USC mailbag: Should USC practice with full pads and full contact?

I’ve studied Arizona State all week, and I can think of few reasons the Sun Devils should be a very good, Pac-12-championhip-contending team.

But this is a weird season. Even Oregon State almost won an FBS game. Against Stanford. And yes, it does appear that Arizona State somehow is a very good, Pac-12-championhip-contending team. So maybe it’s pointless to try to make sense of the conference right now.

In any case, Arizona State’s defense is rapidly improving and the team just defeated Washington and drubbed Utah on the road in consecutive weeks. This week’s mailbag featured no questions as to why any of those things happened, which is for the best because I have no answers.

As for the questions that do exist, let’s get to it:

This has been a very popular question this week, especially after Clay Helton said that, against Notre Dame, USC “lost our one-on-one battles. That’s about as simple as I can make it.”

It’s worth noting here that USC doesn’t use practice to pillow fight. There are still major collisions happening all the time. If, for example, I were to strap on pads and go out there, I would leave in an ambulance almost immediately. USC is part of a wider nationwide trend of teams moving away from constant full-contact practices.

USC is in a bind here. Its tackling has been bad. It’s reasonable to think that, with lots of missed tackles early against Utah and throughout the game against Notre Dame, USC would benefit from more tackling in practice.

But USC’s injury luck has also been bad. Was USC physically manhandled by Notre Dame because it doesn’t practice full contact all the time? Or was it because it was missing many important players? It’s probably a mix of the two, but I think the injuries had a bigger impact.

Injuries happen even with precautions. Christian Rector broke his hand during Wednesday’s shoulder-pads-only practice. Still, it probably behooves USC to do what it can to avoid more injuries.

Traditionally, USC holds “no-pads-November” — which, though technically inaccurate (the team does wear shoulder pads and helmets) is a name I can get behind — but USC started the policy a week early, in October, this season because it doesn’t have a bye week. Here’s Helton’s reasoning for the decreased contact:

“We’re still going physical. We’re still banging on each other. We’re still going good on good. We’ve just taken the lower half of the pads off. ... But right now with injuries and no bye week and the season being done on Nov. 18 this year rather than Nov. 27 like last year, it’s time to protect bodies. We’re one or two injuries away from being really limited. So that’s a call that you have to make. I’m not right all the time, but I always try to do what’s best for my football team in the moment.”

Apology not accepted, Ingrid, because it’s a good question. There are limited data points here. It’s fair to say that USC athletic director Lynn Swann is in somewhere between cautious and needs-to-see-more-results.

Here’s what we know:

• After the Rose Bowl — as in, just a few minutes after, when everyone was still celebrating — Swann said this: “We’re not there yet. The victory was nice, but it was not among USC’s best. … Other teams have been playing for national championships.”
• Two weeks ago, before USC played Utah, Swann said he was “a little disappointed we’re not undefeated.” He did go on to say the team did well to fight through a lot of injuries.

So there has been support but no ringing endorsement.

It’s a reasonable question to ask, but it’s too early for me to report anything substantive at this point. So let’s equivocate and say that it’s a possibility.

Here’s the thing about throwing motions: They don’t really matter.

Well, they do, but only in a few ways:

1. That it allows you to throw the ball hard and far and with accuracy
2. That it has you releasing the ball from up high, so the ball doesn’t get batted by linemen — and also gives you the flexibility to change arm angles for the same reason
3. That it gets the ball out of your hands quickly

Darnold and Kevin Hogan both wind up as if they’re throwing a baseball. Is that ideal? Not exactly. But Darnold 1) usually throws the ball with zip and accuracy; 2) releases the ball from up high and can change arm slots; and 3) his release and reaction times aren’t the best in the world, but they’re pretty good — more than adequate.

So Darnold’s windup isn’t an issue. More of an issue are the ball-security mistakes and occasional misreads. He’ll need to clean those up.

Defensive backs. USC is actually much more OK in the long term in all of these positions than one might think (with the possible exception of wide receiver, but there’s not much USC can do about that, as we’ll go over).

The defensive line is the most OK. The situation will hinge on whether Rasheem Green goes pro, but USC has a nice core of three freshmen tackles. And Rector could slide into the defensive end spot if Green leaves. A great pass rushing end is a priority.

At receiver, USC’s going to have to roll with what it has, mostly. If Deontay Burnett returns, USC will have a nice 1-2 in Burnett and Tyler Vaughns, who should continue to be a good option in the future. Then there are about a million (this is a slight exaggeration) young receivers behind. USC needs at least a couple to develop. But unless there are transfers, USC can’t give every scholarship to a receiver. The Trojans will have to be judicious with their offers this cycle.

Defensive back has the most needs. Safeties Chris Hawkins and Matt Lopes graduate, and Marvell Tell III will be a senior, who could go pro. Bubba Bolden and Isaiah Pola-Mao are promising, but USC needs more depth. At cornerback, Iman Marshall could go pro, though his season so far makes that less likely. So USC could return its two starting cornerbacks, but there are no surefire anointed successors behind them.

Probably 10 ranking spots higher when all is said and done — which for USC basketball is a lot better.

I asked Helton about this during the week. Here’s what he said about why USC often looks better going up-tempo:

“I think the kids get in a flow. I think Tee [Martin, the offensive coordinator] gets in a good flow of things too. And the kids have, obviously, in the third quarter last week, I thought did a nice change of pace there, especially in the first two drives, of kind of just lining up and going. And our kids did a wonderful job with it. It’s something that Tee can get to at any point in time. That’s in the system. It’s been in the system for the last eight years. And it’s just when you pull it out and use it. And I know Tee always has it as a tool in our toolbox.”

Because sports were designed by a spiteful deity to bring you nothing but pain and suffering.

Eat here

Welcome Diner, Phoenix: The atmosphere is better than the food, but the food is quite good too. I’ve never been disappointed by their fried chicken and biscuit sandwiches. But the ambiance is why you should go. It’s about a 15-minute drive from Tempe, and without looking up the history, I’m going to guess that sometime around World War II, someone plopped down a tiny diner in their front lawn, and there it has remained for three-quarters of a century. They’ve added some cool lights and outdoor seating. And there’s beer. It’s a nice place to enjoy a cool Phoenix evening. There are two Welcome Diners. Go to the Garfield location.

Excitement meter

7/10. Enjoy the game!