Saturday marked nearly one year to the day that JT Daniels appeared to have arrived at USC. He'd been through just one week of practice as a Trojan when he lit up the USC defense during a scrimmage at the Coliseum to the tune of four touchdown passes in just four series.
His performance this past weekend wasn't as celebrated or prolific, but it was just as pronounced in comparison to his peers. Daniels tossed three TDs in six drives while showing the firmest grasp of this new offense that we've seen from a USC quarterback during either spring or training camp.
When Clay Helton reviewed the film, it confirmed what he'd seen live -- namely, that Daniels is showing marked improvement in one key area since his rookie campaign last fall:
"Just getting the ball out even quicker," Helton said. "You can see him diagnosing things. It was evident on the tape that we saw of him seeing pressures and just not letting it get to him. Last year, sometimes, he could get fooled form time to time. Now he's seeing those pressures and he's really getting the ball out before kids can get anywhere near him."
I counted 30 dropbacks for Daniels in the scrimmage and just four pressures. Two came from Drake Jackson, and they forced incomplete passes. Another led Daniels to scramble. The other was a sack that nullified a long TD pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
The offense was different last year and so was the O-line, but Daniels' penchant for holding the ball too long was also part of the equation in the 25 sacks that he took. Progress on all three fronts could produce major dividends. The sophomore QB otherwise largely resembles the player he was last year. If there's any difference in his driving arm strength or mobility, it's really subtle.
Helton reiterated Monday that he's still waiting for a QB to separate himself on the practice field before announcing a starter. While Daniels certainly has areas in which he could grow -- leadership, tempo between plays, batted balls at the line of scrimmage, accuracy on out patterns -- he's again been the class of the competition at his position in camp. And the gap between him and No. 2, which is hotly debated and changes by the week, is greater than the margin between any of the other three.
HIGHLIGHTS
With the players in just jerseys and shorts Monday, team periods were light. But there were a few notable plays:
Daniels connected with Tyler Vaughns for a long TD that might have been ruled a sack. Tough to tell. Greg Johnson was right there and the defensive players have to hold up before they can breathe on a QB, so I'm not sure what the final call was. (It obviously wasn't a live period so they simply followed the script and ran off another play from a different spot afterward.)
Daniels followed up with a short throw to John Jackson III in the flats. The freshman wideout proceeded to zoom past Chris Steele for a long catch-and-run TD.
Hunter Echols sacked Daniels. That one was clearly stopped dead.
Daniels missed Devon Williams on a fade in the end zone. Williams has really been getting separation this training camp.
A moment later, Williams did it again, only this time the ball was on the minus-1 and Jack Sears was the signal caller. Sears hit Williams in stride over the top of Adonis Otey for a 99-yard TD. Talanoa Hufanga gave chase and made a spirited effort but Williams had too big of a lead.
Johnson, who continues to work a lot at nickel, blitzed and sacked Matt Fink.
The redshirt junior QB closed out with a pair of completions, including a long one to Vaughns down the sideline that was pulled down in traffic. Great body control from TV, as you're accustomed to but bears repeating.
But the play(s) of the day came from Hufanga, who twice intercepted Fink for pick-6s.
"Oh, mercy. He's always had natural ball skills," Helton said afterward. "You could just see how comfortable he is now in the system. He's the one communicating and making the calls, where last year he was just getting lined up and worrying about him. Now he's actually making the calls for everybody and getting them lined up.
"He made two really special plays. He makes a one hand[ed], low-ball catch that looked like one of our wideouts. That's how special a player he is. I think he can be one of the best in the country by the end of the season."
NEWS
Helton said beginning this week the practice regimen will reflect that of a game week: Mondays and Thursdays without pads, Tuesdays in full pads, Wednesdays in shells and shorts and Fridays are walkthroughs. This Saturday, of course, is the end-of-camp scrimmage.
WR Munir McClain suffered a concussion while taking a hard hit during the scrimmage and is day to day. He did some light work Monday and the expectation is he'll be cleared later this week.
DT Brandon Pili is running and is also day to day.
LB Eli'jah Winston, who just recently moved to middle linebacker from outside LB, is in a walking boot and limping.
WR John Jackson III (hamstring) returned after being sidelined for about a week.
Helton said there still isn't a timetable for freshman WR Kyle Ford's return from a torn ACL. He noted three criterion for coming back from a significant injury -- medical clearance, player comfortability and Helton's gut instinct -- and it sounded like Ford is more than likely to sit out this season.
