'i Mauga beats Bernard Schirmer
Abdul-Malik McClain beats Vorhees
Jordan Austin stops Liam Jimmons
Chris Bown stops Caleb Tremblay
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Connor Murphy beats McKenzie
Echols beats Douglass
Jimmons beats Alijah Vera-Tucker
Lobendahn stops Marlon Tuipulotu
Tremblay beats Brown
Lobendahn stops Murphy
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Impressions:
I thought the run defense was strong again. I spoke with Tee Martin afterward how he felt about the run game and he expressed a lot of confidence in what he's seeing. He said the fact that there aren't a lot of negative plays is a good sign that what the offense will be successful running the ball in games. I'd agree that we're not seeing a ton of TFLs, but we are seeing a lot of stops near the line of scrimmage.
In today's run period, which is always slanted because the defense knows the play is either a run or a short pass, Biggie Marshall, Bubba Bolden and C.J. Pollard all recorded tackles for no gain. The period was somewhat marred by bad snaps, one from Toa Lobendahn and one from Justin Dedich. Vavae Malepeai broke off the lone run that went for a first down. Aca'Cedric Ware, in the final 11-on-11 period, bursted through the hole for a long gain. It's hard to judge from practice, but some might say he's running faster.
Sears didn't seem to have a lot of time to operate in his reps during the passing period. He was sacked immediately on his first play. He resorted to running on a few others because the D-line was in the backfield almost instantaneously. He managed to complete a couple screens, first to Malepeai for about 20 yards, and then to Carr for a first down. Both of these guys are real pluses in the passing game, their vision allowing them to turn short gains into potentially long ones. Sears had one long completion to Tyler Vaughns and just missed a second one with an overthrow to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Sears also hit Devon Williams on a pass over the middle. Williams was subsequently popped by Marvell Tell, who knocked him down but didn't drive him to the ground. (I'm pretty sure they've been instructed not to.) Williams, who caught the ball a step before the hit, held on.
Something I don't know if I've stressed enough with Daniels is that he's very calm in the pocket. He doesn't look uncomfortable if it's not clean, and if he does have time you expect him to do something good. You just don't get that feeling with the other guys. It's like he's been steering the ship for years.
With that said, he had maybe his worst day. Daniels was picked off twice, in a span of three throws. In both instances, he was baited by the corner on an intermediate throw. The first one was an out to St. Brown that Jonathan Lockett reached high for and snagged. Without the benefit of knowing the play, it looked to me like he telegraphed that he was going to St. Brown. I heard the defensive players on the sideline talking amongst themselves about knowing what was coming. The second one was up the seam, intended for Trevon Sidney, and Olaijah Griffin stepped right in front of it. Helton said it was a veteran play from the freshman corner. One play after the second pick, Daniels threw a strike to Williams, who eluded one tackle and scooted upfield for a long TD. Pittman said afterward that Williams has really impressed in how he's adjusted to the speed of the game. That can take a while for a bigger wideout.
Daniels wasn't rattled by the interceptions, completing the pass he threw between them and then trying for Velus Jones over the top of the D. The latter attempt was slightly overthrown and fell incomplete, but I'd consider it a good miss. Jones had a step on Lockett and Daniels put it where only Jones could get it. His last pass was a short completion to walk-on Matt Nyman.
Fink only got a handful of reps in the passing period and his one completion was a screen to Carr that went for about 15 yards. The coverage was strong on a couple of his throws, thanks to Griffin and Pollard.
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USC practices tomorrow. As I mentioned in the
mailbag thread, I will be absent for the next week. Tajwar and the rest of the staff will hold things down in my place. We'll also have They Said It posted later, and
Tajwar wrote up a nice piece sizing up the QB competition.
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