University Southern California Trojans
Hackett Speaks on USC Football
June 21, 1999 | Football
April 24, 1998
"We're still undefeated. We're making progress. The progress is never as fast or as quick as you want it to be. But I think there's been some distinct progress through the spring and this has been the springboard for the work through the summer. That becomes more of an individual kind of thing in the weight room and conditioning as everyone prepares for fall camp and having some idea of what things are going to be like. At the start of spring, we didn't know much about each other, players or coaches. Coaches got to know the coaches, the coaches got to know the players and the players got to know the coaches. So now there's a feeling of what's going to be asked and how it's going to work and what the routine is going to be. But now we have to get good at those things. We're not very good at those things right now.
"What we did is introduce them and got started. How we prepare in the summer as a staff and as an individual player will really tell the tale. The staff getting closer to getting together on what we're doing -- and that has to do with building a playbook. The players getting stronger and in better condition. That is one of our major, major issues on this football team. We're not in very good shape. We made a little bit of a step in the winter, but the major time to address that is in the summer. There's no such thing as an off-season anymore. You have to condition and keep your body in condition all the time.
"It's been a good spring. I feel probably that the defense is ahead of the offense. I was very pleased with the transition of a two-linebacker defense to a three-linebacker defense. I think it's clear that we're a 4-3 football team. I think we have some excellent depth in the secondary and some thin areas, particularly in the defensive line. The emergence of Darryl Knight has been a key to the defense. The establishing of Marc Matock as the heart and intensity of the defense was clear. I'm really exciting about the secondary. We have some skill people who can do a lot of different things. So that's probably where I feel our strength is right now.
"From a special teams standpoint, I think Mike MacGillivray is emerging as the punter. Mike had a good spring and we punted him under pressure most every day. I feel our special teams are beginning to take shape but I feel we're a little behind in that area. It's something we'll have to address a little more than you normally do in the fall camp.
"Offensively, the biggest disappointment is that we would not be able to name a set offensive line. I had hoped to be able to do that. The competition has been keen. The learning process of all the things to learn the way Coach Greatwood and I feel like things need to be done has taken a little longer and we've had two key injuries. Both our new, young junior college transfers were injured at the midway point. So we just don't feel like, with the exception of Brent McCaffrey and possibly Travis Claridge, that we can say this is a set group. We're not ready to do that.
"The other disappointment has been the lack of depth at the wide receiver position. My feeling is that is a strong position. This spring, you wouldn't have known it. We had a lot of nicks, bumps and bruises -- obviously had a suspension, things that did not allow that receiver corps to expand the way I hoped it would.
"From a positive standpoint, Antoine Harris is going to be one good football player. I'm personally very impressed with him. You've got to remember, for all of these guys, this is the first time for me to see them in any way shape or form. The running back group -- I'm really excited about that group. Petros Papadakis has had an excellent spring and obviously, Malaefou MacKenzie and Chad Morton have had excellent springs. The fullback is a little bit of a concern. Brennan Ochs has been a great surprise, a delightful surprise. But the loss of Marvin Powell and Ted Iacenda in terms of not being able to practice full time has slowed it down.
"But all in all, I feel the defense is ahead of the offense, the offense has a long way to go, but we've been able to lay the foundation, which was my hope for the spring. That foundation needs to built on in the weight room this summer and clearly becomes the focus as we go into the camp -- the development of the offensive line and the power running game has to be the primary focus.
"I would like to say that we could pick one guy (at running back), but my sense after 15 days is there's going to be two or possibly three guys and I would not preclude somebody from moving to fullback. I think that it's going to be multiple. Chad's endurance is an issue. Malaefou's experience is an issue. But both have had wonderful springs. Malaefou has even played a little fullback in the spring because we felt getting both on the field at the same time was a positive thing. The real wrench in the whole thing are those (freshmen). How quickly can Sultan (McCullough) establish what he did with his speed at Muir HS? How quickly can they learn enough things to be a part of what we're doing? I say that because there could be some shifting that takes place as early as the first week in the fall camp. I think it's going to be a bunch of guys. I think someone will eventually come out of that. Someone will emerge -- at what point in the season, I'm not sure.
