On this drizzly Tuesday afternoon, USC football got back to business after taking a week off for spring break.
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OL Nico Falah (back), LB Porter Gustin (hand) and WR Josh Imatorbhebhe (stomach bug) were among the players who practiced today after taking spring break to recuperate from injury and illness.
- A stomach illness hit Imatorbhebhe hard, causing him to lose about 20 pounds -- 9 of which he estimates he's gained back. While others traveled home or elsewhere for spring break, the redshirt freshman stayed on campus to get back into "football shape." He's doing everything possible, especially in the mental game, to take the next step, with veteran receivers like JuJu Smith-Schuster, Darreus Rogers, De'Quan Hampton and Isaac Whitney gone. "I just want to make sure that I'm calm at times because I feel like I knew the plays, but you know it's just sometimes it can be nerve wracking," Imatorbhebhe said. "Just going out there in the speed of the game, you can kind of get distracted."
- Fellow redshirt freshman wideout Tyler Vaughns (pictured) is also putting in the work to potentially earn a starting spot, which includes "going into meeting rooms when nobody's there, going to the field on weekends when you don't have practice -- just trying to perfect your craft," in his words.
- Vaughns said the lessons he learned from the vets of the team have been key in his development. "Darreus always said pinkies up," Vaughs explained. "JuJu: Just to have fun out there, perfect your craft." Vaughns also noted that going up against Iman "Biggie" Marshall and Adoree' Jackson in practice every day was "a real competition." "It wasn't a year wasted," he said of his redshirt season.
- The young wide receiving corps, including Vaughns and Imatorbhebhe, is getting a little more crowded this spring. Head coach Clay Helton is giving sophomore Keyshawn "Pie" Young the opportunity to compete at wide receiver, and senior Jalen Greene will be focusing primarily on the position (as opposed to QB). Helton compared Greene's ability to contribute at different positions to former Steelers and Redskins WR Antwaan Randle El. He also praised Young's "very natural route running" and "very natural ball skills."
- While Greene drew a Randle El comparison, Helton also compared redshirt freshman Velus Jones Jr. to a recently retired NFL wideout. "He's kind of that Percy Harvin type, the ability to run great routes, explosive plays in the pass game, but then be able to hand him the ball on the outside perimeter and do some special things," Helton said. "He's a guy that I think a redshirt year really helped."
- While the young wideouts drew most of the attention, junior RB Ronald Jones II also showed off his hands at practice, hauling in a deep ball from Sam Darnold for a TD. Helton says he can already see new RB coach Deland McCullough having a positive effect on Jones and the run game. "He's on top of things -- he's not one of those coaches that has his hands in his pockets -- he's coaching nonstop," Helton said. "I like his diligence, I like his attention to detail, and I can see the guys already progressing from it, especially RoJo right off the bat."
- Darnold was sharp most of practice, but redshirt freshman DB Jamel Cook was able to pick him off. "Proud for him today," said Helton of Cook. "He's really turning the corner. We've all known that he's a talented kid and the light kind of came on today, so that's good to see."
- Helton added that the staff is trying Cook out at nickel back due to his "unique cover skills, the ability to rush off the edge" and length. "He has great quickness in pressures, he's good enough to play man coverage, he's a good run support defender off the edge, so he gives us something there that we want to take a look at. We know he can be a good safety, but we're looking for additional nickels also."
- Overall, Helton was impressed with the defense's energy on the day. "Love the mentality that they're playing with, and you can just see the experience that's running in the defensive front as well as the secondary carrying over."
- Watch Helton's full press conference below:
