USC's receiving corps has taken a sizable hit this offseason. Nelson Agholor was widely expected to leave, but it still hurt when he finally did. George Farmer was unexpected. Bryce Dixon is unknown.
What remains is a talented group in which every member is vying for a bigger role than he previously held. We spoke with receivers coach and passing game coordinator Tee Martin to get his thoughts on his position group through the early part of spring practice.
How are things going so far with your guys?
TM: "Day 4, Practice 4 -- a lot that we got to clean up from a detail-oriented standpoint, from a discipline standpoint, to get to where we want to be and play consistently how we want to play. But the effort is there, the mentality is there, the attitude is there, and the guys want to be really good. I think they're playing with a chip on their shoulders a little bit. I'm liking that part of it. But as you expect when you're installing every day, there's going to be some new stuff where guys make some mistakes. We'll fix that throughout the course of spring. But I like where they are. I like what their intentions are right now. We've just got to continue to build on that."
What are some of the challenges for JuJu Smith, who's being anointed as the No. 1 receiver?
TM: "The challenges are to not hear that, to not listen to that. Most of the guys that I've been around, that have been those guys - from Woody to Marqise to Nelson - they just worked and let it happen. The moment you start pressing and trying to be that guy, that's when things don't go so well.
"But I think he welcomes that, that pressure, that responsibility, which is good. You want that. But at the same time, I just want him being JuJu. I want him focusing on what he has to do to get better. He's still an 18-year-old freshman. Still fairly inexperienced. We talk about him still focusing on what he has to do to continue to get better himself, and the other guys will come along and challenge him as well."
Talk about some of the early battles between JuJu and Kevon Seymour.
TM: "Good on good. That's what it's supposed to be about. Kevon makes us better. We make him better. Shoot, that's what you like to see. There's been some really good matchups here over the years. It's kind of like Nickell (Robey) and Robert Woods, Josh Shaw and Marqise Lee. You're going to have some good matchups out here. I like what they're doing in terms of competing to make each other better."
It looks like Steven Mitchell is building on last year's strong second half.
TM: "Yeah, he is. He's confident. He's knowing more about what to do. We're playing him in a lot of different places, doing a lot of things with him. But we love his explosiveness, his big-play ability. He's a guy that I feel like, if he continues to practice the way he's practicing and producing out here the way he's been doing it, he could have a pretty good year."
What are your early impressions of Isaac Whitney?
TM: "It's the first week for a new player. There are no expectations on him yet. He's a puppy dog trying to learn how to walk in the yard right now around a bunch of big dogs. He's got to learn how to get lined up. He's got to learn the plays. Our mechanisms of how we do no-huddle, seeing signals and things like that. It is really tough for the first week, the first two weeks in this program for anyone. I anticipate him continuing to get better. He showed some signs today. When he knows what he's doing, he can be really good. We've just got to get him knowing what he's doing."
Do you have a pecking order?
TM: "It's open competition. Even though some guys have played we're still fairly inexperienced. For me right now, spring, I'm getting a lot of information. Although some guys have been in the program, this is their opportunity to be the guy. We're looking for that this spring."
What remains is a talented group in which every member is vying for a bigger role than he previously held. We spoke with receivers coach and passing game coordinator Tee Martin to get his thoughts on his position group through the early part of spring practice.
How are things going so far with your guys?
TM: "Day 4, Practice 4 -- a lot that we got to clean up from a detail-oriented standpoint, from a discipline standpoint, to get to where we want to be and play consistently how we want to play. But the effort is there, the mentality is there, the attitude is there, and the guys want to be really good. I think they're playing with a chip on their shoulders a little bit. I'm liking that part of it. But as you expect when you're installing every day, there's going to be some new stuff where guys make some mistakes. We'll fix that throughout the course of spring. But I like where they are. I like what their intentions are right now. We've just got to continue to build on that."
What are some of the challenges for JuJu Smith, who's being anointed as the No. 1 receiver?
TM: "The challenges are to not hear that, to not listen to that. Most of the guys that I've been around, that have been those guys - from Woody to Marqise to Nelson - they just worked and let it happen. The moment you start pressing and trying to be that guy, that's when things don't go so well.
"But I think he welcomes that, that pressure, that responsibility, which is good. You want that. But at the same time, I just want him being JuJu. I want him focusing on what he has to do to get better. He's still an 18-year-old freshman. Still fairly inexperienced. We talk about him still focusing on what he has to do to continue to get better himself, and the other guys will come along and challenge him as well."
Talk about some of the early battles between JuJu and Kevon Seymour.
TM: "Good on good. That's what it's supposed to be about. Kevon makes us better. We make him better. Shoot, that's what you like to see. There's been some really good matchups here over the years. It's kind of like Nickell (Robey) and Robert Woods, Josh Shaw and Marqise Lee. You're going to have some good matchups out here. I like what they're doing in terms of competing to make each other better."
It looks like Steven Mitchell is building on last year's strong second half.
TM: "Yeah, he is. He's confident. He's knowing more about what to do. We're playing him in a lot of different places, doing a lot of things with him. But we love his explosiveness, his big-play ability. He's a guy that I feel like, if he continues to practice the way he's practicing and producing out here the way he's been doing it, he could have a pretty good year."
What are your early impressions of Isaac Whitney?
TM: "It's the first week for a new player. There are no expectations on him yet. He's a puppy dog trying to learn how to walk in the yard right now around a bunch of big dogs. He's got to learn how to get lined up. He's got to learn the plays. Our mechanisms of how we do no-huddle, seeing signals and things like that. It is really tough for the first week, the first two weeks in this program for anyone. I anticipate him continuing to get better. He showed some signs today. When he knows what he's doing, he can be really good. We've just got to get him knowing what he's doing."
Do you have a pecking order?
TM: "It's open competition. Even though some guys have played we're still fairly inexperienced. For me right now, spring, I'm getting a lot of information. Although some guys have been in the program, this is their opportunity to be the guy. We're looking for that this spring."
