More highlights from interviews with the coaches and players.
WR DE’QUAN HAMPTON
--on whether there’s a push to develop a No. 2 receiver
“It’s not even develop a No. 2 receiver, but of course they want to know who else they can throw the ball to. We’re just trying to spread the ball around, it’s more effective. We’re not going to, in reality, we’re not going to win a national championship throwing it to one guy. That’s just facts, so we spread the ball around. They’re going to have to worry about four or three receivers on the field instead of one.”
--on the quarterbacks this year
“I like them, they got some cannons. Cody (Kessler) was more accurate but Max (Browne), Sam (Darnold) and JG (Jalen Greene) they just got some arms. So I just know if I have a deep ball, I gotta run because if not, it’s going by me. Especially when the wind’s blowing.”
--on how the coaches influence ball distribution
“It’s the play calls and they’re emphasizing it with the quarterbacks, they’re just letting it be known, we need to take these shots, it’s there. So, they’re going to listen, they’re just being coachable.”
--on how that impacts his mindset
“It just lets me know, every play I do run, I (might) get the ball. It just gives me more of a feeling, Okay, this ball is going to — a fifty percent chance — is going to come your way, so be prepared. It just lets me know we’re about to spread this around.”
--on how that’s different from last year
“In games, last year, JuJu (Smith-Schuster) would have two or three dudes on him, but I’m running wide open down the field on the post. Still don’t get hit. That’s a touchdown for us to better ourselves and win the game. It was real frustrating."
--on how much of that was on Kessler vs. the coaches
“I mean, it’s not really play-calling. It could be a quarterback thing. A coach can tell a quarterback something, but at the end of the day, it’s the quarterback on the field. Coaches aren’t on the field. Quarterback can do whatever he wants. …
“It just got to a point where I’m just going to show that I’m open on the film. That’s all I can do. If he throws me the rock, then he throws me the ball. Lucky me. That’s just how it was on the field. That’s all I could do at the time.”
RBs COACH TOMMIE ROBINSON
--on how well players are picking up the offense
“I told (Tee Martin), hey man, this is a bit much and he’s like, they’ll be fine, just trust me, they’re going to pick it up and they did. They’re impressive, with the volume of offense that we’ve given these kids to go out and practice like that, the few mistakes that we’ve had, it’s been kind of impressive.”
--on the current stable of running backs compared to the 2013 group
“They’re different types of backs. You had Ty Isaac, you had a big back and we don’t have one as big as Ty. We had Silas Redd who was, the kid ate nails for breakfast, we don’t have that kind of hard-nosed guy. But at the same time, those guys didn’t quite have the running ability that these guys have. You had Buck (Allen) who was coming into his own at that particular time. It’s different. but let’s wait a little bit longer before we start comparing them. It’s a good group and we have a lot of good stuff to work with, so I’m pleased."
“I think we have athletic guys that can run inside and outside and guys that have ability to be good open-field runners. Justin Davis and Cedric Ware, they can run the power just as well as they can run the outside zone, so that’s encouraging. They’re not one dimensional, they’re all around. With that group I had last time, Buck Allen was an all-around back and Tre was, Tre Madden, but everybody else had a different role. Justin was a young pup, that’s why we called him pup and we still call him pup, he was a young pup trying to figure his way. It’s different. These guys have a great chance of being successful and productive. The key is being productive and they’re going to do it, it’s just going to be in a different way.”
--on Justin Davis’ growth
“I’ll tell you where he has improved the most without a doubt is protection. Justin as a true freshman, he came in, he was a great natural runner, he still is. He may be one of the best natural runners in the country, but he wasn’t very strong in protections. Now he’s changed that and he does a great job in protections, and he wasn’t an outstanding route runner. He’s improved his route-running ability, he sees things better in the run game and he understands the integrity of all plays. When I had him here and he was young, he was just like a typical young guy, he knew what he had to do. Now he understands the whole integrity of plays, he knows what everyone is doing now and that makes him different. From a freshman to a senior, he’s made the improvement that he should have made and it shows.”
--on how to use Dom Davis
“He brings a lot to the table. Dom has so much speed and he has incredible playmaking ability and it’s going to be up to us to find places where his ability fits and we get the most out of his ability to help the team. He can be a wideout, he can be a running back, he’s going to be a good special teams guy on both sides of the special teams, returner, cover guy, kickoff team, kickoff return, this kid is going to bring a lot to the table. He has rare speed, so we’ll find a way to utilize him and put the ball in his hands and let him be a player.”
--on Ronald Jones’ growth
“He looked like a young pup, he looked like Justin. When Justin was a freshman, he was a young pup and he’ll get better. He’s gotta turn a corner this year and he’s got to turn another corner in years to come. But he has really good ability, the kid can run. You guys saw that last year, the kid can run and he has good running ability, but he’s still young. He does have to work on protection and we just have to continue to work on it, work on the little things and we’ll get him where he needs to be.”
OL COACH NEIL CALLAWAY
--on how Viane Talamaivao and Damien Mama are progressing
“They certainly understand, for the most part, but at the same time they still have some things we have to get corrected. That’s the thing about playing football and, in particular, the offensive line. The consistency’s got to be there; you don’t want to have five good plays and one bad play, you got to be consistent and steady as you go.”
--on his group helping USC play a physical brand of football
“Hard-nosed football is everybody. It starts with us as an offensive line, but we have to have hard-nosed running backs, receivers, tight ends and quarterbacks. If a quarterback, if it’s his turn to step up and throw it and he has to take a shot, he has to do that. It starts with us, but it’s everybody involved.”
