Freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis was back on the practice field for USC on Tuesday, having been medically cleared for non-contact work a day earlier, and afterward he shared what the past week and half entailed following his concussion against Utah.
"The next day, that weekend was pretty bad. [I just stayed in] a dark room, lights off," Slovis said.
Coach Clay Helton noted that Slovis isn't yet cleared for contact, but with USC on a bye, it stands to reason that he'd be ready to play when the Trojans head to Notre Dame next week.
"It's good to get him back out here, get him throwing and get him exerted, which is good. ... We'll see where we are medically going into next week," Helton said.
Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, meanwhile, confirmed the obvious, that Slovis will reclaim the starting job when he's ready.
"If Kedon's healthy, we named him No. 2 [behind injured starter JT Daniels] because we thought he gave us our best chance to win," Harrell said. "Like I said from the beginning, I think Kedon's a special player, but player health is obviously, you've got to take care of those guys -- especially when it comes to head injuries. … When he does get healthy, like I said, I plan on playing him."
Slovis was knocked out on the second play of USC's win over Utah two Fridays ago, taking a hard hit and slamming the back of his helmet on the ground as he landed. He tried to get up and stumbled before eventually being tendeded to on the field.
On Tuesday, Slovis recalled his perspective on that moment.
"I remember throwing it to Amon-Ra. I knew the guy was going to come and hit me. The hit wasn't bad -- it was me hitting my head on the turf. But yeah, the lights went out once I hit the ground," he said.
"I remember just being on the ground, kind of not knowing how long I had been there. I heard [running back Vavae Malepeai] say 'Hey, stay down' so in my head I was like, 'Oh, they're going to come get me, the trainers, so I need to get up.' And I blacked out again."
He said he had headaches for the following week along with nausea. "Normal concussion symptoms -- nothing crazy," he said.
He went on the road trip with USC to Washington and watched the 28-14 loss from the sidelines while starting to feel better this weekend. By Monday the headaches were gone and he was medically cleared to resume football activities.
As Slovis told TrojanSports.com back in December, he had to convince his mother to let him play football and the agreement was that if he got one concussion he'd be done. Well, his first concussion came a year ago during his senior season at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale. By that point, he was committed to USC so the conditions no longer applied.
But the second concussion was surely a concern for his parents, who were in the Coliseum and accompanied him into the locker room after the game.
"Mom was a little concerned, as always. I think all moms would be, but they know we've got a great medical staff here. We had four nuerologists in the room with me so it wasn't like I was in bad hands," Slovis said.
As for watching the loss at Washington, he tried to stay engaged on the sideline.
Meanwhile, third-string QB Matt Fink -- who put up big stats in replacing Slovis the rest of that Utah game -- tossed three interceptions in the 28-14 loss to the Huskies while making his first career start.
"You always love playing football, but whenever you have an injury you always miss it that much more so it was great to be out here and throw some balls," Slovis said Tuesday.
"It was tough, Matt came in and did his best, everyone fought really hard. It was a little different perspective being on the sidelines and being able to be a leader that way, but definitely wish you could be out there and play."
More injury updates
-Safety Talanoa Hufanga (concussion/shoulder) is also cleared for non-contact work after missing the Washington game.
-Cornerback Olaijah Griffin (back), who also missed the Washington game, "felt good today, practiced," Helton said. "I would expect him to be back for the next game, so hopefully this is a week that allows us to catch up health-wise and get a healthier ball club going into South Bend."
-To that end, USC rested wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back Vavae Malepeai on Tuesday.
"There are some guys who have been really playing through some hurts and pains, and Ra has been playing with not only a [sore] foot but a shoulder and fighting through it," Helton said. "Christian Rector has been playing with that high-ankle sprain and really fighting through it, Vavae you saw the knee a couple weeks ago and has really been fighting through that. To be able to shut them down just for a couple days and allow them to catch back up and allow those things to heal is really important."
-Backup tight end Josh Falo has a sprained MCL in his knee and is out indefinitely. Helton said freshman Jude Wolfe could be in line for some snaps in his place, though Falo was used sparingly to this point of the season and had just 2 catches for 18 yards this season.
Fink reflects on Washington struggles
In reflecting back on his struggles at Washington, Fink said "the best thing about that is it's over with now."
"We can move on and learn from it. There's nothing that we can't learn from," he said.
Fink finished 19 of 32 for 163 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs and a rushing touchdown.
"It came down to finishing and having great execution throughout the whole drive and I take all the blame for everything falling apart as it did. It's unfortunate, but we've got to get past it, watch the film and move on and get after this Notre Dame defense," Fink said.
He credited his teammates for encouraging him throughout the game and helping him continue to push forward after the mistakes.
