Veteran defensive end Christian Rector doesn't want to speculate what if anything might have gone differently had he been able to play Saturday at BYU.
Rector made the trip with the Trojans and was a game-time decision, but it was ultimately decided his injured ankle wasn't ready. USC went on to lose 30-27 in overtime to the Cougars, struggling to contain the edge.
"It's definitely tough watching. ... I love the way that they fought and battled to the end. At the end of the day, I don't speak in hypotheticals of what would have happened," Rector said after practice Tuesday.
Head coach Clay Helton had indicated Monday that he was encouraged by Rector's potential to play Friday night against No. 10/11 Utah in the Coliseum, and the redshirt-senior affirmed that is indeed his intent.
"I'm excited for this week, I'm excited to play on Friday and help my team," he said.
Asked if that meant his ankle was 100 percent, he said, "More or less, yeah."
Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast -- who is always extra cautious not to reveal anything regarding injured players and thus did speak in hypotheticals -- weighed in on what difference it makes having Rector on the field.
"He's obviously a veteran presence, played a lot of football for us and we'll be excited whenever it is that we do have him back. He's sorely missed when we don't have him out there," he said.
Rector had played the most snaps on the defensive line through the first two games and was the least impacted by USC's aggressive rotating up front. In his absence, freshman starting DE Drake Jackson played 52 of 75 defensive snaps and redshirt junior DEs Connor Murphy (40 snaps) and Caleb Tremblay (23) saw more playing time than they had all season. The Trojans also used outside linebacker Hunter Echols (36 snaps) off the edge a lot.
Jackson, Tremblay and Echols all received low tackling grades from Pro Football Focus with 4 missed tackles counted among them.
That wasn't just a problem on the edges for the Trojans, though.
"I think some of it is we've got to tackle better on the perimeter, some of it is we've got to recognize it a little bit better," Pendergast said. "When you're a team that's going to take away runs between the tackles, you're going to get more perimeter runs and we've kind of expected that in the first three games. We've just got to continue to keep working on it," Pendergast said.
He added that in general, "We've got to do a better job of tackling."
Said Rector: "It's a fundamental issue. We've got to work on that, tackling in space, gang tackling, pursuing to the ball."
Although USC sacked BYU quarterback Zach Wilson three times in that loss, Pendergast again felt there were more plays to be made in the backfield. He had the same criticism in the season opener vs. Fresno State, suggesting the defense left as many as 5 more sacks on the field in that one.
USC will have a tough challenge and slim margin for error this week against Utah. The Utes are the only team in the country that has played three games and not allowed a sack so far this season.
They're also averaging 226 rushing yards per game (32nd nationally), led by standout Zack Moss (373 rushing yards, 4 TDs, 6.5 yards per carry) and mobile quarterback Tyler Huntley (99 rushing yards, 1 TD, 5.8 YPC). USC has struggled mightily with mobile QBs both in the opener vs. Fresno State's Jorge Reyna and last week against Wilson, who rushed for a key 16-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter and extended other plays with his legs.
"We know what we're capable of and we know we can finish -- it's just a matter of doing it, watching the film and learning from it, learning from the mistakes," Rector said.
Scouting Report
Pendergast gave his scouting report of the Utes:
"They're a very talented team offensively. They're very well coached on the offensive line. Their tight ends are a really good group, they do a lot of different things not only in the running game but the passing game. They've got explosive receivers who can make plays downfield. Their running back is one of the best backs in the country," he said.
"He runs with very good vision, he's very patient. He can make you miss a lot of different ways, and the quarterback is very much a dual-threat guy that can make plays on his feet in the running game and then out of the pocket extend plays and throw down the field and obviously as a drop-back guy too."
In Utah's 41-28 win over USC in Salt Lake City last year, Moss rushed for 136 yards and Huntley passed for 341 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs and rushed for 33 yards and a TD.
