University Southern California Trojans
2019 BYU Thursday: Notes
September 12, 2019 | Football, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
The Trojans held their final practice before traveling to BYU for the first road game of the season.
- Coach Helton talked about the team's "good week of work" going into the away game against BYU. "We're really looking forward to Saturday, our next opportunity to compete," Helton said. "We're looking forward to our first road trip. Hopefully put a good win behind us and show our maturity."
- Cornerback Chase Williams is expected to play this week after dealing with a shoulder injury. "Chase practiced today," Helton said. "Did a nice job. He's going to travel. I think he'll play in the game. He looked very good today, felt comfortable today, said he wants to play. We'll see how it feels tomorrow, but he did look good today."
- Christian Rector will be a game-time decision following an ankle injury in Saturday's game. The defensive end was able to participate in practice today, after sitting out Tuesday and Wednesday. "He moved around today a little bit better," Helton said. "We'll see where he's at tomorrow and on game day." Helton expects Drake Jackson, Connor Murphy and Caleb Tremblay to rotate snaps if Rector cannot go.
- JT Daniels will not travel with the team to BYU as he continues to try and get the swelling down in his knee leading up to his surgery. "He's getting closer to surgery date," Helton said. "The primary key when you have an ACL is getting the swelling down and making sure the leg is all the way straight...so getting on a plane is not beneficial, so he won't go this week."
- Sophomore wide receiver Devon Williams entered the transfer portal this week, and Helton wished him well. "Great kid, good player," Helton said. "We wish him nothing but the best." The Trojans have depth at the receiver position and expect to continue to utilize that. "We still have eight receivers that can go at any point in time, and feel comfortable with...All have played and all have gotten reps so we're in a good position."
- With a young roster heading into their first road game, Helton said he stressed maturity this week. "Good teams are able to take a game like Stanford, which is a very heated contest, a rivalry game and put that behind them," Helton said. "The rest of the season is either conference opponents, or Notre Dame, or Top-25 teams and you've got to be able to move on." Helton wants the team to focus on the "task at hand" and says that is "maturity."
- The Trojans will not rush true freshman receiver Kyle Ford back to the field. "He's in a situation where he's going to need a month's worth of work," Helton said. "I'm hoping to get to November where he can get four games under his belt, and some experience and development." Ford tore his ACL in his senior year of high school and returned to the practice field last week. "We're making an investment in him for the big picture."
- Helton praised red shirt freshman Markese Stepp as a "great teammate" who is taking advantage of every opportunity. "He's done a great job on special teams, he's done a great job on offense," Helton said. Stepp is dealing with a calf injury but he will travel with the team to BYU and will be a game-time decision.
- Freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis heads into his first road game for the Trojans, and Helton said he has reminded him to rely on the teammates around him. "I'd just like to duplicate last Saturday," Helton said. "You've got a ton of play makers around you. It's the same message as last week. You don't have to be Superman, the rest of those guys do."
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DL
/ Football
DL
/ Football
DL
/ Football
QB
/ Football
TB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
CB
/ FootballMonday, August 03
Monday, August 03
Saturday, August 01
Wednesday, July 29