"Marvin remains in the hospital. The doctors feel very good where he is now. He should come back 100%. There were some injuries surrounding his surgery that he had and also some issues lingering with him up to that point that triggered something with his kidney standpoint. We're just so thankful and feel so good the team's response and everyone at the university for rallying around Marvin. We feel very good. He should be out of the hospital in a few days and should have no effect on the fall.
"The talent is not quite what I thought it would be. When I said we were a middle-of-the-road team, I was hoping we'd be more than that. The thing that has me excited about the team is that we're more than I thought we'd be from an enthusiasm and work ethic standpoint. The pure talent level, I'm a little disappointed, and maybe as a coach, you're always hoping for more. But when I watch them work and commit themselves to what we've asked of them as a coaching staff, I'm more encouraged than I was before. I have a side that's delighted and a side that says we are middle of the pack. My problem is that I don't know what the rest of the conference really is. It'll take probably half the season to say this is how I feel about where we are. But the energy level is very high. To me, you can build on that. And I've said that to the team.
"I've been very encouraged (by the offensive line). A couple of guys I didn't know anything about, Jason Grain and Brent McCaffrey, have come out of the blue, to me personally. Brent, from the time we started in the winter program, never lost a race. He was at the head of everything. He's had a hell of a spring. Jason Grain, the same thing. I feel good about Travis and I knew Matt McShane and Rome (Douglas) and Kenny (Bowen), so there wasn't that much change there. My disappointment is that I'd like to know more about Donta Kendrick and Matt Welch. I thought their progress was excellent. There is plenty of guys there to get that unit working together.
(On Antoine Harris) "I think he's a great prospect. I was here with William Gay and with Hoby Brenner. I just coached Tony Gonzales. I have a pretty good idea of that position. For a young man who is a freshman in his second semester at the university, to watch him perform on the field, to watch how he adjusts to the staff, learn what we're trying to do and then see the ability -- my goodness. I'm thrilled. I feel the same way about Darryl Knight. Darryl Knight I didn't know about. I knew about Antoine because I could see him on tape. Darryl I didn't know about. These two guys are in their second semester at USC. That's exciting. That's what we're going to build on. With young guys who've thrown themselves into what we're doing. Lonnie Ford, unfortunately, missed the entire spring. Scott Huber is coming in, Pat Swanson had to play more and I was really impressed with Pat. That position is exciting. Now everyone tells me that Lonnie Ford is the pass receiver and Antoine is the blocker but I like him.
(Quarterback job) "We delayed the decision a week longer than we thought we were going to do because it was close. The feeling was that Mike Van Raaphorst's grasp of what we were doing, his ability to absorb the vast volume we presented to them all and his calmness and his poise really triggered the decision. For someone as young and who really hasn't played much, he's wise beyond his years. Here's a guy with three years of eligibility left and that's part of it. We're trying to find the best leader for the offense. From a quarterbacking standpoint, a lot of different styles have won games. Mike has nosed ahead of the other guys in terms of our vision of guy running the team. When we talk about the two young guys and the pure talent level, these guys are way up there. Coming out of high school, they caught everyone in the country's eye. How quickly they absorb this stuff . . . we get two or three days with them alone and probably a full week to 10 days before a decision has to be made as to where they fit in. It's highly unlikely for a guy, no matter how good he is, to come in and start the opening game. That would be tough. But to be part of the competition to play quarterback at USC in their freshman year, absolutely. I think they're in it. One of the reasons they came here is because we didn't have an established quarterback and they saw that as an additional opportunity that they could take advantage of if they are good enough. They're highly motivated young guys, they've been around the spring practice and they'll work this summer. I expect them to make a run at it. How it will unfold, clearly Mike, John (Fox) and Quincy (Woods) will have an advantage on them. And Mike will have the biggest advantage because in the second half of the spring, he took most of the snaps and continued to make strides the others didn't have the opportunity to make. Once we get through the first 10 days of camp, we have to start looking at Purdue. We can't continue to be involved too much in an even-Steven kind of thing.
