QBs COACH BRYAN ELLIS
--on Matt Fink’s delivery compared to Jack Sears
“Matt kind of gets there a little faster, as far as from the time he decides to throw it to when the ball’s out. Jack’s arm is really strong so it makes up for some of that and when I talked last time about Jack’s delivery, that’s kind of what we’re trying to clean up, is find a consistent release point and consistent arm angle and consistent arm action. Matt’s a little quicker right now.”
--on Friday’s scrimmage
“There were some good things, what I was really excited about was how well we were thinking out there. We went out there about four or five different times and got ourselves in the right direction which is good, which was really good to see and really cool to see. We’re still not perfect, we have to stop throwing the ball to the other team and that’s going to come with experience and getting more comfortable with the offense. Overall, I thought it was good. We dropped two snaps, which is, interceptions are going to happen but you can’t give them easy turnovers. And that’s, as a coach, that’s really what’s disappointing is seeing the little things we mess up right now are what’s the most disappointing. But overall, we made some plays which was good to see and we have a long way to go and we’re getting there.”
--on how they’re addressing ball security
“We do ball security every day. We probably work bad snap drills, 15 practices in the spring, we probably work it eight practices. It’s a lack of concentration. Going up there, being a young guy and having so many things going through your head and you forget to do the simplest things. That’s what it is. I can’t tell you I have a drill to fix that right now. I just have to get them to concentrate and get them to understand that every little thing matters. And as we get more comfortable with what we’re doing, I think it’ll get better.”
--on Sears having a high number of completions and his efficiency as a quarterback
“He is. That can be a little misleading sometimes. Yeah, completions are good, I want the ball completed where the defense dictates it should be going. And that’s not always the case. I wouldn’t read too much into that. He has a ways to go and he’s working really hard at it. And we’ll continue to come out everyday and work on it.”
--on how well the QBs are going through their progressions
“They’re still working on it. Like we talked about the first day, Matt’s a little further along in our offense, so he’s doing a little better at that. But Jack’s getting there. I’m telling you, the kid watches more film than I’ve ever been around. So he’s working hard at it and continuing to every day come out here and get better.”
--on Sears’ work in the virtual reality room
“We talk about it as a group. I don’t give him an assigned time to go up there. They’re busy enough as it is so when they get a free 30 minutes to an hour, they come up and watch and virtual reality is pretty cool. Because say Jack gets a rep, that play at practice, Matt can go get it in the virtual reality. That part of it is pretty cool and most of that is done on their own.”
--on how much does he want them looking at last year
“We’re still going to run a lot of the same concepts. We get a lot of pro style concepts and we’re going to stick with a lot of those. So we want them to see those concepts and keep learning through that stuff. But I don’t want them to watch Sam, Sam is his own different animal. They need to be the player that they are. Sam got away with a lot of things because he was so talented and we’re not too that point yet. Hopefully we’ll get there. But there’s a lot of things to learn and a lot of things you say, don’t try to do that, let’s take baby steps right now.”
--on how Ellis feels in his new role
“Awesome. I’ve been around this game a long time. Getting to do it everyday is fun. It’s stressful. I don’t know if you guys know but I have a little girl on the way here in about five days. First child. So it’s a hectic time for me right now. (The phone) is not on me, our operation staff has it and she has their number. And the minute it hits, I’m gone. So it’s been a little hectic but it’s a lot of fun and I understand the responsibility of playing quarterback at USC. I love it, I take pride in it and we’re going to continue to have great quarterback play here and I hope I’m a part of it.”
--on what he’s learned the last couple weeks
“Being a quarterbacks coach at a school is not like being a trainer. i actually have to go prepare a kid to execute on the field and execute plays. So how we develop certain drills out here, we go in and watch the film and we say, matt and Jack aren’t doing this well. Well, how do I get an individual drill to help them get better at that. So that’s a part of learning. Every day at practice, like we talked a lot with Jack’s throwing motion. Well, I’m sure you all have seen this, we work just base throwing to each other every day before practice starts. Well that’s what we’re doing. We’re trying to get better at little things every day. That part of coaching them where it’s actually on my shoulders, where I have to decide what we’re good at, what we’re not good at and what we need to work on that day, that part is new for me. But new for as far as the quarterback goes. I’ve done it with other positions and all those things. It’s a different animal and I enjoy doing it.”
--on being promoted from within
“I’m very fortunate. We have the greatest head coach in the history of college football here. I don’t mean that just as a football coach and all that, he’s one of the most pure human beings I’ve ever been around. He’s just a good individual. He’s taught me so much in just a year of being here and then obviously I’m very fortunate to be where I’m at and I don’t take that for granted. I want to do well and stay here. Working with Coach (Clay Helton) and getting to be the quarterbacks coach at USC is something that I’ll cherish forever.”
--on how he thinks he won Helton over
“Work my ass off. I don’t really have any other answer other than that. I’m here from five in the morning and spending the night during the season. And doing, for football coaches, it’s no job is too small. Doing the littlest things from getting somebody coffee to deciding what third down plays we’re going to run. It’s just doing your job and not taking it for granted. And I think showing that humility and expertise, I think allowed him to make an easy transition.”
--on if he feels a lot of pressure because it’s USC
“I know it’s really cliche but I don’t feel a lot of pressure really. There’s nobody in this university or fan base that’s going to put more pressure on myself than I already do. I have a dad that’s a coach so I call him every night and I promise you he’s not the guy that tells me I did great when I didn’t. So when you talk to him and he tells me I did awful today, I get the truth. I’m fortunate to be here, I’m enjoying it and like I said before I understand what it means to play quarterback at SC and what it means to coach the guy that plays quarterback for SC. We’re probably going to have, another first round pick for sure, probably the first place. This is a special place at this position and it’s pretty cool. I’m going to continue to work my butt off at it and try to do as well as we can do.”
--on if he talks to the quarterbacks about the daunting task of replacing Darnold.
“They know. They know. Sam just didn’t just show up here doing that stuff either. It took him a year and he redshirted. You tell me a first pick in the draft that’s redshirted in a while. it didn’t just happen for him overnight either. It takes work, it takes a lot of coming out here and honing your skills and they understand that there’s some things he did that probably no one else in the world can do. You go be Matt Fink and you ago be Jack Sears and we’ll tailor what we do offensively and get the best out of them and the most out of them going forward.”
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