2019 Spring Practice #2: Notes

The Trojans were back out on the field Thursday for their second day of spring practice and the excitement was palpable.

New USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell discussed his excitement being the newest member of the Trojans coaching staff. "I think everyone knows that SC is a special place to be especially when it comes to football," he said. "Coming in I knew it was a special place from that standpoint but it really is a great place to work for Coach Helton."

Harrell was impressed with what he's seen from his players so far and was especially complimentary of the talent of his receivers. Harrell wants to keep his offense to eliminate the hesitation in order to let his players feel free to just go out there and play.

Harrell expressed his desire to have practices feel as close to games as possible, which is why he spent time today coaching from up top. "For one it puts the players don't have someone just to turn and look to, hopefully it makes them learn quicker but more importantly, what I think it gives the most benefit is it gives you a real operation," he said.

New defensive line coach Chad Kauha'aha'a told the story of how he was brought to USC. "I was on the road recruiting," he explained. "One day I was recruiting in Phoenix and Coach Helton gave me a call. I was pretty surprised when that happened. We talked a little bit and he said there was a reason for his call. And we went on and on. We had a good conversation."

Kauha'aha'a went on to compliment the talent he has with the defensive line group. "We have a load of talent," he said. "This is an athletic group. There's a lot of things that we have to address that Coach [Clancy] Pendergast wants. He laid out the kind of things that need to be fixed over spring ball. That is the goal. We do have a bunch of talented guys."

Secondary coach Greg Burns expressed his excitement to be back coaching at USC and how he wants to help bring USC back to its glory days. "I'm appreciative of being back," he said. "I understand how great USC is. My experiences in the past have shown me how great it can be. I have been fortunate to be here during those glory days. All I'm trying to do is make sure that these guys know it's possible to happen again. My experiences are that I'm going to instill in them from the discipline that we had in the past, that the discipline will carry over into wins."

Cornerback Greg Johnson participated on practice despite Helton confirming he was in the transfer portal on Tuesday. Pendergast simply noted, "He's back at our practice, yeah."

The Trojans will be back on the practice field on Saturday March 9, at 10 a.m. That practice and every practice for the rest of spring ball will be free and open to the public. Click here for more information!

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