Highlights from our best interviews of the week...
DC CLANCY PENDERGAST
--on Stanford receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside’s performance in the season opener
“They just threw it up to him and he made a lot of catches. He did a lot of things intermediate route wise. I thin he runs really crisp routes. He’s a really good, really physical blocker. I think he’s got a really good, complete game for a wide receiver.”
--on Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello
“I thought he had good games last year. He played well against us in the championship game. He runs their offense. They give a lot of it to him. I'm really impressed with what I’ve seen from him.”
--on who stood out to him last week among the USC defensive reserves
“Jay Tufele was real impressive upfront, Kana'i (Mauga) did some good things for us, Levi Jones did some nice things, at the safety position, Talanoa (Hufanga) got in there late, he did some decent things, and I thought Isaiah Langley and Greg Johnson splitting reps at corner was productive for us. And I thought OG (Olaijah Griffin) did a nice job in the limited plays he played on the right hand side.”
--on defending jump balls
“It’s something we’ve worked on in spring ball and in fall camp, and they do push the ball downfield. They did last week, they did against us last year, that’s just part of what they do. But they ran a lot of other route combinations that are really tough to defend.”
--on if he believes USC has improved in this area
“I really think so. It's been a point of emphasis for us. The work that they’ve put in during practice, we’ve thrown a lot of balls after practice, they’ve tracked a lot of balls. So hopefully you guys will see it pay off this year. … It’s something that everybody’s going to do every single week to us because of the nature of what offenses do in this league.”
DBs COACH RONNIE BRADFORD
--on the X factor for the USC CBs in this game
“Eliminating explosive plays. I think that’s always an X factor for us. They’re an offense that could put a lot of points on the board quickly. They got some big weapons outside and they use them really well. … They’re an NFL style team from an offensive standing, how they’re built and what they like to do. But at the end of the day … we have to be great tacklers. If you don’t tackle these big guys, they’ll run for gazillion yards.”
--on his confidence in the DBs ability to defend 50-50 balls
“I’m confident. We’ve been working on it through the offseason, we work on it I’d say every week in practice. The reason why is, that’s what teams are going to. They’re getting bigger outside. You ain’t seeing 5-(foot)-7 wide receivers, unless you’re seeing them in the slot. You ain’t seeing them outside. … They throw it up and it becomes, I wouldn’t even say a 50-50, they’re thinking that 75 percent of the things that happen for us are going to be positive. We’re either going to get the incomplete, we’re going to get a PI or we’re going to get a catch. The negative thing is, we get an interception. The odds are sometimes in their favor, if they’re going to throw it up and just see what happens.”
--on if he expects Stanford to try a lot of jump balls
“I don’t know if I anticipate a lot of it. They’re an offense that, they’re going to have their script and then they’re going to go with how the game’s going.”
--on how the safeties performed in Game 1 vs. UNLV
“Our safety play, from an assignment standpoint, they graded out extremely well. There were a couple missed tackles.”
LB CAMERON SMITH
--on what he's seen on Costello
"I think he's a very competitive person. I played a little bit of 7-on-7 with him when I was going into my junior year or senior year, that summer. Very competitive kid, wants to win and I think he does a really good job for them in terms of dispersing the ball and making their offense multi-dimensional."
--on annually playing Stanford early in the season
"Yeah, I think it always kind of just shows 'Let's see what you got' for both of us. I mean, it's early on and it's turned into a huge rivalry over the past 10ish years, and I think that's what's really fun because to be the best you've got to play the best. And I think that's where we're going right out of the gate. We're bringing two teams from some of the best in the Pac-12 and challenge it early. Both teams I'm sure get better from this game."
TB ACA'CEDRIC WARE
--on when he saw things click Saturday for QB JT Daniels
"Right when he came out for the second half. We came in, we went into the halftime fixing everything up, seeing what we need to do better, this and that, and I just seen JT just click. He was like, 'Yeah, I got it now.' And from there on, he just took over."
--on if he feel he showed what he wanted to in that first game
"No. No, I didn't. I'm not impressed with 10 carries, 100 yards. That's nothing. I can do it way better. I plan on doing better. ... I left a lot on the table. A lot on the table."
OC TEE MARTIN
--on Trevon Sidney's breakout game vs. UNLV
"Trevon's been doing it here at practice. It's been a matter of opportunity for him. Deontay, he was his backup a year ago and Deontay never came off the field much. We roll our guys here and when the starter's hurt or tired then the backup gets reps, but he's been doing that his whole time he's been here. So not a surprise, but it was good to see him do it in a game where everyone else can see his hard work."
