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USC held its second training camp practice today, going at it for two hours in only helmets with jerseys and shorts once again. The team has tomorrow off, before hitting the field from Monday through next Saturday.
Coach Clay Helton was struggling with what seemed like a bad cold today, leading to a shorter than usual rundown from him after practice. Despite this, he gave us a good amount of information to work with. He gave an outline of the scrimmage schedule for the remainder of camp, with one being held each of the next three Saturdays. The first two will be live scrimmages while the last will be a full mock game (that is closed to the media).
Helton was a bit critical of the regression the offense showed today as practice got more physical, with more pressure being put on the quarterbacks. He pointed out that the offensive showing was “not as clean” as yesterday’s. He attributed this in large part to the young guys getting overwhelmed as camp picks up speed, and made sure to point out that it’s normal for that to happen. He did mention that today’s 7-on-7s would be the last for a while, as he wants the QBs to start getting used to more live pressure.
The flip side of a sloppy showing by the offense was a dominant performance by the defense. Ajene Harris and Biggie Marshall looked incredible once again, and coach Helton made sure to mention how impressed he was with his veteran DBs, referring to Ajene and his two interceptions in two days.
Coach Helton went on to acknowledge his faith in the entire defense, praising its experience and cohesion as a unit. They looked really good today as a group, breaking up a lot of passes, blowing up screens, getting to the quarterback, and forcing two turnovers.
Helton described his expectations for the run game, claiming he wants to run the ball about 40 times per game. That kind of workload can’t be carried by one back, and Helton acknowledged that fact, stating that USC’s best offenses had multiple elite backs. With Ced Ware looking good on his first-team reps and Stephen Carr looking fully healthy, along with an effective Vavae Malepai, Helton thinks the Trojans can look to replicate the benefits of shared touches in the backfield. He even made clear that he plans to utilize more two-back sets during the season, allowing the Trojans to have two of their most dangerous playmakers on the field simultaneously.
Injuries
-TE Daniel Imatorbhebe was a full participant after being held back yesterday. He seems fully ready to go.
-TB Stephen Carr was a full participant for the second straight day, serving as the second-team tailback. Any doubts about whether or not he was at full speed seemed to be quelled today as he took off for a deep touchdown reception.
-LB Cameron Smith and S Ykili Ross were both pulled from today’s practice with tight hamstrings. Coach Helton said it wasn’t anything serious, but they were pulled as a precautionary measure.
-LB Solomon Tuliaupupu (foot), LB Wole Betiku (hip), DT Jay Tufele (foot) and DL Jacob Lichtenstein (knee) remained out.
As planned, players and assistant coaches were not made available to the media today.
Rotations
Most of the rotations looked the same as yesterday, but there were some small changes that were noteworthy. Olaijah Griffin joined the second team at corner, joining Greg Johnson. Reuben Peters took over at MLB after Smith went down. Isaiah Pola-Mao filled in for the injured Ykili Ross at free safety on the second team. On offense, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Imhatorbhebe manned the outside receiver spots for the second team, while Trevon Sidney played the slot.
Impressions
The receiver group didn’t flash as much as they did yesterday, and a lot of that was probably due to the regression in QB play. Tyler Vaughns had a monster catch over Isaiah Langley on a deep post from Matt Fink, coming back to the ball to go over Langley for the reception. As a whole, there wasn’t a lot that stood out from the group today.
The secondary looked incredible once again, especially veterans Biggie Marshall and Ajene Harris. Marshall broke up both balls thrown at him, both streaks to Michael Pittman which he blanketed completely. Harris once again looked to understand the game at a different level than everyone else on the field, seeming to know where the ball was going better than the receivers at times. His pick today was exemplary of that as he tracked Jack Sears’s eyes straight to the ball while the receiver ended up five yards away. Isaiah Langley did pretty well after being beaten early by Vaughns, breaking up a comeback route to St. Brown and allowing little separation much of the day.
The front 7 looked downright scary, appearing to be in the backfield on almost every play. Brandon Pili broke up one screen pass, while most others were swarmed almost immediately. There would have been quite a few sacks on the day had the quarterbacks been unprotected, and runs were stuffed frequently at or behind the line. Levi Jones made a nice play late in the 11 on 11 session, stripping the ball free from Stephen Carr on a stretch run.
Aca’Cedric Ware took the carries at 1st team tailback, and did a good job when he had anywhere to run. His burst looks great, outrunning defenders on a number of carries, and his agility looked special too on a lot of the jump cuts and jukes he hit. Stephen Carr looked to be full speed playing behind him on the second team, scoring on a wheel route out of the backfield.
