USC practiced for about two hours and 15 minutes Tuesday at the track field.
The session opened with stretching and then a walkthrough without helmets. Tre Madden got the first carry.
***
Here were the lineups for the 11-on-11 periods:
The offensive line was status quo (Lobendahn, Mama, Tuerk, Talamaivao and Banner). Then it was Kessler, Davis, JuJu, Mitchell and Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick. Whitney and Rogers rotated for the third spot. Ajene got some first-team run too but more often worked with the second team.
The first team DL was Pelon, Temple and Simmons.
Su'a played exclusively at LB. His arms are noticeably bigger and he's put on some of the weight he lost during the season.
Michael Hutchings and Lamar Dawson were the other first-team linebackers. Scott Felix played rush end-OLB.
Anthony Sarao dressed but did not practice. Sark said afterward he has a foot injury and they're being cautious with it.
The DBs were AJax, Seymour, McQuay and Plat.
***
Here was the second team:
OL: Nico Falah, Chris Brown, Khaliel Rodgers, Jordan Simmons and Chuma Edoga. (Hemsley practiced at left tackle with the third team.)
DL: Jeff Miller, Joey Augello and Malik Dorton;
LBs: Powell, Tucker, Cam Smith and Don Hill.
DBs: Simmons, Lockett were the corners, Lopes and Chris Hawkins were the safeties.
***
Mitchell had a really impressive first day.
He probably had the most receptions, perhaps a sign that Kessler is most comfortable throwing to the slot receiver. Mitchell also dropped a couple passes but the sun appeared to be directly in his line of sight both times.
Kessler had a number of nice throws, including a deep ball down the middle in which Rogers needed to separate from the DB and haul in.
Max Browne probably had the two best throws of the day -- a bomb down the middle of the field to JuJu and a wheel route to Justin Davis. I found the latter throw to be really nice.
Damien Mama has slimmed down but is still very big. We spoke with new o-line coach Bob Connelly after practice and he said he would like to see Mama and Zach Banner drop some weight. We'll post that interview later.
***
Dawson practiced without a brace, which is worth noting since he always wore one last season. I thought Dawson looked good. You can tell he's much healthier.
Madden got quite a bit of work. He said he is aiming to participate in contact drills after spring break, which begins in two weeks. James Toland IV got a lot of work to, as expected. Soma Vainuku was next in the pecking order.
Greg Townsend and Antwaun Woods spent much of their afternoon on the exercise bike. Jabari Ruffin worked with a trainer while Chad Wheeler pulled a sled. Kenny Bigelow also did not practice.
***
Sark said he's concluding practices with a best-of-five between the offense and defense. USC needed only three plays Tuesday as Dawson had a near interception, and McQuay and Felix recorded back-to-back sacks.
Buck Allen, Nelson Agholor, Iman Marshall and Damian Williams were in attendance.
USC will practice again Thursday at the track stadium at 3:30. It is open to the public.
We have more coverage from the first day coming on the board and the front page.
This post was edited on 3/3 7:38 PM by Adam Maya
The session opened with stretching and then a walkthrough without helmets. Tre Madden got the first carry.
***
Here were the lineups for the 11-on-11 periods:
The offensive line was status quo (Lobendahn, Mama, Tuerk, Talamaivao and Banner). Then it was Kessler, Davis, JuJu, Mitchell and Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick. Whitney and Rogers rotated for the third spot. Ajene got some first-team run too but more often worked with the second team.
The first team DL was Pelon, Temple and Simmons.
Su'a played exclusively at LB. His arms are noticeably bigger and he's put on some of the weight he lost during the season.
Michael Hutchings and Lamar Dawson were the other first-team linebackers. Scott Felix played rush end-OLB.
Anthony Sarao dressed but did not practice. Sark said afterward he has a foot injury and they're being cautious with it.
The DBs were AJax, Seymour, McQuay and Plat.
***
Here was the second team:
OL: Nico Falah, Chris Brown, Khaliel Rodgers, Jordan Simmons and Chuma Edoga. (Hemsley practiced at left tackle with the third team.)
DL: Jeff Miller, Joey Augello and Malik Dorton;
LBs: Powell, Tucker, Cam Smith and Don Hill.
DBs: Simmons, Lockett were the corners, Lopes and Chris Hawkins were the safeties.
***
Mitchell had a really impressive first day.
He probably had the most receptions, perhaps a sign that Kessler is most comfortable throwing to the slot receiver. Mitchell also dropped a couple passes but the sun appeared to be directly in his line of sight both times.
Kessler had a number of nice throws, including a deep ball down the middle in which Rogers needed to separate from the DB and haul in.
Max Browne probably had the two best throws of the day -- a bomb down the middle of the field to JuJu and a wheel route to Justin Davis. I found the latter throw to be really nice.
Damien Mama has slimmed down but is still very big. We spoke with new o-line coach Bob Connelly after practice and he said he would like to see Mama and Zach Banner drop some weight. We'll post that interview later.
***
Dawson practiced without a brace, which is worth noting since he always wore one last season. I thought Dawson looked good. You can tell he's much healthier.
Madden got quite a bit of work. He said he is aiming to participate in contact drills after spring break, which begins in two weeks. James Toland IV got a lot of work to, as expected. Soma Vainuku was next in the pecking order.
Greg Townsend and Antwaun Woods spent much of their afternoon on the exercise bike. Jabari Ruffin worked with a trainer while Chad Wheeler pulled a sled. Kenny Bigelow also did not practice.
***
Sark said he's concluding practices with a best-of-five between the offense and defense. USC needed only three plays Tuesday as Dawson had a near interception, and McQuay and Felix recorded back-to-back sacks.
Buck Allen, Nelson Agholor, Iman Marshall and Damian Williams were in attendance.
USC will practice again Thursday at the track stadium at 3:30. It is open to the public.
We have more coverage from the first day coming on the board and the front page.
This post was edited on 3/3 7:38 PM by Adam Maya
