Highlights from our latest round of interviews with USC players and coaches heading into Saturday's Pac-12 Championship game vs. Stanford ...
Chris Hawkins
--on the biggest threat in Stanford’s offense
"No. 5. No. 5. They want to get no, 5 the ball however it is, motion him out the backfield, let him run routes on linebackers. We’re going to do our best to stop him. … They’re a very complex team. They’re not like Oregon, super motions and all that. By watching film, they kind of show what they’re going to do with him before the play’s even going."
--on what makes Stanford complex
"They bring different formations in, all the tight ends, the 32 personnels, the 22 personnels. But we have a counter for that."
--on facing the Stanford tight ends
"The first game we took a couple Ls (losses) to the tight ends and I’m sure, Plat, Marvell Tell, we’re ready to redeem ourselves."
--on whether they prefer being in man
"I would say, yeah. Man coverage is, that’s what DBs are here for, to lock down receivers. They gave us the opportunity to do that and we did it."
--on whether USC would have fared better against Oregon playing more man
"We had a fair shot, no matter what. There’s no blame on anybody. If there’s blame, it’s on us. We were the ones that busted the coverages. He called the right calls, we busted the coverages. They capitalized and it led to a lot of points."
--on whether it’s harder to bust coverages in man
"You can bust coverages in man, when they hit you with picks and we’re playing in and outs. But we’re not doing that this week. …
"If we’re in man, our man is our man. We’re not switching, we're not doing any of that. We learned our lesson doing that. At the end of the half (vs. Stanford in September), we tried to switch and then that’s when they scored on the corner route. When we're in man coverages it’s going to be just like the UCLA game."
--on what’s different about USC now compared to the first meeting with Stanford
"It was early in the year. The first two games we hadn’t seen a super opponent. But we’ve played everybody you could possibly play now. We’ve played the Notre Dames, we’ve played the Oregons, we’ve played the UCLAs. I think right now our team is at a totally different spirit. We’re ready to go. We’re ready to get revenge."
--on the physicality of this matchup
"The first time we played Stanford, I think that was the most physical game I’ve ever been a part of. Next couple of days I was still sore. I’ve had a full year to get in the weight room. We all have. I think we’re ready. We’re not running from anybody. We’re not bowing down to nobody. We’re going to hit them in the mouth, they’re going to hit us in the mouth. The one who’s left standing at the end will be a champion."
--on Kevin Hogan
"He’s a smart player, he picks who he wants to throw the ball to and he knows who he wants to throw the ball to. It’s going to be our job to decipher when the game is going on who’s going to be his favorite receiver at the moment. When he gets a favorite receiver he kind of sticks with it. It works for them. So were going to have to decipher who that receiver is and we’re going to have to go attack them."
--on Hogan’s ability to scramble
"That’s something about his game that goes quiet. A lot of people don’t talk about it but he can really push the pocket and go when it's time to go. We were watching the Washington State game, he had two long runs that almost resulted in touchdowns. We’re going to have to contain him, bring some blitzes so he doesn’t get out of the pocket. And when he does get out of the pocket, if he doesn’t slide we got to make him pay for it."
--Hogan vs. Josh Rosen
"I would say they use Hogan more as a runner. They'll send him on some play action and then he’ll take off. Rosen didn’t really do that. He wanted to stay in the pocket. But if the play's not there, Kevin Hogan will take off and he’ll make a positive play out of it."
--on Helton’s promotion
"Coach Helton is who we wanted as the coach here. We all went on Twitter, Coach Helton 2016, this is who we wanted. We asked or it, they gave it to us. Now we got to go out there and show them this was the right decision."
Antwaun Woods
--on the matchup with the Stanford O-line
"It’s definitely a big man’s game."
--on what stands out about that unit
"That they play well together. The O-line, you could tell they have fun doing it. Their real discipline and play with a lot of technique. We’re just going to have to play disciplined too. Whoever plays disciplined the longest will win the game."
--on how the D-linemen have improved
"Earlier, especially at the beginning of the season, everybody wants to make a play. You kind of get away from your game. But do your assignment and do your job over and over again, it’ll come to you."
--on making the All-Pac-12 first team
"It’s great. I was surprised. I’ve been working hard I really don’t set goals like that. I just want to play hard and it was great to see."
--on how he found out
"Twitter. I had got done working out and I came out to 100 notifications."
Adoree’ Jackson
--last time he played that much man coverage
"Probably in high school. That’s probably the most man we’ve ever played in a full game. However many snaps it was, all of them were man."
--on his comfort level playing man
"That’s what we wanted to do. We came with a game plan. Coach asked us who we wanted to stick. We’d rather go man. He put the confidence in us and trust in us and that’s what we need from our coaches, to have confidence in us and belief in us and we can just do the rest."
--on Helton’s promotion
"I was excited. Everybody was fired up. We were just happy for him. It’s been along journey for us, to get a guy that’s a player’s coach, that’s what we wanted to have. Keep that relationship and that bond with him, it’s just great for our team right now. …
"We just needed somebody to put that reassurance and confidence in our head. That’s what he brought and us as a team came together. A lot of people say he reminds them of Coach O I wasn’t here with them. They said that’s the type of guy they wanted as a head coach. Once we play for a coach and play for each other, a lot can go (well)."
--on if facing a similarly versatile player like Christian McCaffrey gives him extra motivation
"Not at all. I just have to focus and play my game. If you think about what somebody else might do and you want to match him, you’re not going to play to the best of your abilities because you’re worrying about beating him. I just stay focused and try to do what I am capable of doing."