Coach Clay Helton was struggling with what seemed like a bad cold today, leading to a shorter than usual rundown from him after practice. Despite this, he gave us a good amount of information to work with. He gave an outline of the scrimmage schedule for the remainder of camp, with one being held each of the next three Saturdays. The first two will be live scrimmages while the last will be a full mock game (that is closed to the media).
Helton was a bit critical of the regression the offense showed today as practice got more physical, with more pressure being put on the quarterbacks. He pointed out that the offensive showing was “not as clean” as yesterday’s. He attributed this in large part to the young guys getting overwhelmed as camp picks up speed, and made sure to point out that it’s normal for that to happen. He did mention that today’s 7-on-7s would be the last for a while, as he wants the QBs to start getting used to more live pressure.
The flip side of a sloppy showing by the offense was a dominant performance by the defense. Ajene Harris and Biggie Marshall looked incredible once again, and coach Helton made sure to mention how impressed he was with his veteran DBs, referring to Ajene and his two interceptions in two days.
Coach Helton went on to acknowledge his faith in the entire defense, praising its experience and cohesion as a unit. They looked really good today as a group, breaking up a lot of passes, blowing up screens, getting to the quarterback, and forcing two turnovers.
Helton described his expectations for the run game, claiming he wants to run the ball about 40 times per game. That kind of workload can’t be carried by one back, and Helton acknowledged that fact, stating that USC’s best offenses had multiple elite backs. With Ced Ware looking good on his first-team reps and Stephen Carr looking fully healthy, along with an effective Vavae Malepai, Helton thinks the Trojans can look to replicate the benefits of shared touches in the backfield. He even made clear that he plans to utilize more two-back sets during the season, allowing the Trojans to have two of their most dangerous playmakers on the field simultaneously.
Injuries
-TE Daniel Imatorbhebe was a full participant after being held back yesterday. He seems fully ready to go.
-TB Stephen Carr was a full participant for the second straight day, serving as the second-team tailback. Any doubts about whether or not he was at full speed seemed to be quelled today as he took off for a deep touchdown reception.
-LB Cameron Smith and S Ykili Ross were both pulled from today’s practice with tight hamstrings. Coach Helton said it wasn’t anything serious, but they were pulled as a precautionary measure.
-LB Solomon Tuliaupupu (foot), LB Wole Betiku (hip), DT Jay Tufele (foot) and DL Jacob Lichtenstein (knee) remained out.
As planned, players and assistant coaches were not made available to the media today.
Rotations
Most of the rotations looked the same as yesterday, but there were some small changes that were noteworthy. Olaijah Griffin joined the second team at corner, joining Greg Johnson. Reuben Peters took over at MLB after Smith went down. Isaiah Pola-Mao filled in for the injured Ykili Ross at free safety on the second team. On offense, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Imhatorbhebe manned the outside receiver spots for the second team, while Trevon Sidney played the slot.
Impressions
The receiver group didn’t flash as much as they did yesterday, and a lot of that was probably due to the regression in QB play. Tyler Vaughns had a monster catch over Isaiah Langley on a deep post from Matt Fink, coming back to the ball to go over Langley for the reception. As a whole, there wasn’t a lot that stood out from the group today.
The secondary looked incredible once again, especially veterans Biggie Marshall and Ajene Harris. Marshall broke up both balls thrown at him, both streaks to Michael Pittman which he blanketed completely. Harris once again looked to understand the game at a different level than everyone else on the field, seeming to know where the ball was going better than the receivers at times. His pick today was exemplary of that as he tracked Jack Sears’s eyes straight to the ball while the receiver ended up five yards away. Isaiah Langley did pretty well after being beaten early by Vaughns, breaking up a comeback route to St. Brown and allowing little separation much of the day.
The front 7 looked downright scary, appearing to be in the backfield on almost every play. Brandon Pili broke up one screen pass, while most others were swarmed almost immediately. There would have been quite a few sacks on the day had the quarterbacks been unprotected, and runs were stuffed frequently at or behind the line. Levi Jones made a nice play late in the 11 on 11 session, stripping the ball free from Stephen Carr on a stretch run.
Aca’Cedric Ware took the carries at 1st team tailback, and did a good job when he had anywhere to run. His burst looks great, outrunning defenders on a number of carries, and his agility looked special too on a lot of the jump cuts and jukes he hit. Stephen Carr looked to be full speed playing behind him on the second team, scoring on a wheel route out of the backfield.
