FOOTBALL

USC Morning Buzz: Sunday Observations

First some insight from Clay Helton about highly regarded defensive end Korey Foreman:

“The faster we bring him along, the better team we’ll be,” Helton said.

Whatever you say, coach.

  • Quarterback Jaxson Dart completed a deep ball to tight end Michael Trigg on Saturday, which is a good reminder the coaches consider Dart more QB-1A than QB2 this season.

One way or another, the coaches will find a way to get Dart on the field in some capacity and it wouldn’t be a surprise me if a few plays get put in that utilize the freshman. I wouldn’t even expect any handwringing on the sideline if Kedon Slovis gets hurt during a game.

37 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Sunday Observations”

    1. Slovis may not need to be hurt, if he doesn’t get the job done, survival of the coach is of greater importance. Slovis will be thrown under the bus like all the assistant coaches the fraud helton fired to cover his own incompetent mistakes. I still wonder how a great coach like Baxter failed so poorly in his last year at USC. I suspect his hands were tied to practice because of helton’s paranoia about injury. Helton, of course, doesn’t think football is a contact sport.

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      1. No contact? Only when he’s masked and rubbing elbows with Carol.
        #OrBrushingAgainstHerSoftSkinAsHeHandsHerGameBall

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      1. The above was for you, Sir Parcelman.
        [Sometimes things don’t get placed where you put them]……

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      2. “Quarterback Jaxson Dart completed a deep ball to tight end Michael Trigg on Saturday”

        That pass will be the only one TE Michael Trigg’s will see this year.

        Well, he might have a few more thrown his way in practice…just for show.

        “We talkin’ about practice”

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      4. Sir Parcelman……I like it…..I have since decided that I am trans-royalty. You must begin to address me as “Your Highness”. I am protected by the 1964 Civil Rights act.

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  2. …..but, but, but, butt Slovis is a Heisman candidate, didn’t you know? We have to showcase him so Helton can say he produced a Heisman winner.
    This is like when Cody Kessler was playing and Sam Darnold was consigned to the practice squad. If you’re the teachers pet is all that counts under the Helton Way. It takes injuries to reveal the best talent under the Helton Way. Other coaches want to win. At least Jack Sears went to Boise State where the coach rotates QB’s no matter if they are the starter or not. But Korey Foreman needs to be put on the playing field quick? If SC dominates San Jose St in the first half, put Dart and Moss in for the second half. Not gonna happen.

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      1. If they do that buddha then Helton needs to be canned right after the game. As in the tunnel on the way to the locker room. While fans are pissed. Give him the Lane Kiffin Treatment. You have embarrassed the University long enough. Now it’s time we embarrass you as we show you the door. Fire him in disgrace!

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  3. Bringing along a offensive lineman is pretty hard I guess? Other than facing older stronger defensive linemen what does an offensive lineman need to learn?
    I was thinking about it and realized there are no new plays on offense, just the names are changed to protect the innocent. You pass right or you pass left. You run right or you run left and on other teams you lineup under center and sneak up the middle.
    When my son played flag football at age 8 all the coaches would say was “block”. They never said who to block or even why to block they just said “block.” It’s a game where the faster kids play defense because the slower kids don’t react fast enough. My son was in a one on one drill where the other kid had the ball and my kid had to grab his flag. After two or three missed attempts, my son squared up and tackled the other kid. Then at his leisure reached down and pulled his flag. That’s when the genius coaches told him Block!!
    Now I know some of you are going to say I’m over simplifying blocking, but other than trick plays what new plays are there?
    Speaking of trick plays, I think Helton is better off staying away from them.
    There’s the Heltonruski where the center snaps the ball over the head of the quarterback, who then chases the ball thirty yards for a safety. Only used when Helton wants to announce he has a new love of his life.
    The Heltonsinkie where the left end runs laterally across the line accepting the ball midway and running straight out of bounds for a five yard loss. Helton uses this to set up yet another field goal try.
    Finally the OhmyHelton which has three variations. V1. On a kickoff the deep back catches the ball and slides to a stop at the fifteen yard line. V2. On a kickoff which drops dead at the two yard line, the deep backs trot off the field after raising their arms signaling a touchback for a ball that is still live. V3. On a kickoff the deep back grabs the ball and proceeds to elude everyone on the opposite team except one player. In front of the runner there are two teammates who can run interference for the ball carrier, in this double secret play one of two blockers pushes the lone defensive player in the back resulting in a penalty and the ball being brought to the fifteen yard line for a Heltonruski. (The block in the back is celebrated by putting the back blocking player into the game immediately so he can Block!)

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    2. Excellent post- enjoyed it immensely. I’m still sticking to September 19th as an execution date for the upcoming firing of the Moron. I still believe that the Trojans will be 1-2.

