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Kicking off the first game week of the year, USC went in full pads at today’s practice. A few big headlines highlighted an otherwise slow day of practice.
Porter Gustin’s Return
Gustin practiced in full pads today for the first time since tearing his meniscus in the first week of camp- and he looked great. Someone just removed from an meniscus tear shouldn’t have been able to move with the power and burst that Gustin showed today- it’s almost freakishly unnatural. Having him participate at full speed on the first practice day of week is definitely a welcome sign as far as his prospects of playing in the opener this Saturday. When asked about his feelings on the chances of Gustin playing against UNLV, coach Helton stated, “I feel pretty confident right now. We’ll see- this was a contact day, we’ll see how it reacts[…] We’ll see how it reacts after a good day of work. Two things always go into it for me in a decision: one, did the doctors clear him to play, and then two, is he confident, he wants to play. If he’s confident and the doctor says he’s clear, we’ll pull that trigger. If either one’s a no, then we’ll wait for the next game."
Transfer News
Coach Helton announced that both CB Je’Quari Godfrey and S Ykili Ross will be pursuing transfers. Ross’s transfer was initially reported on Saturday, and today he restated that fact, clarifying that Ross would stay at USC through the fall to finish his degree before seeking a graduate transfer. Redshirt freshman Godfrey’s transfer was more of a surprise, but it’s not hard to see why with the cornerback depth chart loaded with young talent all in front of Godfrey.
Injuries
LB Palaie Gaoteote is about a week away from returning according to coach Helton. He’s been ruled out for UNLV as he recovers from a knee injury.
DL Liam Jimmons will be ruled out from Saturday with a turf toe.
C Toa Lobendahn was held out with a pectoral strain; his status will be day-to-day
OL Jordan Austin was pulled today for a slight pectoral strain as well
RB Markese Stepp is still being held out for concussion protocol
WR Josh Imatorbhebhe is still out with an ankle injury
TE Daniel Imatorbhebhe is still out with a quad issue
TE Austin Applebee is out with a case of mono
TE Josh Falo was pulled for a tight hamstring- his status will be looked at tomorrow
Preparing for UNLV
Coach Helton ran through a quick assessment of the UNLV team the Trojans will play against on Saturday. He praised their improvement under head coach Tony Sanchez, noting that they had three very close losses last year and could’ve easily been an 8-win team. He further praised their run game, pointing out that they finished as a top 16 rushing team last year, and emphasized the need for the Trojans to play good run defense against them, stating that it would be “ultracritical” this week. He singled out running back Lexington Thomas and QB Armani Rogers (more than 2000 combined rush yards last season) and receiver Brandon Presley as players the Trojans need to look out for on offense, as well as linebacker Gabe McCoy and safety Dalton Baker (98 tackles last season). Helton also addressed the fact that their new defensive coordinator Tim Skipper would make it hard to predict the type of defense they’d play, going on to say “It’s gonna be more about us: our fundamentals, our techniques, our assignments, that’s what we’re concentrating on.”
General Impressions and Observations
Although the offensive starters laid out by the official depth chart were working as expected, Stephen Carr, Vavae Malepeai, and Amon-Ra St. Brown all cycled in with the first team offense. Even if they’re not “starters”, I’d expect them to see a lot of touches this week.
Tyler Petite had his best day of practice so far, catching a couple of deep corner throws and a seam route. Although he did have a really bad drop as well, today was a promising sign for the guy who’ll start at tight end on Saturday after a rather lackluster camp.
Jay Tufele looked dominant today as he has throughout a lot of camp. He was wrecking blockers all day long, embarrassing some of the offensive linemen during one-on-ones, even tossing a guard to the ground. He’ll probably see a lot of the field against UNLV, even if it’s not as a starter.
We’ll have a separate piece about JT Daniels’ first day as the starting quarterback up later tonight as well.
Porter Gustin’s Return
Gustin practiced in full pads today for the first time since tearing his meniscus in the first week of camp- and he looked great. Someone just removed from an meniscus tear shouldn’t have been able to move with the power and burst that Gustin showed today- it’s almost freakishly unnatural. Having him participate at full speed on the first practice day of week is definitely a welcome sign as far as his prospects of playing in the opener this Saturday. When asked about his feelings on the chances of Gustin playing against UNLV, coach Helton stated, “I feel pretty confident right now. We’ll see- this was a contact day, we’ll see how it reacts[…] We’ll see how it reacts after a good day of work. Two things always go into it for me in a decision: one, did the doctors clear him to play, and then two, is he confident, he wants to play. If he’s confident and the doctor says he’s clear, we’ll pull that trigger. If either one’s a no, then we’ll wait for the next game."
Transfer News
Coach Helton announced that both CB Je’Quari Godfrey and S Ykili Ross will be pursuing transfers. Ross’s transfer was initially reported on Saturday, and today he restated that fact, clarifying that Ross would stay at USC through the fall to finish his degree before seeking a graduate transfer. Redshirt freshman Godfrey’s transfer was more of a surprise, but it’s not hard to see why with the cornerback depth chart loaded with young talent all in front of Godfrey.
Injuries
LB Palaie Gaoteote is about a week away from returning according to coach Helton. He’s been ruled out for UNLV as he recovers from a knee injury.
DL Liam Jimmons will be ruled out from Saturday with a turf toe.
C Toa Lobendahn was held out with a pectoral strain; his status will be day-to-day
OL Jordan Austin was pulled today for a slight pectoral strain as well
RB Markese Stepp is still being held out for concussion protocol
WR Josh Imatorbhebhe is still out with an ankle injury
TE Daniel Imatorbhebhe is still out with a quad issue
TE Austin Applebee is out with a case of mono
TE Josh Falo was pulled for a tight hamstring- his status will be looked at tomorrow
Preparing for UNLV
Coach Helton ran through a quick assessment of the UNLV team the Trojans will play against on Saturday. He praised their improvement under head coach Tony Sanchez, noting that they had three very close losses last year and could’ve easily been an 8-win team. He further praised their run game, pointing out that they finished as a top 16 rushing team last year, and emphasized the need for the Trojans to play good run defense against them, stating that it would be “ultracritical” this week. He singled out running back Lexington Thomas and QB Armani Rogers (more than 2000 combined rush yards last season) and receiver Brandon Presley as players the Trojans need to look out for on offense, as well as linebacker Gabe McCoy and safety Dalton Baker (98 tackles last season). Helton also addressed the fact that their new defensive coordinator Tim Skipper would make it hard to predict the type of defense they’d play, going on to say “It’s gonna be more about us: our fundamentals, our techniques, our assignments, that’s what we’re concentrating on.”
General Impressions and Observations
Although the offensive starters laid out by the official depth chart were working as expected, Stephen Carr, Vavae Malepeai, and Amon-Ra St. Brown all cycled in with the first team offense. Even if they’re not “starters”, I’d expect them to see a lot of touches this week.
Tyler Petite had his best day of practice so far, catching a couple of deep corner throws and a seam route. Although he did have a really bad drop as well, today was a promising sign for the guy who’ll start at tight end on Saturday after a rather lackluster camp.
Jay Tufele looked dominant today as he has throughout a lot of camp. He was wrecking blockers all day long, embarrassing some of the offensive linemen during one-on-ones, even tossing a guard to the ground. He’ll probably see a lot of the field against UNLV, even if it’s not as a starter.
We’ll have a separate piece about JT Daniels’ first day as the starting quarterback up later tonight as well.
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