It's been four weeks now since USC began spring ball and offensive coordinator Graham Harrell says he has a new standard for judging wide receivers in practice. There are two reasons for that:
Michael Pittman and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
"They give you everything they got every play that they're in there," Harrell said. "They're as competitive as I've ever been around. They play as hard as any receivers I've ever been around. I told them this the other day, the standard that I hold all receivers to now on has changed. I think more is possible because of how hard they go."
Even more impressive is the fact USC doesn't even have the numbers it needs to play at the pace and with the personnel Harrell wants. The Trojans on Tuesday were down to seven receivers, counting walk-ons. He is used to having 14-18. And yet Pittman and St. Brown, despite the added work, haven't let up.
"We're probably killing them," Harrell joked. "The amount of running they're doing, the amount of reps that they're taking and still going as hard as they can go, the standard that I hold all receivers to from now on has changed."
What remains to be seen is whether what we're seeing in spring will look much different come fall. I've personally wondered if USC hasn't been employing four wide receivers at the same time because it wanted to hide it during a time when every practice is open to the public. Harrell said the primary reasons we haven't seen that are the lack of bodies at receiver and the defense's need to face certain looks and personnel groups.
The latter will still be a priority in training camp, but the Trojans will also have more receivers at their disposal by then and thus might incorporate four wideouts simultaneously.
"We've got all sorts of personnels in the package and we're going to put our best 11 guys on the field," Harrell said.
Surely, that would include more Devon Williams, who was out today with an undisclosed injury but has shown this spring that he is a potential matchup nightmare. It helps too that he brings different traits to the table than what USC has already been featuring. The potential for this receiving corps is probably the highest that it's been since 2012.
"I feel like we're the best in the Pac-12," Pittman said. "I feel like we're the best in college football."
I could see USC in that conversation. I'm just not sure yet how many receivers, and which ones beyond the top three exactly, we'll be talking about.
11-on-11 highlights:
With the team in shells and shorts, these periods were abbreviated. Greg Johnson, who's still in a yellow jersey, picked off Kedon Slovis on a throw outside that Harrell said he's been warning Slovis about. USC's OC has told him even though he's often completed it thanks to his arm strength, he's late sometimes and needs to deliver it sooner.
Freshman DB Briton Allen, who's been competitive all spring but maybe hasn't made a lot of big plays, picked off JT Daniels in the end zone. Looked like Daniels just might not have seen Allen amidst a crowded area. Was surprised he made that throw.
Jack Sears had a nice two-play sequence where he slipped past OLB Hunter Echols to avoid a sack and then put John Houston on skates for a sizable run, and then completed a pass downfield to Tyler Vaughns.
St. Brown came away with a jump ball against S Isaiah Pola-Mao. Was a nice battle and showed how strong and aggressive ASB is, as well as the effort Harrell alluded to. He has a pretty intense post-practice routine that Ryan is writing about.
Red zone periods are often the most competitive and today was no different. Stepp fought through multiple defenders in an effort to cross the goal line after catching a screen pass; Pittman unleashed a vicious stiff arm on Chase WIlliams and barreled his way into the end zone (though the referee somehow ruled him down on the 2).
Matt Fink, backed up in his own territory, was under serious duress, first on a blitz by Raymond Scott, and then later by Connor Murphy and Eli'jah Winston on what would probably be a safety because Murphy appeared to be held in the end zone. Fink was able to work out of the area by completing a pass outside to John Jackson III, who turned upfield for a big gain.
It was a strong day for the run defense, which has been consistently better in this area, as far as practice is concerned. Echols popped Stephen Carr on a short gain, freshman DL Drake Jackson stuffed Markese Stepp on one run, and walk-on Jordan McMillan stopped Vavae Malepeai on another. Practice ended with the offense at the goal line and unable to score. Couldn't tell who made the stop but Kana'i Mauga ended up recovering a fumble and running back the other way.
Notes:
TE Josh Falo was limited to non-contact. OL Bernard Schirmer, TE Jude Wolfe, DL Caleb Tremblay and LB Jordan Iosefa did not practice.
USC practices again Thursday at 3 p.m.