(On how the three quarterbacks took the news that Van Raaphorst was No. 1) "Maybe it's college football or maybe I've been hardened by the pros, but I couldn't be more delighted by how the three guys took the news. Mike obviously took it and ran with it. The first day he came out and he had his best practice. We put in a bunch of things and he dipped a little bit, but yesterday was his next-best practice. The thing that impressed me was Quincy and John. Quincy continues to go out and throw the ball probably as well or better than anybody. He easily could have backed off but didn't hesitate. John came in and said, 'What can I do? What do you want me to do to improve?' It's just the attitude. They were disappointed, but their response was, what can I do to improve? From a coach's standpoint, that's awfully rewarding. I feel that Mike has taken control of the position. Quincy and John have shown their true character and the kind of competitors they are. We all know, particularly last year, how many teams go through a whole season with one quarterback. Very few. You look at Washington and their ability to respond once Brock Huard went down. And us with John and Mike and back to John. You have to have strong backups at the position and when you add the two young guys, we'll have that. I feel very good about the quarterback position and its future.
"My son, who has seen a lot of football in his day, at the end of the first practice, came over and said, 'I've only one thing to say, play No. 22.' I thought he was pretty observant. David (Gibson) shows up all the time on the practice field. If you come out and watch us, he's all over the place. Part of it is the position he plays, but he's just a full-speed football player. He went from a linebacker position last year to a true strong safety. The thing David knows is he has to work on is coverage in space. That's the area where people will try to get him into or try to test him. But we are going to use him as a strong safety and around the line of scrimmage, but we're also going to ask him to be a cover guy. A flat defender as well as a man-to-man defender. That's the area where I feel David has to spend most of his time in and where he's done a good job. As far as ability to make something happen, it's been an impressive spring. I wouldn't preclude he and Grant (Pearsall) being on the field at the same time. I think there will be some configurations this year where we'll like to get both of them on the field. Whether it's a passing down in the linebacker spot or as dual safeties, I'm not sure. But they have the ability to play the free safety and the ability to play linebacker. The thing about Grant that's been so amazing to me is that here's a guy that didn't play any football at all last year. This guy is out for a whole year and he and David have been battling for that starting spot from the moment we stepped onto the field. I think it's a very healthy situation with two fine football players.
(Darryl Knight) "I've been impressed with his maturity, his work ethic, his speed. You have a vision about what a guy will be like. You don't have much of a reason to think that, but you do. Then you see them play and respond, it's pretty exciting. I won't be able to talk like this again. This group becomes a group we will know and it becomes our responsibility to make sure they improve. This was a unique spring because every time they did something, I was saying, 'Wow.' He just shows up. He was all over the place. The tempo he plays at, the intensity level. I'm sure some of that comes from his brother (Sammy). I didn't know his brother but I understand that's the type of player he was. There's great motivation within the family with Sammy being where he is. The thing that has taken me by surprise the most is the maturity of a young guy who really is just a freshman. What we've got to do is not overload him. We have to give him a chance to show that great intensity.
(R.J. Soward) "I was disappointed that we didn't have him and I think the team was. The thing with R.J. you have to remember, his impact on the football team goes beyond his ability. R.J.'s love of football and to compete and to play and his smile and the enthusiasm he brings we really miss. He's a wonderful talent. I think he's dealing with the facts and reality of his situation. He's dug himself a hole academically. He know that and is aware of that. He's made some strides this spring. Whether or not he's all the way back to being the kind of student he should be, I can't answer that. I know he'll be in summer school with us and I know the suspension was something for spring practice and I have every reason to believe that as we begin the summer, R.J. will be in the fold.