DC CLANCY PENDERGAST
--on Stanford receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside’s performance in the season opener
“They just threw it up to him and he made a lot of catches. He did a lot of things intermediate route wise. I thin he runs really crisp routes. He’s a really good, really physical blocker. I think he’s got a really good, complete game for a wide receiver.”
--on Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello
“I thought he had good games last year. He played well against us in the championship game. He runs their offense. They give a lot of it to him. I'm really impressed with what I’ve seen from him.”
--on who stood out to him last week among the USC defensive reserves
“Jay Tufele was real impressive upfront, Kana'i (Mauga) did some good things for us, Levi Jones did some nice things, at the safety position, Talanoa (Hufanga) got in there late, he did some decent things, and I thought Isaiah Langley and Greg Johnson splitting reps at corner was productive for us. And I thought OG (Olaijah Griffin) did a nice job in the limited plays he played on the right hand side.”
--on defending jump balls
“It’s something we’ve worked on in spring ball and in fall camp, and they do push the ball downfield. They did last week, they did against us last year, that’s just part of what they do. But they ran a lot of other route combinations that are really tough to defend.”
--on if he believes USC has improved in this area
“I really think so. It's been a point of emphasis for us. The work that they’ve put in during practice, we’ve thrown a lot of balls after practice, they’ve tracked a lot of balls. So hopefully you guys will see it pay off this year. … It’s something that everybody’s going to do every single week to us because of the nature of what offenses do in this league.”
DBs COACH RONNIE BRADFORD
--on the X factor for the USC CBs in this game
“Eliminating explosive plays. I think that’s always an X factor for us. They’re an offense that could put a lot of points on the board quickly. They got some big weapons outside and they use them really well. … They’re an NFL style team from an offensive standing, how they’re built and what they like to do. But at the end of the day … we have to be great tacklers. If you don’t tackle these big guys, they’ll run for gazillion yards.”
--on his confidence in the DBs ability to defend 50-50 balls
“I’m confident. We’ve been working on it through the offseason, we work on it I’d say every week in practice. The reason why is, that’s what teams are going to. They’re getting bigger outside. You ain’t seeing 5-(foot)-7 wide receivers, unless you’re seeing them in the slot. You ain’t seeing them outside. … They throw it up and it becomes, I wouldn’t even say a 50-50, they’re thinking that 75 percent of the things that happen for us are going to be positive. We’re either going to get the incomplete, we’re going to get a PI or we’re going to get a catch. The negative thing is, we get an interception. The odds are sometimes in their favor, if they’re going to throw it up and just see what happens.”
--on if he expects Stanford to try a lot of jump balls
“I don’t know if I anticipate a lot of it. They’re an offense that, they’re going to have their script and then they’re going to go with how the game’s going.”
--on how the safeties performed in Game 1 vs. UNLV
“Our safety play, from an assignment standpoint, they graded out extremely well. There were a couple missed tackles.”
LB CAMERON SMITH
--on what he's seen on Costello
"I think he's a very competitive person. I played a little bit of 7-on-7 with him when I was going into my junior year or senior year, that summer. Very competitive kid, wants to win and I think he does a really good job for them in terms of dispersing the ball and making their offense multi-dimensional."
--on annually playing Stanford early in the season
"Yeah, I think it always kind of just shows 'Let's see what you got' for both of us. I mean, it's early on and it's turned into a huge rivalry over the past 10ish years, and I think that's what's really fun because to be the best you've got to play the best. And I think that's where we're going right out of the gate. We're bringing two teams from some of the best in the Pac-12 and challenge it early. Both teams I'm sure get better from this game."
TB ACA'CEDRIC WARE
--on when he saw things click Saturday for QB JT Daniels
"Right when he came out for the second half. We came in, we went into the halftime fixing everything up, seeing what we need to do better, this and that, and I just seen JT just click. He was like, 'Yeah, I got it now.' And from there on, he just took over."
--on if he feel he showed what he wanted to in that first game
"No. No, I didn't. I'm not impressed with 10 carries, 100 yards. That's nothing. I can do it way better. I plan on doing better. ... I left a lot on the table. A lot on the table."
OC TEE MARTIN
--on Trevon Sidney's breakout game vs. UNLV
"Trevon's been doing it here at practice. It's been a matter of opportunity for him. Deontay, he was his backup a year ago and Deontay never came off the field much. We roll our guys here and when the starter's hurt or tired then the backup gets reps, but he's been doing that his whole time he's been here. So not a surprise, but it was good to see him do it in a game where everyone else can see his hard work."