Chris Hawkins
--on the biggest threat in Stanford’s offense
"No. 5. No. 5. They want to get no, 5 the ball however it is, motion him out the backfield, let him run routes on linebackers. We’re going to do our best to stop him. … They’re a very complex team. They’re not like Oregon, super motions and all that. By watching film, they kind of show what they’re going to do with him before the play’s even going."
--on what makes Stanford complex
"They bring different formations in, all the tight ends, the 32 personnels, the 22 personnels. But we have a counter for that."
--on facing the Stanford tight ends
"The first game we took a couple Ls (losses) to the tight ends and I’m sure, Plat, Marvell Tell, we’re ready to redeem ourselves."
--on whether they prefer being in man
"I would say, yeah. Man coverage is, that’s what DBs are here for, to lock down receivers. They gave us the opportunity to do that and we did it."
--on whether USC would have fared better against Oregon playing more man
"We had a fair shot, no matter what. There’s no blame on anybody. If there’s blame, it’s on us. We were the ones that busted the coverages. He called the right calls, we busted the coverages. They capitalized and it led to a lot of points."
--on whether it’s harder to bust coverages in man
"You can bust coverages in man, when they hit you with picks and we’re playing in and outs. But we’re not doing that this week. …
"If we’re in man, our man is our man. We’re not switching, we're not doing any of that. We learned our lesson doing that. At the end of the half (vs. Stanford in September), we tried to switch and then that’s when they scored on the corner route. When we're in man coverages it’s going to be just like the UCLA game."
--on what’s different about USC now compared to the first meeting with Stanford
"It was early in the year. The first two games we hadn’t seen a super opponent. But we’ve played everybody you could possibly play now. We’ve played the Notre Dames, we’ve played the Oregons, we’ve played the UCLAs. I think right now our team is at a totally different spirit. We’re ready to go. We’re ready to get revenge."
--on the physicality of this matchup
"The first time we played Stanford, I think that was the most physical game I’ve ever been a part of. Next couple of days I was still sore. I’ve had a full year to get in the weight room. We all have. I think we’re ready. We’re not running from anybody. We’re not bowing down to nobody. We’re going to hit them in the mouth, they’re going to hit us in the mouth. The one who’s left standing at the end will be a champion."
--on Kevin Hogan
"He’s a smart player, he picks who he wants to throw the ball to and he knows who he wants to throw the ball to. It’s going to be our job to decipher when the game is going on who’s going to be his favorite receiver at the moment. When he gets a favorite receiver he kind of sticks with it. It works for them. So were going to have to decipher who that receiver is and we’re going to have to go attack them."
--on Hogan’s ability to scramble
"That’s something about his game that goes quiet. A lot of people don’t talk about it but he can really push the pocket and go when it's time to go. We were watching the Washington State game, he had two long runs that almost resulted in touchdowns. We’re going to have to contain him, bring some blitzes so he doesn’t get out of the pocket. And when he does get out of the pocket, if he doesn’t slide we got to make him pay for it."
--Hogan vs. Josh Rosen
"I would say they use Hogan more as a runner. They'll send him on some play action and then he’ll take off. Rosen didn’t really do that. He wanted to stay in the pocket. But if the play's not there, Kevin Hogan will take off and he’ll make a positive play out of it."
--on Helton’s promotion
"Coach Helton is who we wanted as the coach here. We all went on Twitter, Coach Helton 2016, this is who we wanted. We asked or it, they gave it to us. Now we got to go out there and show them this was the right decision."
Antwaun Woods
--on the matchup with the Stanford O-line
"It’s definitely a big man’s game."
--on what stands out about that unit
"That they play well together. The O-line, you could tell they have fun doing it. Their real discipline and play with a lot of technique. We’re just going to have to play disciplined too. Whoever plays disciplined the longest will win the game."
--on how the D-linemen have improved
"Earlier, especially at the beginning of the season, everybody wants to make a play. You kind of get away from your game. But do your assignment and do your job over and over again, it’ll come to you."
--on making the All-Pac-12 first team
"It’s great. I was surprised. I’ve been working hard I really don’t set goals like that. I just want to play hard and it was great to see."
--on how he found out
"Twitter. I had got done working out and I came out to 100 notifications."
Adoree’ Jackson
--last time he played that much man coverage
"Probably in high school. That’s probably the most man we’ve ever played in a full game. However many snaps it was, all of them were man."
--on his comfort level playing man
"That’s what we wanted to do. We came with a game plan. Coach asked us who we wanted to stick. We’d rather go man. He put the confidence in us and trust in us and that’s what we need from our coaches, to have confidence in us and belief in us and we can just do the rest."
--on Helton’s promotion
"I was excited. Everybody was fired up. We were just happy for him. It’s been along journey for us, to get a guy that’s a player’s coach, that’s what we wanted to have. Keep that relationship and that bond with him, it’s just great for our team right now. …
"We just needed somebody to put that reassurance and confidence in our head. That’s what he brought and us as a team came together. A lot of people say he reminds them of Coach O I wasn’t here with them. They said that’s the type of guy they wanted as a head coach. Once we play for a coach and play for each other, a lot can go (well)."
--on if facing a similarly versatile player like Christian McCaffrey gives him extra motivation
"Not at all. I just have to focus and play my game. If you think about what somebody else might do and you want to match him, you’re not going to play to the best of your abilities because you’re worrying about beating him. I just stay focused and try to do what I am capable of doing."
