OSU Thursday: Notes

The Trojans hit the practice field for the last time before their home game against Oregon State on Saturday at 1pm in the Coliseum.

USC head coach Clay Helton said he held back OT Andrew Vorhees (back tightness) today, but he is still expected to play. OT Toa Lobendahn continued to practice along with WR Steven Mitchell Jr., and both are expected to play on Saturday. Both of OLB Porter Gustin's injuries (back, toe) are progressing, and Helton hopes he can be back "in a couple weeks," but he has no exact timeline yet. The rest of the injury report is the same as it was at the start of the week.

Helton is hoping to see "a more consistent flow" to the team this week, trying to keep drives as consistent as the first one against Washington State last week. "When that first drive hit that last game it felt like a great flow of run, pass, staying on pace, third and manageables, and then efficiency in the red zone," Helton said.

Helton says he has seen the biggest improvement in the first month in special teams and defensively, "especially with our younger kids," but says that despite the offense averaging 459 yards a game and 35 points, he is looking forward to an even better October performance.

On the special teams side, Helton says he is looking forward to playing teams without rugby-style punters, which give USC great net yardage but not stellar returns, and thinks his team will get an explosive punt return soon.

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