- WR JuJu Smith-Schuster missed practice today for "personal reasons," according to head coach Steve Sarkisian.
- On the injury front, CB Kevon Seymour and DT Antwaun Woods were in full pads today, but WR Darreus Rogers was out with a hamstring injury.
- The bye week provides an opportunity for freshmen to get more significant reps in practice, including QB Sam Darnold. As expected, his biggest adjustment has been to the speed of the game, but he's learned a lot from veterans Cody Kessler and Max Browne by studying their habits, he said. "I thought Sam was good today," said Sarkisian. "For all those young guys, we always tend to focus on the true freshmen that are playing, and sometimes we lose sight of the development of our younger players who are actually redshirting who are developing. Sam is one of those guys, and these days are huge for him."
- Darnold particularly enjoyed his first road trip. "That was sweet," he said. "Being in that hostile environment, and then coming out at halftime, and everybody was gone. It was pretty awesome."
- While Darnold knows that he will redshirting this season barring an emergency situation, freshman LB Osa Masina has been thrown right into the fire. "People expect a lot from you, but you gotta just know what to expect from yourself and the work you put in everyday," said Masina about living up to the five-star hype. "If I work hard everyday and get better everyday, that's all I can ask from myself."
- Masina's greatest struggle has been keeping his helmet on, but he's working on that with the equipment staff. "Oh my gosh, you're telling me! I'm about to go to the equipment guy right now actually and get a new helmet. This thing's popped off three times in four games! It's the perfect size, I don't know what's going on."
- For the veterans, the bye week is all about recharging the batteries and getting healthy. "Taking care of my body, getting mental reps, and just getting fresh legs" is RB Tre Madden's plan for the week.
- It helps that the Trojans go into a bye week coming off a big win at Arizona State. "It felt great being a senior and losing there the last two times, especially the last time we were there was definitely not a great memory," said FB Soma Vainuku. "To leave there for the last time knowing we went in there and handled business, it felt good."
- Vainuku credited the inspired performance to Sarkisian's motivation. "Coach Sark came in fired up, and I think that set the tempo for everybody. Everyone was just feeding off his energy and was really excited before the game got started."
- In turn, Sarkisian thanked Vainuku for setting the tone every week. "I think it's awesome for our team when you have a senior who is giving himself up," Sarkisian said about Vainuku. "He's unbelievable on special teams right now. It just sends a message to our team, to our younger players, that it's not always about the quantity of plays you play, but the quality.
- Here is Sarkisian after practice...