Utah has a new offensive coordinator/QBs coach in Andy Ludwig, who was the OC at Vanderbilt since 2015. He was also previously the OC at Utah from 2005-08 and has been a coordinator at many stops, including a two-year stint at Cal from 2009-10, overlapping for a season there with Pendergast.
Pendergast said he thinks the Utah offense is very similar to what it's been, but he does see another dimension to Huntley's game.
The Utes QB has completed 77.8 percent of his passes for 602 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs so far. That's a sharp increase in efficiency from the last two seasons when he completed 63.8 and 64.1 percent of his passes, respectively, and combined for 27 passing TDs and 16 INTs over those two years.
"He's really made a lot of progress [in] his time at Utah. This year he's shown a poise in standing in there, he's going through his reads. I think it's just part of his maturation process," Pendergast said.
"... Coach Ludwig has really done a great job with him there. He's made a lot of progress since last year and I think it's been his ability to stand in the pocket and survey the field and really have trust in the system."
We'll have a thorough breakdown of Utah posted on Wednesday.
Notes
-Starting cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart was sidelined Tuesday for undisclosed reasons. Helton isn't available to reporters on what would normally be a Wednesday if not for the short week with the Friday game. But defensive backs coach Greg Burns seemed to indicate it wasn't anything to worry about.
"He's fine. Leave it at that, he's fine," Burns said with a laugh, clearly not wanting to address any injury news. Asked further if he expected Taylor-Stuart to play, he said, "I expect him to."
Taylor-Stuart has been rotating at the right cornerback spot with freshman Chris Steele, who has seen his snaps increase from 14 to 22 to 35 over the first three games.
-Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was also not dressed out for practice, but he was on the field throwing the football during early warmups (the only portion of practice open to reporters). Helton will be asked about his status Wednesday. Right guard Andrew Vorhees remains out indefinitely with a foot injury. Otherwise, the injury list included the usual names.
-Freshman wide receiver Bru McCoy was again on the field doing light work at the beginning and end of practice while going inside to work with the strength coaches in between. Helton addressed his situation Monday.
Rector made the trip with the Trojans and was a game-time decision, but it was ultimately decided his injured ankle wasn't ready. USC went on to lose 30-27 in overtime to the Cougars, struggling to contain the edge.
"It's definitely tough watching. ... I love the way that they fought and battled to the end. At the end of the day, I don't speak in hypotheticals of what would have happened," Rector said after practice Tuesday.
Head coach Clay Helton had indicated Monday that he was encouraged by Rector's potential to play Friday night against No. 10/11 Utah in the Coliseum, and the redshirt-senior affirmed that is indeed his intent.
"I'm excited for this week, I'm excited to play on Friday and help my team," he said.
Asked if that meant his ankle was 100 percent, he said, "More or less, yeah."
Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast -- who is always extra cautious not to reveal anything regarding injured players and thus did speak in hypotheticals -- weighed in on what difference it makes having Rector on the field.
"He's obviously a veteran presence, played a lot of football for us and we'll be excited whenever it is that we do have him back. He's sorely missed when we don't have him out there," he said.
Rector had played the most snaps on the defensive line through the first two games and was the least impacted by USC's aggressive rotating up front. In his absence, freshman starting DE Drake Jackson played 52 of 75 defensive snaps and redshirt junior DEs Connor Murphy (40 snaps) and Caleb Tremblay (23) saw more playing time than they had all season. The Trojans also used outside linebacker Hunter Echols (36 snaps) off the edge a lot.
Jackson, Tremblay and Echols all received low tackling grades from Pro Football Focus with 4 missed tackles counted among them.
That wasn't just a problem on the edges for the Trojans, though.
"I think some of it is we've got to tackle better on the perimeter, some of it is we've got to recognize it a little bit better," Pendergast said. "When you're a team that's going to take away runs between the tackles, you're going to get more perimeter runs and we've kind of expected that in the first three games. We've just got to continue to keep working on it," Pendergast said.
