- Reminder: The USC Spring Game is Saturday at the Coliseum from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door.
- USC head coach Clay Helton made it clear that he will not let the quarterback competition drag into the season opener, but he has not decided yet whether he will announce the starter at the end of spring or wait until Fall Camp. "I'm going to let it go through the Spring Game and then make a decision," Helton explained. "Just being honest, I don't think there's a huge gap between the quarterbacks. I want to take it to the Spring Game, that atmosphere, and see how the guys react."
- Rising redshirt junior Max Browne is the favorite, having waited his turn for three years, which was "extremely hard" for him, he said. He finds it strange to see Jared Goff, Cal's three-year starter at quarterback who is projected as a top pick in this year's NFL Draft, "ending when I'm starting" since they came into college together. But, Browne expects to be the better for it this fall.
- USC's previous two quarterbacks, Matt Barkley and Cody Kessler, had opposite mentalities. Barkley was aggressive with the football and grew into efficiency. Kessler was a natural at protecting the ball, but was pushed by the coaches to make more plays downfield. So, where does Browne sit on the spectrum? "My favorite ball is the deep ball," Browne said. "In that regard, I guess I'm a little closer to Barkley if that was the case with him. At the end of the day, Cody did a good job of not turning the ball over and that's crucial. Hopefully, you can take the best of both of them and build it into my game."
- On Saturday, Browne hopes to recapture the magic of his 2015 Spring Game, which he considered a "turning point" last year. As for Darnold, he is focused on "playing my style of game."
- Darnold's style incorporates running much more than Browne. The redshirt freshman recognizes that this is a pass-first offense for QBs, but his legs are "another way into something great" and "poses a threat" to the defense.
- While Darnold recognizes that Browne is the veteran quarterback in the room, he did not take an underdog mentality into this competition. "I definitely took the mentality of being the guy out here as you've got to do when you're going to compete for the starting job," Darnold said. "I'm still taking tips from Browne and letting him help me as well."
- USC's next starting quarterback will have the luxury of throwing to a deep receiving corps, which has more height than recent years. In terms of jump balls, Browne explained that "giving our receivers a chance with the weapons that we have is the model that we have to take moving forward."
- The tight end group is also blessed with more natural receiving talent than recent years. "The first thing that we want with our tight ends is the ability to press the field vertically and be pass threats," said Helton about Daniel Imatorbhebhe, Tyler Petite and Taylor McNamara. "These guys remind me of the Jordan Camerons that were here, the Rhett Ellisons. They do a very nice job in the passing game."
- Any good offense starts up front. Helton addressed the offensive line and more in his post-practice press conference:
