2018 Spring Practice #7: Notes

On a warm afternoon, the Trojans emphasized conditioning coming off the first scrimmage of spring football.

Here is the injury report, per head coach Clay Helton: TE Tyler Petite (lower back), DB Je'Quari Godfrey (hamstring), WR Josh Imatorbhebhe (dizziness), WR Randal Grimes (groin) and RB Dominic Davis (dizziness).

Spring football comes on the heels of USC's loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, and while this is a new team and a new season, the game still serves as motivation to improve. "You always show it. If you don't learn from history, you are destined to repeat it," said Helton when asked if he burned that tape. "This is what happens when you don't perform or you lack a fundamental. You have to watch that tape over and over. It gets in your guts and you never want it to happen again. You have to be honest with them."

OL coach Neil Callaway had an even more blunt assessment, saying, "We've embarrassed ourselves probably three times since we've been here: once against Alabama, once against Notre Dame and once against Ohio State. Ain't nobody's fault but our own. The whole football team, not just the offensive line."

The offensive line yielded 8 sacks to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. "First of all, they're a great team," said rising sophomore Andrew Vorhees. "Let's give them the credit that they deserve. I kind of took it personal and just really realized that we needed to be more tough, more physical to compete with a team of that caliber."

Last year, Vorhees and Andrew Jackson were true freshmen offensive linemen thrown into the mix in the middle of the season. While it was trial by fire, they both learned from the experience. "Hopefully, they will," said Callaway. "Normally, that first year is kind of hard and then the second year is a little smoother. It goes back to preparation. That's the whole thing: preparation."

Along with the mental reps, Jackson also feels more physically prepared for the college game. "With just one winter program under Coach Ivan [Lewis] I feel a lot stronger and quicker," Jackson said. "I'm looking forward to the summer and the years to come and more training sessions with Callaway."

Both Callaway and Helton called out the young centers, RS freshman Brett Neilon and freshman Justin Dedich, for praise. "I have been so pleasantly pleased with the two centers," Helton said. "They have a great leader in Toa [Lobendahn]."

After looking at the film of the first scrimmage, Helton was impressed by the "accuracy" of quarterbacks Matt Fink and Jack Sears. He also liked that they got the ball out quickly and played with a nice rhythm.

In the live setting, Sears was able to show off his athleticism, which makes him similar to the man he is trying to replace, Sam Darnold. "We're both playmakers," said Sears when asked to compare himself to Darnold. "When things break down, we're okay with that. We're able to extend plays with our legs and hopefully with our arms a little bit better. I think that's one of the things that Sam got really got good at in college was extending plays with his arm, keeping his eyes downfield, and making last minute throws or staying behind the line while looking to throw. That's one aspect that I'm trying to work on, not just becoming a runner, but keeping my eyes downfield to make some throws."

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