"Everybody heals different. When you have an ACL, sometimes it feels really good and sometimes it doesn't and you got to pull back," Helton said. "... We're going to get him right and we're in it for the long haul with him. ... We're not going to rush it."
His performance this past weekend wasn't as celebrated or prolific, but it was just as pronounced in comparison to his peers. Daniels tossed three TDs in six drives while showing the firmest grasp of this new offense that we've seen from a USC quarterback during either spring or training camp.
When Clay Helton reviewed the film, it confirmed what he'd seen live -- namely, that Daniels is showing marked improvement in one key area since his rookie campaign last fall:
"Just getting the ball out even quicker," Helton said. "You can see him diagnosing things. It was evident on the tape that we saw of him seeing pressures and just not letting it get to him. Last year, sometimes, he could get fooled form time to time. Now he's seeing those pressures and he's really getting the ball out before kids can get anywhere near him."
I counted 30 dropbacks for Daniels in the scrimmage and just four pressures. Two came from Drake Jackson, and they forced incomplete passes. Another led Daniels to scramble. The other was a sack that nullified a long TD pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
The offense was different last year and so was the O-line, but Daniels' penchant for holding the ball too long was also part of the equation in the 25 sacks that he took. Progress on all three fronts could produce major dividends. The sophomore QB otherwise largely resembles the player he was last year. If there's any difference in his driving arm strength or mobility, it's really subtle.
Helton reiterated Monday that he's still waiting for a QB to separate himself on the practice field before announcing a starter. While Daniels certainly has areas in which he could grow -- leadership, tempo between plays, batted balls at the line of scrimmage, accuracy on out patterns -- he's again been the class of the competition at his position in camp. And the gap between him and No. 2, which is hotly debated and changes by the week, is greater than the margin between any of the other three.
HIGHLIGHTS
With the players in just jerseys and shorts Monday, team periods were light. But there were a few notable plays:
Daniels connected with Tyler Vaughns for a long TD that might have been ruled a sack. Tough to tell. Greg Johnson was right there and the defensive players have to hold up before they can breathe on a QB, so I'm not sure what the final call was. (It obviously wasn't a live period so they simply followed the script and ran off another play from a different spot afterward.)
Daniels followed up with a short throw to John Jackson III in the flats. The freshman wideout proceeded to zoom past Chris Steele for a long catch-and-run TD.
Hunter Echols sacked Daniels. That one was clearly stopped dead.
Daniels missed Devon Williams on a fade in the end zone. Williams has really been getting separation this training camp.
A moment later, Williams did it again, only this time the ball was on the minus-1 and Jack Sears was the signal caller. Sears hit Williams in stride over the top of Adonis Otey for a 99-yard TD. Talanoa Hufanga gave chase and made a spirited effort but Williams had too big of a lead.
Johnson, who continues to work a lot at nickel, blitzed and sacked Matt Fink.
The redshirt junior QB closed out with a pair of completions, including a long one to Vaughns down the sideline that was pulled down in traffic. Great body control from TV, as you're accustomed to but bears repeating.
But the play(s) of the day came from Hufanga, who twice intercepted Fink for pick-6s.
"Oh, mercy. He's always had natural ball skills," Helton said afterward. "You could just see how comfortable he is now in the system. He's the one communicating and making the calls, where last year he was just getting lined up and worrying about him. Now he's actually making the calls for everybody and getting them lined up.
"He made two really special plays. He makes a one hand[ed], low-ball catch that looked like one of our wideouts. That's how special a player he is. I think he can be one of the best in the country by the end of the season."
NEWS
Helton said beginning this week the practice regimen will reflect that of a game week: Mondays and Thursdays without pads, Tuesdays in full pads, Wednesdays in shells and shorts and Fridays are walkthroughs. This Saturday, of course, is the end-of-camp scrimmage.
WR Munir McClain suffered a concussion while taking a hard hit during the scrimmage and is day to day. He did some light work Monday and the expectation is he'll be cleared later this week.
DT Brandon Pili is running and is also day to day.
LB Eli'jah Winston, who just recently moved to middle linebacker from outside LB, is in a walking boot and limping.
WR John Jackson III (hamstring) returned after being sidelined for about a week.
Helton said there still isn't a timetable for freshman WR Kyle Ford's return from a torn ACL. He noted three criterion for coming back from a significant injury -- medical clearance, player comfortability and Helton's gut instinct -- and it sounded like Ford is more than likely to sit out this season.
"Everybody heals different. When you have an ACL, sometimes it feels really good and sometimes it doesn't and you got to pull back," Helton said. "... We're going to get him right and we're in it for the long haul with him. ... We're not going to rush it."