      Liked by 2 people

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      3. “Every man is entitled to dream.”
        —Barack Obama (stoned at last night’s party)

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  4. No handwringing by Helton if Slovis gets hurt?! SO Wrong, Scott! Helton would be overcome with sympathy for a fallen warrior…..just like he was for his son, J. T. Daniels……who, btw, went a bit bonkers from the rejection Helton showered on him after his injury and had to hire a shrink to carry on with his life.

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  5. Zach Wilson from BYU and now the QB of the Jest was recruited by the following schools, this came from BYU’s website

    Also recruited by Boise State, California, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon State, Syracuse, Utah State, Hawaii, Fresno State, Nevada, Rice, Idaho, Weber State and Colorado State.

    Dart is from the same high school as Wilson, Corner Canyon in Draper Utah. The head coach there, Eric Kjar, can coach QB’s. Unfortunately, Clay Dough and Opie will ruin the kid in no time.

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    1. You’re too critical! Did Helton ruin Sam? Did he ruin J. T.?
      #Okay,Don’tAnswerThat
      [It’s no coincidence that USC QB’s under Helton want to leave early for (a) NFL or (b) another school]….

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    2. I personally think that SC might finally be a a decent position to succeed.

      The first full year of TO and his assistants to implement their system. And they have some really talented recruits this year to add to the team- foreman, davis, wright, brown and the other DBs. The biggest improvement will be at linebacker depth.

      Slovis might be back to his 2019 self and I really like the stable of receivers. If Slovis gets hurt, Dart is going to be better than Slovis after a little experience. There are some interesting underrated talents here in Tahj, Manjack, Epps, Trigg, MJ3, Ford to go with London having an all-time high year. Losing Bru wasnt that big of a loss, he was somewhat overrated. Ford or Manjack will fill those shoes. Lots of different combinations of those players could stress opposing defenses.

      I personally think that the offensive line will be better than before primarily due to competition. I dont think the starting 4 from last year will start unless they get better. Dedich will push to get in there at either guard or center. Monheim pushing. Cortland Ford getting better. The biggest improvements will not be individual play, but cohesion as a unit, which is so important with o-line. I just think Drevno was a washed-up coach who hated the air raid and as a result, was barely doing his job.

      Biggest question is whether Graham Harrell grows up and learns how to create a more diverse offense.

      This doesnt mean that Helton is still not a problem. The lack of results in recruiting to date should be enough to get him fired. USC should be a top 5 recruiting team, every single year. Top players want to come here, but are scared away by Helton.

      The competition will be tougher in the Pac-12 South than previous years. Utah will be a really good team. UCLA is underrated. ASU might be overrated, but will still be a tough win. Pac-12 South is going to beat up on the North teams, imo. I would also predict 4 Pac-12 teams in the top 25 by year end. USC, Oregon, Utah, UCLA or Washington.

      None of my optimism means that I think Helton is a great coach. USC should be in the national championship conversation each and every year. We should dominate the Pac-12. We should pick the talent we want from California and throw away the recruits we dont want, not beg them to come here.

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      1. I mostly agree. But –without putting too much of a negative spin on things — our offense is gonna be 95% dependent on receivers who haven’t played much (or at all). The thing I worry about is them not clicking in the first game (maybe suffering ill timed drops) and having the offense lose some some confidence. It’s happened to USC before — with better (inexperienced) receivers than this.

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  6. “…a few plays get put in that utilize the freshman [QB Dart].”

    Helton doesn’t know how to utilize talent or play players up to their abilities. No way Helton puts in packages that focus on QB Dart.

    #WhenHasHeltonEverMaximizedTheIndividualTalentOnHisTeams?

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      1. They’re USC. They don’t need to run gimmicks like the dumb ass Air Raid. Conference USA coaches gonna Conference USA.

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    1. One of the few, rare posts where you made sense, didn’t alienate everyone, showed your innate level of intelligence and contributed to the dialogue, JO.

      Keep it up, bruv.

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      1. Unfortunately, it did alienate people, Bourbon. Big time. I’ve been talking to some of the regulars over the phone— and I’ve never heard them so mad. I could hear their families in the background —and they were chanting dangerous slogans. Somehow my friend Owns really struck a nerve this time.
        #OneYadda,Okay,TwoYaddas,Maybe,ButTHREEYaddas?
        #ThisMayNotBlowOverForALongTime

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    1. “Declined” is not the word I would use; Clown U pussied out of a Bowl invitation is more accurate.

      The 5-1 bozos were more than capable of living up to their much ballyhooed FB motto: “Any team, anytime, anywhere.”

      SUCC FB: All hat and mouth

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