He said that Helton has not discussed his role with him yet, but as Harrell made clear, Slovis will be the starter when he's ready.
"I'm just continue being myself, being a leader and keep ... preparing as if I'm a starter no matter what I am on the actual depth chart," Fink said.
Slovis' perspective on Fink's goal-line INT and similar RPOs
Fink admitted after the game he should have handed the ball off on the second-down play from the Washington 10 that resulted in a back-breaking interception in the third quarter. USC had a chance to make it a one-score game, instead they got no points and the Huskies broke off an 89-yard touchdown two plays later to make it 28-7.
Harrell also noted that the right read on that run-pass option was to hand the ball off. So on Tuesday, Slovis was asked what goes through a quarterback's mind on those plays.
"That's one thing coach always says, 'If it's gray, you've got to hand it.' It's pretty easy if you think about it that way -- if you're not sure, you always hand it," Slovis said. "That's kind of [what] your mindset is, unless I know for sure I have it I want to hand it to avoid any mistakes. Sometimes you get excited, you get a good play call. Other times you think you see something pre-snap and that's where you don't want to guess."
On Liam Jimmons' opportunity vs. Washington
Redshirt junior Liam Jimmons saw his first action at right guard Saturday, playing 10 snaps in relief of starter Jalen McKenzie.
Helton confirmed that McKenzie was not injured -- the staff just wanted to see Jimmons get some experience. He was key to the blocking on Stephen Carr's 60-yard run in the third quarter.
"It was an opportunity for Liam. He's really been putting in great work out here. He got 10 snaps in the game, the big run that Stephen Carr had was really him," Helton said. "... Really, really happy for him making the conversion from D-line to offensive line, that progression, trusting the process and really put himself in the position where we felt, 'Man, this guy can be able to get in there and give us some reps at the guard position, let Jalen catch his breath for a second or if we would have an injury at one of the tackles Jalen would have to go out there. So it allows him to get in a game, feel what that's like and he had 10 great snaps so he'll continue to play."
Jimmons moved from the defensive line prior to spring practice. Andrew Vorhees, who opened the season rotating in behind McKenzie at right guard after starting there last season, remains out with an unspecified foot injury. And it sounds like he could be a redshirt candidate, having played only two games this fall.
"Right now he's one of the ones we're going to evaluate through this week and see how it's going," Helton said. "He's got one more week of being able to rehab it. We'll test it out next week, see where it's at and then we'll make a decision for the rest of the season based off where he's at and how he's feeling."
"The next day, that weekend was pretty bad. [I just stayed in] a dark room, lights off," Slovis said.
Coach Clay Helton noted that Slovis isn't yet cleared for contact, but with USC on a bye, it stands to reason that he'd be ready to play when the Trojans head to Notre Dame next week.
"It's good to get him back out here, get him throwing and get him exerted, which is good. ... We'll see where we are medically going into next week," Helton said.
Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, meanwhile, confirmed the obvious, that Slovis will reclaim the starting job when he's ready.
"If Kedon's healthy, we named him No. 2 [behind injured starter JT Daniels] because we thought he gave us our best chance to win," Harrell said. "Like I said from the beginning, I think Kedon's a special player, but player health is obviously, you've got to take care of those guys -- especially when it comes to head injuries. … When he does get healthy, like I said, I plan on playing him."
Slovis was knocked out on the second play of USC's win over Utah two Fridays ago, taking a hard hit and slamming the back of his helmet on the ground as he landed. He tried to get up and stumbled before eventually being tendeded to on the field.
On Tuesday, Slovis recalled his perspective on that moment.
"I remember throwing it to Amon-Ra. I knew the guy was going to come and hit me. The hit wasn't bad -- it was me hitting my head on the turf. But yeah, the lights went out once I hit the ground," he said.
"I remember just being on the ground, kind of not knowing how long I had been there. I heard [running back Vavae Malepeai] say 'Hey, stay down' so in my head I was like, 'Oh, they're going to come get me, the trainers, so I need to get up.' And I blacked out again."
He said he had headaches for the following week along with nausea. "Normal concussion symptoms -- nothing crazy," he said.
He went on the road trip with USC to Washington and watched the 28-14 loss from the sidelines while starting to feel better this weekend. By Monday the headaches were gone and he was medically cleared to resume football activities.
As Slovis told TrojanSports.com back in December, he had to convince his mother to let him play football and the agreement was that if he got one concussion he'd be done. Well, his first concussion came a year ago during his senior season at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale. By that point, he was committed to USC so the conditions no longer applied.
But the second concussion was surely a concern for his parents, who were in the Coliseum and accompanied him into the locker room after the game.
"Mom was a little concerned, as always. I think all moms would be, but they know we've got a great medical staff here. We had four nuerologists in the room with me so it wasn't like I was in bad hands," Slovis said.
