If it looked like Justin Davis was hesitant at times last season, it's because he said he was. He was in an offense that was not only brand new to him for that moment but for his entire career.
Davis came to USC in the spring of 2013 to play in Lane Kiffin's pro-style offense. He ran beautifully in it, averaging 6.8 yards per carry before breaking his ankle in the middle of his freshman season. When he returned to practice 10 months later, USC's offense was completely different.
But another seven months have passed and Davis, now a junior, is running a lot more like the guy we saw two years ago. We caught up with Davis to see how things are coming along this spring as he aims to be USC's feature tailback.
What does it mean for you to have a full offseason?
JD: "It helps out tremendously. Last year I thought could jump in training camp - August - and be ready for the season. But I was out of whack. I hadn't seen a full speed game in a while and starting in January, it's just a process of building your body, working up to the moment for the first game."
What are your objectives?
JD: "First and foremost I have to put on some weight. There were a couple of times last year where I felt I was getting tossed around a little too much. Just building a nice, solid foundation so I can handle however many carries they want me to run the ball. I want to be at a nice weight, 207, so I can keep my speed also. I'm like 202 right now and getting faster as well."
What are you doing to maintain and improve your speed?
JD: "We're doing a lot of great things out there, strength coach Ivan (Lewis), a lot of great things that's going to get the whole team faster. Last year I kind of didn't have my legs as much because I was rehabbing and had to stay off my foot for a month after I had surgery. Now I have my legs back, feeling great, powerful, explosive, can't wait to show the fans."
What do you think of the depth chart now that Buck Allen is gone?
JD: "To see that it's wide open like that with the three freshmen coming in, it's going to push me to a whole 'nother level. I embrace every minute of competition and it's going to help me out a lot."
What does it mean to get more practice reps than ever before?
JD: "It's going to pay off. Last year, missing spring hurt me a lot because that was my first time experiencing the playbook, the type of plays Sark's running. I was kind of late wit picking it up in training camp and now I'm going to have a head start."
Are you accustomed to carrying the ball 25 times a game?
JD: "Most definitely. In high school, I probably averaged 30 carries a game. I had 40 carry games. I'm used to it, it's not a new sight to me. I can't wait until I do that again."
You and Tre Madden really seem to complement one another.
JD: "Me and Tre are always talking about it. It's going to be that one-two punch, depending on what the freshmen do, I don't know what they're going to come in and do. But yeah, we're going to kind of work together, kind of the symmetry that me and Buck had last year and we're going to make it to perfection."
It looked like you ran faster and more comfortably last November and December compared to earlier in the season. Was that the case?
JD: "I was just trusting my body a-whole-lot more because I hadn't been using it at that level for a very long time. It was kind of hard getting adjusted, being at that level of competition but eventually I started to get the hang of it and I can't wait to build off that for the start of the season."
How did the injury affect your confidence?
JD: "There were times when everything was going bad, my ankle wasn't right, I didn't feel right at all. Those are the times that made me stronger and built me better for the future coming up here. I know where I was at and I know where I want to be. So it's nothing but forward as of this point."
If you're going to be the lead back, do you feel like that comes with leadership responsibility too?
JD: "That's always a responsibility and I think that being under guys like Silas Redd and Buck Allen, they're some of the best leaders you can have. I think they taught me well enough and things I can pass on to the young dudes. I can't wait to be able to do that."
What's your style? I know you're not a real talkative guy.
JD: "I've always been more of a lead by example but if I have to say something that's really dear to me, I'm going to say it. That's the kind of role I played in high school. If you don't talk a lot, the one time you talk, everyone will listen. That's the thing I'm looking forward to doing."
Are you feeling more comfortable with catching passes out of the backfield?
JD: "That's one of things I wanted to work on coming in here. Of course, running is the main part of the offense, I'm going to get on the ground in there. I just want to be ready for what they throw at me."
Had you done much of that in high school?
JD: "Not at all. They just gave it to you and ran with the ball every time. It was a pro style. The passes I got were screens and whatnot. I've been working on it a lot and getting better at it."
Did you always run behind a fullback?
JD: "Oh yeah. It was similar to Stanford's offense. One of the reasons I came to USC was Lane Kiffin had his pro offense. I loved it because it was the same. When Sark came in, it was little different, a little hard for me at first. But I'm learning to love it because the running backs get a whole lot more chances than in Kiffin's offense."
You're a cutback running back. I imagine you also have more room to operate upon receiving the handoff, no?
JD: "Yeah. Sark knows how to use his play makers to their best ability. He's going to put you in the best situation to succeed and that's what I love about this offense. I definitely love zone reading the defense and making a cut. That's what I love doing the most and Sark allows me to do that."
Is that something you're studying more because it is still fairly new to you?
JD: "Right. I want to go into training camp in spring knowing that I have all my plays down, studying the linebackers of teams in the future so I can help out the young kids too and myself."
