As he was discussing the latest with USC's cornerback competition after practice Wednesday, defensive backs coach Greg Burns directed attention off in the distance to redshirt freshman Isaac Taylor-Stuart.
"I believe he's out here, if you glance over there, he's the one who stays late. He's the one who's sitting over there working to the side getting that extra work. He's the one who's kind of sitting quietly but he's really soaking up everything you're saying," Burns said.
Now through three weeks of the preseason, any candid nugget or insight into the Trojans' cornerback situation is worth noting and considering.
While sophomore Olaijah Griffin has shown the most upside among the young corners this month -- racking up a slew of interceptions early in camp -- it's seemed fairly even between Taylor-Stuart and 5-star freshman Chris Steele. (Redshirt sophomore Greg Johnson has been getting a lot of work at nickel and safety of late and could be headed for a utility position in the secondary).
Burns had suggested last week that he'd have some final decisions in mind following the second scrimmage, and he may well know those choices, but head coach Clay Helton continues to reiterate that aside from the QBs no depth chart decisions will be announced until next Friday.
So both Burns and defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast stuck to the company line this week when asked where things stood there.
"Right now they're still competing and that's the cool part. We'll sort that stuff out a little bit later with our coordinators and the head man when we decide to start figuring it out," Burns said. "Guys are starting to kind of separate themselves, but there's still some stuff we've got to sort out. But right now we've got a good group of 3-4."
Helton, meanwhile, said he expects the evaluation at that position to continue into at least the Aug. 31 opener against Fresno State.
"I think we'll have some rotation. Because they're so young, I don't think any guy's ready for 80 plays right off the bat or more, especially when you're playing the tempo teams," he said. "We do plan on playing multiple corners in that first game and letting kids get the feel for game action."
It is fair to note that the corners have spent this month going against a group of USC wide receivers that may be better than any they face all season, but nonetheless the unit remains a major question and concern for the Trojans.
If Johnson is indeed slotted for a back-up role through the defensive backfield -- and Pendergast wouldn't confirm that, noting he is still "competing" at all three spots -- that leaves the cornerback crew with almost no collective college game experience.
"It's just what it is. We can't control it -- they're young. Can't control it," Burns said. "… It's how fast can we get them up to speed in regards to what we're asking. Don't put too much on their plate, utilize their natural talents and just let them go."
The cornerbacks did not have a great second scrimmage in the Coliseum -- there were no perceptible highlights of note for the unit -- and Burns seemed to acknowledge that what he saw last Saturday didn't necessarily clarify anything.
"If anything it may have shown that we may have a little bit longer of a competition," he said.
Reporters are now limited to watching only the first 20 minutes of practice on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so it's hard to know how much to read into brief glimpses. For what it's worth -- and Pendergast said not to take much from it -- Griffin and Taylor-Stuart lined up with the first-team at the start of practice Wednesday while Steele and freshman Adonis Otey were with the second team. But the group has rotated plenty this month and Steele has worked a lot with the first-team overall.
As Helton indicated, expect to see the aforementioned three all get work against Fresno State.
Meanwhile, though he didn't have any news to offer, Burns did provide his latest assessments of that trio (so feel free to read between the lines):
More on Taylor-Stuart's technical improvement: "Let's go back to where he was in the spring to where he was at the beginning of camp to where he is now -- very, very impressed, loving the way he's improving and excited for him and all the other guys to perform when they get a chance to."
On Griffin taking risks and looking for the big play: "Yeah, that's a little bit of his style. He just has to make sure that they're calculated and to know when. He's got to hone in on the technique, be careful of being too guessy. But he trusts his talent and I don't want to hold him back on that."
On Steele and working to reduce his penchant for penalties: "I don't think the stage is too big for him. He's got that calm reserve, he understands what we're doing. The biggest thing for him is just all the fundamental stuff and then being consistent at it. … Yeah, and he's going to continue to work on [limiting penalties]. Just because he's slowed down this day or that day, it's going to be a continuous process throughout until he starts to realize, you know what, I can trust my talent and I can do it without [grabbing]."
If we had to guess, Griffin and Taylor-Stuart would be logical picks to open up with the first-team on Aug. 31 with Steele and maybe Johnson getting some snaps later in the game.
NOTES
-The USC first and second-team offenses went through scripted walkthroughs at the start of practice Wednesday with no defense involved. Interestingly, Vavae Malepeai started with the first team at running back despite missing most of camp with a knee sprain. Stephen Carr rotated in later in the series while impressive redshirt-freshman Markese Stepp worked with the second unit.
Helton was asked Thursday about Malepeai's standing after missing most of the preseason, but he wasn't offering any confirmation or context.
"I'll give you that depth chart next Friday. That's a hell of a try, I like that," Helton said. "… We're really working three backs a lot right now with Vae, with Stephen, with Kese, and you still have the opportunity to throw [freshman Kenan Christon] in there. … You better have three or more backs because they're going to get dinged. They're the ones that get hit over and over and over again, and at some point in time they're going to go down and you've got to have a multitude of backs and not lose production."
…
Helton explained how the quarterback reps are now being divided in practice since the announcement of the depth chart.
"We're still repping three quarterbacks and in individual we're repping all four. In team situations, we're having the opportunity to rep three because you just have to give more reps to the 1s and 2s and Matt's seeing a little action in there too," he said.
Asked for further clarification, Helton said if the offense does a 20-play segment, starter JT Daniels would likely get 12 of the plays with backup Kedon Slovis getting most or all of the rest.
…
Pendergast offered his first reflections on the scrimmage in the Coliseum last weekend.
"I liked what we did within the front 7. I thought they handled the things that we wanted to go out there and do," he said. "Defensive line were moving their feet on contact, the second-level linebackers were getting off blocks and fit the running game well and like I said, I think we tackled well in space. That's something we've really focused on throughout the course of the offseason."
...
For what it's worth, Helton lauded the energy he's seen in practice this week. Again, the media has not been able to watch most of it.
"I just got done commending them because it's been as good a Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday as I've seen. It has not felt like a normal game week, it feels like still camp and they're going a thousand miles an hour, even today," he said.
"I believe he's out here, if you glance over there, he's the one who stays late. He's the one who's sitting over there working to the side getting that extra work. He's the one who's kind of sitting quietly but he's really soaking up everything you're saying," Burns said.
Now through three weeks of the preseason, any candid nugget or insight into the Trojans' cornerback situation is worth noting and considering.
While sophomore Olaijah Griffin has shown the most upside among the young corners this month -- racking up a slew of interceptions early in camp -- it's seemed fairly even between Taylor-Stuart and 5-star freshman Chris Steele. (Redshirt sophomore Greg Johnson has been getting a lot of work at nickel and safety of late and could be headed for a utility position in the secondary).
Burns had suggested last week that he'd have some final decisions in mind following the second scrimmage, and he may well know those choices, but head coach Clay Helton continues to reiterate that aside from the QBs no depth chart decisions will be announced until next Friday.
So both Burns and defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast stuck to the company line this week when asked where things stood there.
"Right now they're still competing and that's the cool part. We'll sort that stuff out a little bit later with our coordinators and the head man when we decide to start figuring it out," Burns said. "Guys are starting to kind of separate themselves, but there's still some stuff we've got to sort out. But right now we've got a good group of 3-4."
Helton, meanwhile, said he expects the evaluation at that position to continue into at least the Aug. 31 opener against Fresno State.
"I think we'll have some rotation. Because they're so young, I don't think any guy's ready for 80 plays right off the bat or more, especially when you're playing the tempo teams," he said. "We do plan on playing multiple corners in that first game and letting kids get the feel for game action."
It is fair to note that the corners have spent this month going against a group of USC wide receivers that may be better than any they face all season, but nonetheless the unit remains a major question and concern for the Trojans.
If Johnson is indeed slotted for a back-up role through the defensive backfield -- and Pendergast wouldn't confirm that, noting he is still "competing" at all three spots -- that leaves the cornerback crew with almost no collective college game experience.
