Spring Practice #15: Notes

The Trojans held their final practice of spring ball on Saturday.

USC head coach Clay Helton announced that G Gino Quinones underwent successful wrist surgery, and the team expects him to return in three weeks.

Helton is very proud of the way everyone approached spring ball. The team implemented a new offensive scheme that has allowed the players to "become a better football player fundamentally and technique-wise."

The team was able to receive real-time information from Pac-12 refs and this information has been essential for the growth of the team. Helton said the ability to address any fouls immediately has "made us a more disciplined football team over 15 practices." He thanked the refs for their time and efforts across the spring practices.

There was a strong emphasis on ball security throughout the spring, the team had one turnover from a great defensive effort on Saturday. "To be able to address those right after practice as an offense and be able to count the strip attempts defensively, I thought was really good," Helton said.

Helton reiterated that he is very proud of where the team is and what they were able to accomplish during the spring practices. He said the players and coaches came in with chips on their shoulders but they understand that "just because you have the SC on your chest doesn't mean you're going to win. You have to earn it and you have to work and compete to earn it."

The next challenge for the team will be keeping their current mentality as they move into the summer. They will look to embrace the 20 new players who are joining the team and they will have to teach them "our culture, our discipline, and what we've learned in this camp."

In the coming weeks Helton said he would sit down and have "honest conversations" about the upcoming season's depth chart. He went on to stress that it is "about who can compete the best in the moment."

During practice there was a skirmish amongst team members. Helton was quick to acknowledge that it was a good learning experience. "Any time that you have emotion the energy level is going to go up. It's okay to have emotion but have an intelligent emotion." Helton also pointed out that whenever these kinds of things happen he stops practice and "up-downs everybody." He said he wants them to recognize that it "costs everybody" whenever a player lets "emotion get the better of them."

University Southern California Trojans