He added that in general, "We've got to do a better job of tackling."
Said Rector: "It's a fundamental issue. We've got to work on that, tackling in space, gang tackling, pursuing to the ball."
Although USC sacked BYU quarterback Zach Wilson three times in that loss, Pendergast again felt there were more plays to be made in the backfield. He had the same criticism in the season opener vs. Fresno State, suggesting the defense left as many as 5 more sacks on the field in that one.
USC will have a tough challenge and slim margin for error this week against Utah. The Utes are the only team in the country that has played three games and not allowed a sack so far this season.
They're also averaging 226 rushing yards per game (32nd nationally), led by standout Zack Moss (373 rushing yards, 4 TDs, 6.5 yards per carry) and mobile quarterback Tyler Huntley (99 rushing yards, 1 TD, 5.8 YPC). USC has struggled mightily with mobile QBs both in the opener vs. Fresno State's Jorge Reyna and last week against Wilson, who rushed for a key 16-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter and extended other plays with his legs.
"We know what we're capable of and we know we can finish -- it's just a matter of doing it, watching the film and learning from it, learning from the mistakes," Rector said.
Scouting Report
Pendergast gave his scouting report of the Utes:
"They're a very talented team offensively. They're very well coached on the offensive line. Their tight ends are a really good group, they do a lot of different things not only in the running game but the passing game. They've got explosive receivers who can make plays downfield. Their running back is one of the best backs in the country," he said.
"He runs with very good vision, he's very patient. He can make you miss a lot of different ways, and the quarterback is very much a dual-threat guy that can make plays on his feet in the running game and then out of the pocket extend plays and throw down the field and obviously as a drop-back guy too."
In Utah's 41-28 win over USC in Salt Lake City last year, Moss rushed for 136 yards and Huntley passed for 341 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs and rushed for 33 yards and a TD.
Utah has a new offensive coordinator/QBs coach in Andy Ludwig, who was the OC at Vanderbilt since 2015. He was also previously the OC at Utah from 2005-08 and has been a coordinator at many stops, including a two-year stint at Cal from 2009-10, overlapping for a season there with Pendergast.
Pendergast said he thinks the Utah offense is very similar to what it's been, but he does see another dimension to Huntley's game.
The Utes QB has completed 77.8 percent of his passes for 602 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs so far. That's a sharp increase in efficiency from the last two seasons when he completed 63.8 and 64.1 percent of his passes, respectively, and combined for 27 passing TDs and 16 INTs over those two years.
"He's really made a lot of progress [in] his time at Utah. This year he's shown a poise in standing in there, he's going through his reads. I think it's just part of his maturation process," Pendergast said.
"... Coach Ludwig has really done a great job with him there. He's made a lot of progress since last year and I think it's been his ability to stand in the pocket and survey the field and really have trust in the system."
We'll have a thorough breakdown of Utah posted on Wednesday.
Notes
-Starting cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart was sidelined Tuesday for undisclosed reasons. Helton isn't available to reporters on what would normally be a Wednesday if not for the short week with the Friday game. But defensive backs coach Greg Burns seemed to indicate it wasn't anything to worry about.
"He's fine. Leave it at that, he's fine," Burns said with a laugh, clearly not wanting to address any injury news. Asked further if he expected Taylor-Stuart to play, he said, "I expect him to."
Taylor-Stuart has been rotating at the right cornerback spot with freshman Chris Steele, who has seen his snaps increase from 14 to 22 to 35 over the first three games.
-Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was also not dressed out for practice, but he was on the field throwing the football during early warmups (the only portion of practice open to reporters). Helton will be asked about his status Wednesday. Right guard Andrew Vorhees remains out indefinitely with a foot injury. Otherwise, the injury list included the usual names.
-Freshman wide receiver Bru McCoy was again on the field doing light work at the beginning and end of practice while going inside to work with the strength coaches in between. Helton addressed his situation Monday.
