Notes and observations from Wednesday's practice ...
USC was in full pads again. It was another physical session but much sharper than yesterday.
11-on-11:
Su'a Cravens blitzes and deflects a pass.
Osa Masina and Cody Temple combine for a TFL.
Biggie Marshall intercepts a pass after it bounces off Soma Vainuku's fingertips.
Masina intercepts Max Brown on a throw over the middle.
***
Ronald Jones II bursts through a small hole up the middle and breaks outside for a TD. Just a sensational play. John Plattenburg did his best to cut Jones off but didn't have a chance. My guess is Jones has the highest top speed on the team. He gets faster the longer he's running.
Cody Kessler eludes pressure and finds Rogers. I think the fact that Kessler isn't a real threat to run will always be a challenge in terms of protecting him. It also makes it that much more important that he recognizes where the pressure is coming from and gets rid of the ball in time.
Kessler hits Justin Davis on a screen and he cuts hard toward the sideline, only to have the ball slip out of his hands. There was no contact on the play. What's encouraging is that Davis looks healthy and is moving really well.
Jalen Greene makes an excellent adjustment on a deep throw from Browne and makes a falling catch against Chris Hawkins. Greene's development at receiver has been noteworthy.
Scout team:
Isaiah Langley breaks up a pair of passes. There was a third, from Kessler, that he might have been able to intercept but he allowed Darreus Rogers to catch it. (This might be hard to explain but that's what he was supposed to do in that instance. One of the main objectives of these particular periods is to allow the unit -- offense or defense -- facing the scout team to execute its plays.)
Ykili Ross is in a black jersey. He's back from his shoulder injury but is not part of the rotation. Will be looking to get some info soon on whether he's going to redshirt this year.
Jones breaks outside again and picks up a first down but is popped by a walk-on linebacker (couldn't tell who because they're not wearing their actual numbers).
Kessler completes a bomb over the middle to Jalen Greene. Kessler goes deep again, this time down the sideline to De'Quan Hampton. As Kessler has stated, he's comfortable making these throws against single coverage.
Cravens was in the backfield again to disrupt a play. I'd forgotten that he was dealing with some back tightness during training camp. That might have been bothering him more than he let on. His play in practice has been much better over the past few weeks.
***
Kris Albarado had a pair of booming punts. He also had a couple unremarkable ones.
Thursday's practice is closed to the media. We'll meet with Sark afterward. Another edition of They Said It will be up later. Interviews include JuJu Smith-Schuster, Porter Gustin and Peter Sirmon.
USC was in full pads again. It was another physical session but much sharper than yesterday.
11-on-11:
Su'a Cravens blitzes and deflects a pass.
Osa Masina and Cody Temple combine for a TFL.
Biggie Marshall intercepts a pass after it bounces off Soma Vainuku's fingertips.
Masina intercepts Max Brown on a throw over the middle.
***
Ronald Jones II bursts through a small hole up the middle and breaks outside for a TD. Just a sensational play. John Plattenburg did his best to cut Jones off but didn't have a chance. My guess is Jones has the highest top speed on the team. He gets faster the longer he's running.
Cody Kessler eludes pressure and finds Rogers. I think the fact that Kessler isn't a real threat to run will always be a challenge in terms of protecting him. It also makes it that much more important that he recognizes where the pressure is coming from and gets rid of the ball in time.
Kessler hits Justin Davis on a screen and he cuts hard toward the sideline, only to have the ball slip out of his hands. There was no contact on the play. What's encouraging is that Davis looks healthy and is moving really well.
Jalen Greene makes an excellent adjustment on a deep throw from Browne and makes a falling catch against Chris Hawkins. Greene's development at receiver has been noteworthy.
Scout team:
Isaiah Langley breaks up a pair of passes. There was a third, from Kessler, that he might have been able to intercept but he allowed Darreus Rogers to catch it. (This might be hard to explain but that's what he was supposed to do in that instance. One of the main objectives of these particular periods is to allow the unit -- offense or defense -- facing the scout team to execute its plays.)
Ykili Ross is in a black jersey. He's back from his shoulder injury but is not part of the rotation. Will be looking to get some info soon on whether he's going to redshirt this year.
Jones breaks outside again and picks up a first down but is popped by a walk-on linebacker (couldn't tell who because they're not wearing their actual numbers).
Kessler completes a bomb over the middle to Jalen Greene. Kessler goes deep again, this time down the sideline to De'Quan Hampton. As Kessler has stated, he's comfortable making these throws against single coverage.
Cravens was in the backfield again to disrupt a play. I'd forgotten that he was dealing with some back tightness during training camp. That might have been bothering him more than he let on. His play in practice has been much better over the past few weeks.
***
Kris Albarado had a pair of booming punts. He also had a couple unremarkable ones.
Thursday's practice is closed to the media. We'll meet with Sark afterward. Another edition of They Said It will be up later. Interviews include JuJu Smith-Schuster, Porter Gustin and Peter Sirmon.
