Spring Practice #13: Notes
April 09, 2019 | Football, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
The Trojans kicked off their final week of spring ball during a windy practice on Tuesday.
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- USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell explained that 15 spring practices won't be enough to establish a clear front runner at quarterback. "I think coming out of spring, when they've only had 15 practices total in this offense, it'd be hard to say one guy's going to come in and start," he said. "The good news is, you've got a lot of time to improve. Summer will be huge for them."
- Harrell sees Jack Sears as the most athletic of all the quarterbacks in the race. "When he gets outside of the pocket, he's probably the best with the ball in his hands," Harrell explained. "Because he's a better athlete, I think sometimes he's quicker to get out of the pocket, though. So it's kind of a double-edged sword; There are times when he has an open guy, but he pulls it down and runs because he's so athletic."
- Harrell described Matt Fink as "really good when he's on," but explained that his competitiveness and emotional nature can lead to inconsistency. "He just has to stay positive. When he's positive, he's pretty dang good," Harrell said.
- Last year's primary starter, JT Daniels, has to learn to think quicker according to Harrell. "Because he's so smart, I think he overthinks things sometimes," Harrell said. "I think the key for him is just not overthinking. We try to simplify things so that if there's grass over there, you throw it. You don't have to break down where all 11 guys on the field are."
- Harrell explained that Kedon Slovis both benefits from and suffers from being an early enrolled freshman. "Since he's been in college, the only offense he's ever had to play in is this offense, and honestly I think that helps him because he doesn't have other things crowding his mind," Harrell explained. "At times he forces balls, probably because he's a freshman ... but he has a talented arm."
- Slovis, who came to USC out of Desert Pines High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., is happy he made the decision to enroll early. "I'm glad I'm out here getting classes out of the way," he said. "I couldn't imagine what fall would be like if I didn't have the entire spring to prepare."
- Slovis said that the biggest piece of advice that Pro Football Hall of Fame QB Kurt Warner (Slovis' OC in high school) gave him was "Don't worry about the competition, just play your game." Slovis also said that he sees his accuracy as his greatest strength and his speed and timing as the biggest areas he needs to improve in.
- WR John Jackson III is another freshman making heads turn this spring, drawing comparisons to Rose Bowl hero and current New York Jet Deontay Burnett. "I think that he works really hard and I think that he has fast feet," said Michael Pittman Jr. of Jackson. "He's kind of like a Deontay Burnett-type guy, a sleeper who might show up and surprise you."
- Jackson is happy to hear his name in the same sentence with Burnett's. "He's been one of my mentors through this whole process and him being an ex-Serra guy too, I got to see him a lot," said Jackson of Burnett. "Just being around him really helped and really rubbed off on me. Hopefully, I can do what he does."
- Jackson (pictured below) is the son of beloved USC Academic All-American wideout and current broadcaster John Jackson, who suffered a stroke late last year. "I always go to visit him," Jackson explained. "I get to talk to him every weekend, sometimes during the week. He's happy for me. I show him all the stuff that I've done. We even sit down and watch film together like we used to. He's in good spirits and doing a lot better."
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