"What happened to Rod Perry Jr. is he got a chance to play a little more because of injuries and got really into it, maybe more than he anticipated. But playing and being a part of the success we're having. He has been concerned and has come in and said, 'Where does this put me?' I said it puts you on the baseball team. When we start in the fall, he'll line up at the flanker position. Rod's kind of an unknown guy, but everyone that watched him in high school feels really good about him and he's going to get a chance to get right in there and get some playing time. That's what he came here for. The baseball decision was a decision that was made before I got here and I was not in position to say he can't do that. That's what he wanted to do and I think that's wonderful. Where we go from here and the future of baseball is something we'll talk about. We went through the same kind of thing with Chad Morton in track. They have got to decide at what point does the priority shift. We're looking for big things from Rod, hopefully very quickly.
(On recruiting two-sport athletes) "That's a very important tool for us. The Thomas family asked me right away, can he play basketball. And I said yes. They have to make those decision. If you have the ability to play more than one sport at USC, you have to take advantage of that in your early years. Whether or not that continues . . . there comes a point where I can only spread myself so thin. I've got sports, academics, social life and another sport. That will be things we'll sit down and talk about.
(Larry Parker) "He got a little worn out. He hadn't done it for so long and his body said, 'Slow down.' Larry is very, very talented. To be such a physical guy and to be able to return punts and move his body around is very impressive. Now what role he can play in terms of how much he can play and how his body responds is a lot dependent on this summer. He is one of the top four or five guys in terms of the summer program and how he develops in it. We need him and his stature at receiver. We need to have those big guys. Because sometimes the ball will not be thrown perfectly. Sometimes it will be thrown where a great, big guy can make a play. I've been impressed with Larry.
"That's one of the things with special teams. I'm really excited about the weapons on special teams. It's not just a kick to wait for the defense to get out there. Look at the names there. Chad Morton, Larry Parker and R.J. Soward at punt return and Daylon McCutcheon, R.J., Larry, Chad and Rod at kickoff return. To me, we have to use the special teams as an offensive weapon because we're fully capable to do that. Competition will be heated in the fall camp.
(Summer conditioning) "I'm also concerned about the two JUCO lineman. They have to be a concern. I think Travis Claridge is not in the kind of condition he needs to be in. A lot of that was because in the winter he missed a lot because of a couple of injuries. I think, generally, that's the case with those guys. Lonnie Ford is key. I think Antuan Simmons, who along with Kenny Haslip, had some issues with hamstrings, they have to really get in great shape. We can't have those fatigue hamstring injuries that I think is the norm when you work as hard as we do. Chad Morton has that issue too. What I've sold is that if you're in the best shape of your life when we start in the fall, you give us a chance to be as good as we can be. Once we start, we know the focus, the intensity. We have to prepare ourselves to get to that point. It's being healthy academically, in the greatest shape of your life, having your mind clear and saying, 'Let's go on a journey.' The journey is long, from August and ending Jan. 1. How you prepare yourself academically and athletically . . . That's why we have Matt Schiotz. I make no bones about how I feel about him. He is one of the key people to this first season because he has got to take them to another level of conditioning. He is as important of guy as there is in this operation.
"I feel very good about our inside tackles. The problem is we have a depth issue. Darren Collins is our only addition to the line. He's a guy we will count on to help us right away. Ennis Davis has had an excellent spring. May be the most improved player in the whole spring. Matock we know, Aaron Williams has had a good spring. Shamsud-Din Shaheed has played both end and tackle and he is a possible swing guy and could give us more stature at the end. Sultan Abdul-Malik has done well this spring and Kori Dickerson is another one of those guys who has got a great future. He's just a freshman and is a speed-type rusher who we'll probably see in passing downs. Lawrence Larry is a senior who had a good spring and Ryan Nielsen and Bobby DeMars are just coming on. It's a depth issue. We have to make a move with someone outside if we're going to get bigger. Once again, what happens in the next 14 weeks. Can a guy gain 10 pounds and the right kind of 10 pounds. I have a concern with the defensive line and I've had that all along. We need to do a better job recruiting linemen and we will address that as are No. 1 focus to our recruiting class starting May. 1 when we are first allowed to go out on the road."
