The offensive line and cornerbacks are USC’s weakness next season. So what can USC do about the secondary? I asked an NFL coach who watched USC play six times last season and heard through scouts at scout practice about the struggles of the corners. “If they don’t get better they will have to play Cover 2,” the coach said. “You can’t play Cover 2 in … Continue reading Protecting The Secondary

A USC football play in three acts: ACT I I wouldn’t overreact to the identity of the USC quarterback who is hanging out on the weekend with the men who protect him, but I would note it. https://t.co/K9cvccOnkx — Brady McCollough (@BradyMcCollough) April 15, 2019 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js ACT II @CoachDrev @CoachHarrellUSC oh no more FALSE NARRATIVE…the second “pizza party” (the 1st grade kind) that daddy Daniels … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Appearances Can Be Deceiving

I might start keeping a media poll on the USC quarterback job. The Los Angeles Times said JT Daniels should start the season opener. The Athletic said today to expect Daniels to start. Former UNLV coach Harvey Hyde and I have said Jack Sears should be the starter. To be clear, Hyde and I are saying who should start. Not who Clay Helton will choose. Who … Continue reading USC Afternoon Notes: Media QB Preferences

Last month I made fun of the following Clay Helton quote regarding the hiring of a recruiting director to replace Eric Ziskin. “It’s such a big hire. It’s like having an OC, a DC, a special teams coordinator. Strength and conditioning. This is a big hire,” Helton said. So what did Helton do? He hired Spencer Harris of Fresno State to be USC’s new recruiting … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Clay Helton Eats His Own Words

USC’s final Saturday scrimmage had this heartwarming image: Athletic director Lynn Swann driving a golf cart and parking it in the end zone, away from the fans. “He didn’t have to sign autographs if he was in a golf cart,” a practice observer said. Continue reading A Moment To Remember From Last Scrimmage

For most of spring practice, I haven’t focused on the offensive line. Now that spring practice is over, I will say the offensive line hasn’t improved much since last season. There is one high-level athlete (Austin Jackson) and even he is inconsistent. The rest of the unit is not noteworthy from an athletic standpoint. Last week, a USC coach claimed it didn’t matter because they … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: The Company Line Needs Improvement

USC coach Clay Helton said the players would see an internal depth chart sometime next week. Why doesn’t he want the public to know? Who knows. The only position the fans really care about the depth chart is quarterback. This seems like another way Helton is trying to become more secretive. He is considering making access tougher next season, the sure sign of a beleaguered … Continue reading Clay Helton Will Release A Depth Chart Internally

Sam Darnold is at Augusta and had a closest to the pin contest with Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen and Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. Allen won the contest, which you can view here Continue reading Is Lynn Swann Jealous Sam Darnold Is At Augusta?

Imagine how unhappy Lynn Swann must be that he spent this week in Los Angeles instead of wearing his green blazer as a member of the hospitality committee at the Masters. Swann was at Augusta last week but that was for the women’s tournament, which is not the same as rubbing elbows with Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. He obviously finally figured out the optics … Continue reading If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column

The goal-line portion of practice had six plays: The offense scored twice, stopped itself twice and got stopped by the defense twice. Devon Williams and John Jackson caught touchdown passes. But the defense stopped Markese Stepp short of the goal line and a holding penalty ruined a Vavae Malepeai TD run. I guess that’s more than the 1-penalty-every-200 plays Clay Helton described two weeks ago. … Continue reading USC Offense Has 33 Percent Success Rate

Former USC defensive lineman Oluwole Betiku has decided to transfer to Illinois, where he visited last weekend. Illinois defensive line coach Austin Clark was at USC for the 2016-17 seasons. Former USC wide receiver Trevon Sidney also visited Illinois last weekend but has not made a decision yet.   Continue reading Oluwole Betiku To Illinois

Among the many transgressions of Clay Helton, there has to be some comment on how he has pretty much destroyed the Trojan Huddle, which was the name of the spring scrimmage at the Coliseum. It’s now the Spring Showcase and the crowd at Cromwell Field was far from a sellout in a track stadium that seats 3,000. The fans are smart enough to know it’s … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: No Way To Generate Excitement

Wide receiver Velus Jones, who may or may not be transferring, will be at Tennessee’s spring scrimmage Saturday. I wonder if Tee Martin will try to convince Jones to transfer there! Speaking of Martin, he addressed getting fired from USC yesterday at his only press conference for the spring. “It was kind of a perfect storm last year, if you will. It was just a … Continue reading USC Afternoon Notes: Update On Velus Jones/Tee Martin

USC looks better in the spring because of the play of freshman defensive end Drake Jackson and sophomore linebacker Palaie Gaoteote. But will that be enough to compensate for the secondary, where cornerback will be a position a weakness? This seems to be a key question. Even practice observers I’ve talked to for outside opinions tell me the cornerbacks are a problem. There will be … Continue reading Can Improvements On Defensive Line And Linebacker Override Defensive Backs?

Graham Harrell didn’t name a starting quarterback Tuesday but he sure seemed to eliminate Matt Fink. “Fink is really good when he’s on, and struggles when he’s off,” Harrell said. So it will come down to JT Daniels or Jack Sears. Daniels could probably win the job even if he were in the NCAA transfer portal but at least Harrell tossed Sears a compliment. “Jack … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Reading The Quarterback Competition

USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said today a starting quarterback will probably not be named after spring practice. But he did say the quarterbacks would be told where they would fit on a depth chart if the Trojans played a game. This sounds interesting. JT Daniels and Jack Sears each threw interceptions during Tuesday’s no-pads practice. Harrell on Daniels: “JT has done a good job … Continue reading USC Will Let Quarterbacks Know Where They Stand After Spring

There’s been a lot of talk about changes being made this spring at USC. Here is what will not change: JT Daniels will get every chance (and more) to start. Here is what also will not change: His height, arm and athletic ability. Here is what better change: His ability to take a hit. That last item is not being tested in spring. It gets … Continue reading What Will And Will Not Change With JT Daniels

I have to add a bit more about USC offensive lineman Pete Adams, who was an All-American and first-round draft choice of the Cleveland Browns in 1973. I heard from several former players Monday about what a ferocious blocker and character Adams was at USC. For me, the stories about the stray dog he adopted were something no one forgot. Imagine rough-and-gruff John McKay allowing … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: More On An All-American And His Dog

Today I mentioned how USC coaches wanted to spotlight Amon-Ra St. Brown because the scrimmage was on the Pac-12 Network. Conversely, I heard sophomore wide receiver Devon Williams was in the doghouse for whatever reason and got less opportunities even though he did manage a touchdown. Just remember this when you hear coaches say, “we don’t care who catches the ball” during the season. Women’s … Continue reading USC Night Notes

USC seems to have gotten positive reviews from its spring showcase, whether from the media or fans. And even if it didn’t, it always has Yogi Roth as a cheerleader on the Pac-12 Network. But a coach I spoke to Sunday said the Trojans were well aware of Saturday’s scrimmage on the network and wanted to throw more passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown at one … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Stars In Spotlight At Scrimmage

USC coach Clay Helton is pretty adept at saying things that have no basis in reality. “We can literally let everybody come in here and watch this, we really don’t care,” Helton said Saturday. “We want to be able to set our standard and play to that standard.” Oh really? Then why did he keep the offense basic on Saturday with a Pac-12 Network audience? … Continue reading Clay Helton Quote Of The Day