WR DE’QUAN HAMPTON
--on whether there’s a push to develop a No. 2 receiver
“It’s not even develop a No. 2 receiver, but of course they want to know who else they can throw the ball to. We’re just trying to spread the ball around, it’s more effective. We’re not going to, in reality, we’re not going to win a national championship throwing it to one guy. That’s just facts, so we spread the ball around. They’re going to have to worry about four or three receivers on the field instead of one.”
--on the quarterbacks this year
“I like them, they got some cannons. Cody (Kessler) was more accurate but Max (Browne), Sam (Darnold) and JG (Jalen Greene) they just got some arms. So I just know if I have a deep ball, I gotta run because if not, it’s going by me. Especially when the wind’s blowing.”
--on how the coaches influence ball distribution
“It’s the play calls and they’re emphasizing it with the quarterbacks, they’re just letting it be known, we need to take these shots, it’s there. So, they’re going to listen, they’re just being coachable.”
--on how that impacts his mindset
“It just lets me know, every play I do run, I (might) get the ball. It just gives me more of a feeling, Okay, this ball is going to — a fifty percent chance — is going to come your way, so be prepared. It just lets me know we’re about to spread this around.”
--on how that’s different from last year
“In games, last year, JuJu (Smith-Schuster) would have two or three dudes on him, but I’m running wide open down the field on the post. Still don’t get hit. That’s a touchdown for us to better ourselves and win the game. It was real frustrating."
--on how much of that was on Kessler vs. the coaches
“I mean, it’s not really play-calling. It could be a quarterback thing. A coach can tell a quarterback something, but at the end of the day, it’s the quarterback on the field. Coaches aren’t on the field. Quarterback can do whatever he wants. …
“It just got to a point where I’m just going to show that I’m open on the film. That’s all I can do. If he throws me the rock, then he throws me the ball. Lucky me. That’s just how it was on the field. That’s all I could do at the time.”
RBs COACH TOMMIE ROBINSON
--on how well players are picking up the offense
“I told (Tee Martin), hey man, this is a bit much and he’s like, they’ll be fine, just trust me, they’re going to pick it up and they did. They’re impressive, with the volume of offense that we’ve given these kids to go out and practice like that, the few mistakes that we’ve had, it’s been kind of impressive.”
--on the current stable of running backs compared to the 2013 group
“They’re different types of backs. You had Ty Isaac, you had a big back and we don’t have one as big as Ty. We had Silas Redd who was, the kid ate nails for breakfast, we don’t have that kind of hard-nosed guy. But at the same time, those guys didn’t quite have the running ability that these guys have. You had Buck (Allen) who was coming into his own at that particular time. It’s different. but let’s wait a little bit longer before we start comparing them. It’s a good group and we have a lot of good stuff to work with, so I’m pleased."
“I think we have athletic guys that can run inside and outside and guys that have ability to be good open-field runners. Justin Davis and Cedric Ware, they can run the power just as well as they can run the outside zone, so that’s encouraging. They’re not one dimensional, they’re all around. With that group I had last time, Buck Allen was an all-around back and Tre was, Tre Madden, but everybody else had a different role. Justin was a young pup, that’s why we called him pup and we still call him pup, he was a young pup trying to figure his way. It’s different. These guys have a great chance of being successful and productive. The key is being productive and they’re going to do it, it’s just going to be in a different way.”
--on Justin Davis’ growth
“I’ll tell you where he has improved the most without a doubt is protection. Justin as a true freshman, he came in, he was a great natural runner, he still is. He may be one of the best natural runners in the country, but he wasn’t very strong in protections. Now he’s changed that and he does a great job in protections, and he wasn’t an outstanding route runner. He’s improved his route-running ability, he sees things better in the run game and he understands the integrity of all plays. When I had him here and he was young, he was just like a typical young guy, he knew what he had to do. Now he understands the whole integrity of plays, he knows what everyone is doing now and that makes him different. From a freshman to a senior, he’s made the improvement that he should have made and it shows.”
--on how to use Dom Davis
“He brings a lot to the table. Dom has so much speed and he has incredible playmaking ability and it’s going to be up to us to find places where his ability fits and we get the most out of his ability to help the team. He can be a wideout, he can be a running back, he’s going to be a good special teams guy on both sides of the special teams, returner, cover guy, kickoff team, kickoff return, this kid is going to bring a lot to the table. He has rare speed, so we’ll find a way to utilize him and put the ball in his hands and let him be a player.”
--on Ronald Jones’ growth
“He looked like a young pup, he looked like Justin. When Justin was a freshman, he was a young pup and he’ll get better. He’s gotta turn a corner this year and he’s got to turn another corner in years to come. But he has really good ability, the kid can run. You guys saw that last year, the kid can run and he has good running ability, but he’s still young. He does have to work on protection and we just have to continue to work on it, work on the little things and we’ll get him where he needs to be.”
OL COACH NEIL CALLAWAY
--on how Viane Talamaivao and Damien Mama are progressing
“They certainly understand, for the most part, but at the same time they still have some things we have to get corrected. That’s the thing about playing football and, in particular, the offensive line. The consistency’s got to be there; you don’t want to have five good plays and one bad play, you got to be consistent and steady as you go.”
--on his group helping USC play a physical brand of football
“Hard-nosed football is everybody. It starts with us as an offensive line, but we have to have hard-nosed running backs, receivers, tight ends and quarterbacks. If a quarterback, if it’s his turn to step up and throw it and he has to take a shot, he has to do that. It starts with us, but it’s everybody involved.”
