University Southern California Trojans
WSU Tuesday: Notes
September 26, 2017 | Football, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
USC vs. Washington State on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
On a short week, the Trojans went through a typical Wednesday practice on a Tuesday.
- USC head coach Clay Helton called the injury report "status quo" from yesterday. He did add that tailbacks Ronald Jones II and Aca'Cedric Ware showed improvement. He also thinks WR Deontay Burnett will be able to play on Friday night.
- Washington State and USC are the two best third down offenses in the Pac-12, and Helton expects that stat to be a determining factor in the game. The Trojans focused on their third down package at practice today.
- To defend against the pass-happy Cougars, USC DC Clancy Pendergast could opt to employ six defensive backs on the field at one time like he did against Cal. "I thought it was a great addition to Clancy's package. He's done it in the NFL before," Helton said about the "dime" defense. To make it work though, the head coach explained that the four-man rush has to get to the quarterback like it did last week.
- RS sophomore DL Christian Rector has been a key part of that pass rush with 3.5 sacks over the last two games. "He gives us a lot of flexibility," Pendergast said about Rector. "He plays probably three or four different positions on our defensive front. He's really developed. I think he knows the system really well. His body is tight and his athleticism allows him to be flexible on our front."
- The pressure up front yielded playmaking in the back from CB Jack Jones. "I got to first of all say thank you to the d-line, because the d-line put pressure on the quarterback," said Jones about his two interceptions. "Lord knows how many times that man got hit. I just give them the credit, really, because they were putting pressure on him, and he gave us the opportunity to make a play on the ball."
- Jones and the secondary will have plenty of opportunities this week against a Washington State offense which leads the conference in pass attempts. "We're going to have to stop the pass," Jones said. "Stop the pass and get them out of their game. It's going to be tough, that's why we've got to hit the film room and weight room and the field really hard."
- WSU QB Luke Falk will be the best passer that the Trojans have faced so far this season. "I see a very tall, athletic quarterback that's got a big arm," said Pendergast about Falk. "He sees the field well and he doesn't lock in on his first read. He looks through his whole progression and does a nice job distributing the ball to all parts of the field."
- During portions of practice, crowd noise was pumped in as USC prepares for a raucous atmosphere on Friday night in Pullman. "I expect it to be crazy. If they sell it out, I don't know how much it seats but a sell out can get loud anywhere," said senior captain Chris Hawkins (pictured). "It's going to be a crazy atmosphere, I have people going up to the game, my brother's going up to the game too. I'm expecting a nice show."
Players Mentioned
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