Here are the video interviews from today’s practice. Here are the 1-on-1s between the OL and DL.
Michael Pittman and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
"They give you everything they got every play that they're in there," Harrell said. "They're as competitive as I've ever been around. They play as hard as any receivers I've ever been around. I told them this the other day, the standard that I hold all receivers to now on has changed. I think more is possible because of how hard they go."
Even more impressive is the fact USC doesn't even have the numbers it needs to play at the pace and with the personnel Harrell wants. The Trojans on Tuesday were down to seven receivers, counting walk-ons. He is used to having 14-18. And yet Pittman and St. Brown, despite the added work, haven't let up.
"We're probably killing them," Harrell joked. "The amount of running they're doing, the amount of reps that they're taking and still going as hard as they can go, the standard that I hold all receivers to from now on has changed."
What remains to be seen is whether what we're seeing in spring will look much different come fall. I've personally wondered if USC hasn't been employing four wide receivers at the same time because it wanted to hide it during a time when every practice is open to the public. Harrell said the primary reasons we haven't seen that are the lack of bodies at receiver and the defense's need to face certain looks and personnel groups.
The latter will still be a priority in training camp, but the Trojans will also have more receivers at their disposal by then and thus might incorporate four wideouts simultaneously.
"We've got all sorts of personnels in the package and we're going to put our best 11 guys on the field," Harrell said.
Surely, that would include more Devon Williams, who was out today with an undisclosed injury but has shown this spring that he is a potential matchup nightmare. It helps too that he brings different traits to the table than what USC has already been featuring. The potential for this receiving corps is probably the highest that it's been since 2012.
"I feel like we're the best in the Pac-12," Pittman said. "I feel like we're the best in college football."
I could see USC in that conversation. I'm just not sure yet how many receivers, and which ones beyond the top three exactly, we'll be talking about.
11-on-11 highlights:
With the team in shells and shorts, these periods were abbreviated. Greg Johnson, who's still in a yellow jersey, picked off Kedon Slovis on a throw outside that Harrell said he's been warning Slovis about. USC's OC has told him even though he's often completed it thanks to his arm strength, he's late sometimes and needs to deliver it sooner.
Freshman DB Briton Allen, who's been competitive all spring but maybe hasn't made a lot of big plays, picked off JT Daniels in the end zone. Looked like Daniels just might not have seen Allen amidst a crowded area. Was surprised he made that throw.
Jack Sears had a nice two-play sequence where he slipped past OLB Hunter Echols to avoid a sack and then put John Houston on skates for a sizable run, and then completed a pass downfield to Tyler Vaughns.
St. Brown came away with a jump ball against S Isaiah Pola-Mao. Was a nice battle and showed how strong and aggressive ASB is, as well as the effort Harrell alluded to. He has a pretty intense post-practice routine that Ryan is writing about.
Red zone periods are often the most competitive and today was no different. Stepp fought through multiple defenders in an effort to cross the goal line after catching a screen pass; Pittman unleashed a vicious stiff arm on Chase WIlliams and barreled his way into the end zone (though the referee somehow ruled him down on the 2).
Matt Fink, backed up in his own territory, was under serious duress, first on a blitz by Raymond Scott, and then later by Connor Murphy and Eli'jah Winston on what would probably be a safety because Murphy appeared to be held in the end zone. Fink was able to work out of the area by completing a pass outside to John Jackson III, who turned upfield for a big gain.
It was a strong day for the run defense, which has been consistently better in this area, as far as practice is concerned. Echols popped Stephen Carr on a short gain, freshman DL Drake Jackson stuffed Markese Stepp on one run, and walk-on Jordan McMillan stopped Vavae Malepeai on another. Practice ended with the offense at the goal line and unable to score. Couldn't tell who made the stop but Kana'i Mauga ended up recovering a fumble and running back the other way.
Notes:
TE Josh Falo was limited to non-contact. OL Bernard Schirmer, TE Jude Wolfe, DL Caleb Tremblay and LB Jordan Iosefa did not practice.
USC practices again Thursday at 3 p.m.
Here are the video interviews from today’s practice. Here are the 1-on-1s between the OL and DL.