Davis came to USC in the spring of 2013 to play in Lane Kiffin's pro-style offense. He ran beautifully in it, averaging 6.8 yards per carry before breaking his ankle in the middle of his freshman season. When he returned to practice 10 months later, USC's offense was completely different.
But another seven months have passed and Davis, now a junior, is running a lot more like the guy we saw two years ago. We caught up with Davis to see how things are coming along this spring as he aims to be USC's feature tailback.
What does it mean for you to have a full offseason?
JD: "It helps out tremendously. Last year I thought could jump in training camp - August - and be ready for the season. But I was out of whack. I hadn't seen a full speed game in a while and starting in January, it's just a process of building your body, working up to the moment for the first game."
What are your objectives?
JD: "First and foremost I have to put on some weight. There were a couple of times last year where I felt I was getting tossed around a little too much. Just building a nice, solid foundation so I can handle however many carries they want me to run the ball. I want to be at a nice weight, 207, so I can keep my speed also. I'm like 202 right now and getting faster as well."
What are you doing to maintain and improve your speed?
JD: "We're doing a lot of great things out there, strength coach Ivan (Lewis), a lot of great things that's going to get the whole team faster. Last year I kind of didn't have my legs as much because I was rehabbing and had to stay off my foot for a month after I had surgery. Now I have my legs back, feeling great, powerful, explosive, can't wait to show the fans."
What do you think of the depth chart now that Buck Allen is gone?
JD: "To see that it's wide open like that with the three freshmen coming in, it's going to push me to a whole 'nother level. I embrace every minute of competition and it's going to help me out a lot."
What does it mean to get more practice reps than ever before?
JD: "It's going to pay off. Last year, missing spring hurt me a lot because that was my first time experiencing the playbook, the type of plays Sark's running. I was kind of late wit picking it up in training camp and now I'm going to have a head start."
Are you accustomed to carrying the ball 25 times a game?
JD: "Most definitely. In high school, I probably averaged 30 carries a game. I had 40 carry games. I'm used to it, it's not a new sight to me. I can't wait until I do that again."
You and Tre Madden really seem to complement one another.
JD: "Me and Tre are always talking about it. It's going to be that one-two punch, depending on what the freshmen do, I don't know what they're going to come in and do. But yeah, we're going to kind of work together, kind of the symmetry that me and Buck had last year and we're going to make it to perfection."
It looked like you ran faster and more comfortably last November and December compared to earlier in the season. Was that the case?
JD: "I was just trusting my body a-whole-lot more because I hadn't been using it at that level for a very long time. It was kind of hard getting adjusted, being at that level of competition but eventually I started to get the hang of it and I can't wait to build off that for the start of the season."
How did the injury affect your confidence?
JD: "There were times when everything was going bad, my ankle wasn't right, I didn't feel right at all. Those are the times that made me stronger and built me better for the future coming up here. I know where I was at and I know where I want to be. So it's nothing but forward as of this point."
If you're going to be the lead back, do you feel like that comes with leadership responsibility too?
JD: "That's always a responsibility and I think that being under guys like Silas Redd and Buck Allen, they're some of the best leaders you can have. I think they taught me well enough and things I can pass on to the young dudes. I can't wait to be able to do that."
What's your style? I know you're not a real talkative guy.
JD: "I've always been more of a lead by example but if I have to say something that's really dear to me, I'm going to say it. That's the kind of role I played in high school. If you don't talk a lot, the one time you talk, everyone will listen. That's the thing I'm looking forward to doing."
Are you feeling more comfortable with catching passes out of the backfield?
JD: "That's one of things I wanted to work on coming in here. Of course, running is the main part of the offense, I'm going to get on the ground in there. I just want to be ready for what they throw at me."
Had you done much of that in high school?
JD: "Not at all. They just gave it to you and ran with the ball every time. It was a pro style. The passes I got were screens and whatnot. I've been working on it a lot and getting better at it."
Did you always run behind a fullback?
JD: "Oh yeah. It was similar to Stanford's offense. One of the reasons I came to USC was Lane Kiffin had his pro offense. I loved it because it was the same. When Sark came in, it was little different, a little hard for me at first. But I'm learning to love it because the running backs get a whole lot more chances than in Kiffin's offense."
You're a cutback running back. I imagine you also have more room to operate upon receiving the handoff, no?
JD: "Yeah. Sark knows how to use his play makers to their best ability. He's going to put you in the best situation to succeed and that's what I love about this offense. I definitely love zone reading the defense and making a cut. That's what I love doing the most and Sark allows me to do that."
Is that something you're studying more because it is still fairly new to you?
JD: "Right. I want to go into training camp in spring knowing that I have all my plays down, studying the linebackers of teams in the future so I can help out the young kids too and myself."
