2018 Bye Week Wednesday: Notes

The Trojans participated in their last practice of the bye week on Wednesday afternoon.

In addition to the injuries he mentioned yesterday, USC head coach Clay Helton announced that a handful of players are dealing with a stomach bug this week.

Linebacker Levi Jones (pictured below) sat out of practice to deal with the illness, but Helton didn't miss the chance to praise him for stepping into a bigger role against Arizona after starting LB John Houston Jr. sustained an injury. "You never know when your opportunity's going to come about and you always have to prepare like a starter, and Levi really had," Helton said. "I was really proud of him ... He made the most of his opportunity and it was great to see."

Senior captain Cameron Smith was also impressed with Jones' performance against Arizona. "I love playing next to him," Smith said. "It was so good for him to get that whole half in him and get some experience and get some confidence and get the feel for not just running in there for a play or two and come back out. It just overall gives us a good feeling that we got a guy that can go out there and make plays for us."

Helton said one of the points of emphasis this week was to "push and develop those guys that are right on the cusp [of seeing more playing time]." Helton singled out MIKE LB Palaie Gaoteote IV and CBs Olaijah Griffin, Greg Johnson and Chase Williams as players who are one teammates' injury away from hitting the field. "It's important for those guys to get these extra reps so we can coach them off tape and get them ready for when their opportunity comes," Helton said.

Gaoteote, a true freshman, is looking to find his footing on the field. Gaoteote describes himself as intense, instinctive and football-smart, but admits he's still adjusting to "pass coverages, the different types of techniques, and the different looks and formations."

Senior CB Iman Marshall is taking the bye week to pass on all the knowledge he can to USC's younger players. "The whole point of this break is to take the time out to rest your body but also train your mind and look at it as an opportunity to get the dudes under you better," he said. "When you're the teacher you learn the most because if you're teaching somebody then you're retaining the information ... So as I'm teaching somebody else I'm learning it as well even better for myself."

While USC's DBs have been solid this season, Helton said he'd like to see more of a pass rush in the Trojans' game. "I'm hoping for a couple other guys to get in there," Helton said. "We have the leader in the conference right now in sacks in Porter [Gustin] ... and I'm waiting for that second guy to show up. We worked it extremely hard today."

Despite leading the Pac-12 with 5.5 sacks on the season thus far, Gustin isn't totally satisfied with his performance. "It hasn't been quite what I want with my knee and everything," the senior captain said. "I haven't really gotten the chance to get back to what I expected of myself. So hopefully this week off will help my knee feel better."

Helton said that he's pushed sophomore DL Brandon Pili to make an impact on the pass rush. "One guy that stood out this week that we've really challenged was Brandon Pili," Helton said. "He does have some unique pass rush ability as a young man. I thought he did a really good job today."

Outside of bringing up some younger players, Helton said the focuses of this week are getting players back to full health and "self-scouting." Helton and the coaches are breaking down their own film, just like an opponent would, to identify their errors and tendencies through the first five games.

Tomorrow, the Trojans will have an extra day of strength and conditioning in lieu of a traditional practice and they'll have Friday off.

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