As for watching the loss at Washington, he tried to stay engaged on the sideline.
Meanwhile, third-string QB Matt Fink -- who put up big stats in replacing Slovis the rest of that Utah game -- tossed three interceptions in the 28-14 loss to the Huskies while making his first career start.
"You always love playing football, but whenever you have an injury you always miss it that much more so it was great to be out here and throw some balls," Slovis said Tuesday.
"It was tough, Matt came in and did his best, everyone fought really hard. It was a little different perspective being on the sidelines and being able to be a leader that way, but definitely wish you could be out there and play."
More injury updates
-Safety Talanoa Hufanga (concussion/shoulder) is also cleared for non-contact work after missing the Washington game.
-Cornerback Olaijah Griffin (back), who also missed the Washington game, "felt good today, practiced," Helton said. "I would expect him to be back for the next game, so hopefully this is a week that allows us to catch up health-wise and get a healthier ball club going into South Bend."
-To that end, USC rested wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back Vavae Malepeai on Tuesday.
"There are some guys who have been really playing through some hurts and pains, and Ra has been playing with not only a [sore] foot but a shoulder and fighting through it," Helton said. "Christian Rector has been playing with that high-ankle sprain and really fighting through it, Vavae you saw the knee a couple weeks ago and has really been fighting through that. To be able to shut them down just for a couple days and allow them to catch back up and allow those things to heal is really important."
-Backup tight end Josh Falo has a sprained MCL in his knee and is out indefinitely. Helton said freshman Jude Wolfe could be in line for some snaps in his place, though Falo was used sparingly to this point of the season and had just 2 catches for 18 yards this season.
Fink reflects on Washington struggles
In reflecting back on his struggles at Washington, Fink said "the best thing about that is it's over with now."
"We can move on and learn from it. There's nothing that we can't learn from," he said.
Fink finished 19 of 32 for 163 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs and a rushing touchdown.
"It came down to finishing and having great execution throughout the whole drive and I take all the blame for everything falling apart as it did. It's unfortunate, but we've got to get past it, watch the film and move on and get after this Notre Dame defense," Fink said.
He credited his teammates for encouraging him throughout the game and helping him continue to push forward after the mistakes.
He said that Helton has not discussed his role with him yet, but as Harrell made clear, Slovis will be the starter when he's ready.
"I'm just continue being myself, being a leader and keep ... preparing as if I'm a starter no matter what I am on the actual depth chart," Fink said.
Slovis' perspective on Fink's goal-line INT and similar RPOs
Fink admitted after the game he should have handed the ball off on the second-down play from the Washington 10 that resulted in a back-breaking interception in the third quarter. USC had a chance to make it a one-score game, instead they got no points and the Huskies broke off an 89-yard touchdown two plays later to make it 28-7.
Harrell also noted that the right read on that run-pass option was to hand the ball off. So on Tuesday, Slovis was asked what goes through a quarterback's mind on those plays.
"That's one thing coach always says, 'If it's gray, you've got to hand it.' It's pretty easy if you think about it that way -- if you're not sure, you always hand it," Slovis said. "That's kind of [what] your mindset is, unless I know for sure I have it I want to hand it to avoid any mistakes. Sometimes you get excited, you get a good play call. Other times you think you see something pre-snap and that's where you don't want to guess."
On Liam Jimmons' opportunity vs. Washington
Redshirt junior Liam Jimmons saw his first action at right guard Saturday, playing 10 snaps in relief of starter Jalen McKenzie.
Helton confirmed that McKenzie was not injured -- the staff just wanted to see Jimmons get some experience. He was key to the blocking on Stephen Carr's 60-yard run in the third quarter.
"It was an opportunity for Liam. He's really been putting in great work out here. He got 10 snaps in the game, the big run that Stephen Carr had was really him," Helton said. "... Really, really happy for him making the conversion from D-line to offensive line, that progression, trusting the process and really put himself in the position where we felt, 'Man, this guy can be able to get in there and give us some reps at the guard position, let Jalen catch his breath for a second or if we would have an injury at one of the tackles Jalen would have to go out there. So it allows him to get in a game, feel what that's like and he had 10 great snaps so he'll continue to play."
Jimmons moved from the defensive line prior to spring practice. Andrew Vorhees, who opened the season rotating in behind McKenzie at right guard after starting there last season, remains out with an unspecified foot injury. And it sounds like he could be a redshirt candidate, having played only two games this fall.
"Right now he's one of the ones we're going to evaluate through this week and see how it's going," Helton said. "He's got one more week of being able to rehab it. We'll test it out next week, see where it's at and then we'll make a decision for the rest of the season based off where he's at and how he's feeling."