"It's just what it is. We can't control it -- they're young. Can't control it," Burns said. "… It's how fast can we get them up to speed in regards to what we're asking. Don't put too much on their plate, utilize their natural talents and just let them go."
The cornerbacks did not have a great second scrimmage in the Coliseum -- there were no perceptible highlights of note for the unit -- and Burns seemed to acknowledge that what he saw last Saturday didn't necessarily clarify anything.
"If anything it may have shown that we may have a little bit longer of a competition," he said.
Reporters are now limited to watching only the first 20 minutes of practice on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so it's hard to know how much to read into brief glimpses. For what it's worth -- and Pendergast said not to take much from it -- Griffin and Taylor-Stuart lined up with the first-team at the start of practice Wednesday while Steele and freshman Adonis Otey were with the second team. But the group has rotated plenty this month and Steele has worked a lot with the first-team overall.
As Helton indicated, expect to see the aforementioned three all get work against Fresno State.
Meanwhile, though he didn't have any news to offer, Burns did provide his latest assessments of that trio (so feel free to read between the lines):
More on Taylor-Stuart's technical improvement: "Let's go back to where he was in the spring to where he was at the beginning of camp to where he is now -- very, very impressed, loving the way he's improving and excited for him and all the other guys to perform when they get a chance to."
On Griffin taking risks and looking for the big play: "Yeah, that's a little bit of his style. He just has to make sure that they're calculated and to know when. He's got to hone in on the technique, be careful of being too guessy. But he trusts his talent and I don't want to hold him back on that."
On Steele and working to reduce his penchant for penalties: "I don't think the stage is too big for him. He's got that calm reserve, he understands what we're doing. The biggest thing for him is just all the fundamental stuff and then being consistent at it. … Yeah, and he's going to continue to work on [limiting penalties]. Just because he's slowed down this day or that day, it's going to be a continuous process throughout until he starts to realize, you know what, I can trust my talent and I can do it without [grabbing]."
If we had to guess, Griffin and Taylor-Stuart would be logical picks to open up with the first-team on Aug. 31 with Steele and maybe Johnson getting some snaps later in the game.
NOTES
-The USC first and second-team offenses went through scripted walkthroughs at the start of practice Wednesday with no defense involved. Interestingly, Vavae Malepeai started with the first team at running back despite missing most of camp with a knee sprain. Stephen Carr rotated in later in the series while impressive redshirt-freshman Markese Stepp worked with the second unit.
Helton was asked Thursday about Malepeai's standing after missing most of the preseason, but he wasn't offering any confirmation or context.
"I'll give you that depth chart next Friday. That's a hell of a try, I like that," Helton said. "… We're really working three backs a lot right now with Vae, with Stephen, with Kese, and you still have the opportunity to throw [freshman Kenan Christon] in there. … You better have three or more backs because they're going to get dinged. They're the ones that get hit over and over and over again, and at some point in time they're going to go down and you've got to have a multitude of backs and not lose production."
…
Helton explained how the quarterback reps are now being divided in practice since the announcement of the depth chart.
"We're still repping three quarterbacks and in individual we're repping all four. In team situations, we're having the opportunity to rep three because you just have to give more reps to the 1s and 2s and Matt's seeing a little action in there too," he said.
Asked for further clarification, Helton said if the offense does a 20-play segment, starter JT Daniels would likely get 12 of the plays with backup Kedon Slovis getting most or all of the rest.
…
Pendergast offered his first reflections on the scrimmage in the Coliseum last weekend.
"I liked what we did within the front 7. I thought they handled the things that we wanted to go out there and do," he said. "Defensive line were moving their feet on contact, the second-level linebackers were getting off blocks and fit the running game well and like I said, I think we tackled well in space. That's something we've really focused on throughout the course of the offseason."
...
For what it's worth, Helton lauded the energy he's seen in practice this week. Again, the media has not been able to watch most of it.
"I just got done commending them because it's been as good a Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday as I've seen. It has not felt like a normal game week, it feels like still camp and they're going a thousand miles an hour, even today," he said.
