JT Daniels dazzles in USC’s first scrimmage at the Coliseum
JT Daniels
Highlights: By the time Daniels got the ball in his hands for a two-minute drill to end Saturday’s scrimmage, he had already completed five of seven passes for three touchdowns. He wasn’t done, though, completing five of five passes — the last of which was a pump-fake fade to Amon-ra St. Brown for his fourth touchdown, the third to St. Brown. Twelve passes is still a small sample size, but Daniels was unmistakably in a class of his own. Because of his arm strength and confidence in his decision-making, he seems more willing to make throws that aren’t obviously available and put trust in himself and his receivers. It paid off with big play after big play and shows that Daniels wants to take big chunks of yardage whenever he can. His ability to do that should open up USC’s ground game and give the Trojans the chance for true balance in the offense.
Lowlights: Well, there were those two incompletions.
Jack Sears
Highlights: Sears continued to be a bright spot of USC’s camp on Saturday. He shook off a slow start to his first series — two sacks and a near interception within four plays — to find Josh Imatorbhebhe for a long completion on a go-route down the right sideline. Imatorbhebhe ditched his defender after the catch and went in for a touchdown. On his next series, Sears made a couple of nice plays with his feet to keep the Trojans moving. In his two-minute drill, he found tight end Josh Falo for a touchdown from about 25 yards out. He finished the day seven for 10 with two touchdowns.
Lowlights: Sears held the ball too long a couple of times and cost the Trojans field position with sacks. His long touchdown pass would not have happened in a real game, as his unit went three and out, but Clay Helton wanted to give the quarterbacks a chance to get into a rhythm and started his series over with a first down. Sears still gets plenty of credit for taking advantage.
Matt Fink
Highlights: Fink was nine for 14 for the scrimmage and performed mostly like a game manager.
Lowlights: Fink was the only quarterback to not throw a touchdown pass. He didn’t assert himself enough as a passer in a prove-it opportunity for the redshirt sophomore. It would seem he has the most work to do as camp kicks off again Monday.
What they said:
USC coach Clay Helton:
On Daniels’ performance: “I thought JT, for the first time in a live game situation, looked very comfortable, very comfortable. It didn’t look like the situation of being in the Coliseum was too big for him, and I liked the way he distributed the ball.”
More on Daniels: “Obviously he’s a very mature kid both physically and mentally. The investment that he’s made early, in this spring of getting the playbook and studying it, the approach that he took in the summer of just shutting up and working and going through our player-run practices, and learning from Matt, learning from Jack, you can see the investment that he’s made. Our goal with all our freshmen is to come in and learn but compete when they come into camp, and obviously he’s doing a nice job of competing.”
On a timetable for a decision: “It’ll be sometime that first game week.”
On the quarterback group: “They upped their game. When I look at even Matt and Jack, their progress from spring to now, Jack especially … I thought his performance thus far in camp from where he was in the spring to where he is now has taken leaps. I expect it from Matty. I love how those guys have progressed.”
JT Daniels plays through finger injury; it’s a clean day for Jack Sears
Here are the takeaways from Thursday’s sixth fall practice, the team’s first at the Coliseum:
JT Daniels
Highlights: During this week’s practices, Daniels has been playing with a fingernail bent back on his left hand. He has had the finger wrapped, but Thursday he wore a glove to keep the hand from becoming infected. It hasn’t appeared to limit his reps, but it can’t be comfortable when he’s receiving the snap and transferring the ball into his throwing motion. Daniels made his debut Thursday in the Coliseum, where it’s assumed by most he will shine the brightest in the coming years. But it wasn’t a day for anything spectacular. Daniels took a few big shots deep but didn’t connect on them — one to high-school teammate Amon-ra St. Brown would have been a touchdown, but St. Brown dropped it as he fell to the ground. Daniels mostly took what the defense gave him in 11-on-11 drills, showing that he can play mature beyond his years.
Lowlights: In a drill pitting wide receivers against cornerbacks in single coverage, Daniels attempted his favorite back shoulder throw toward the end zone with St. Brown, but it was picked off by freshman cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart.
Jack Sears
Highlights: Going into camp, most observers felt that JT Daniels had the highest ceiling of USC’s three quarterbacks (that is still the case), and the conventional wisdom was that Matt Fink could have an upper hand in this training camp because of going through three spring practice sessions and two fall camps already. Where did that leave Jack Sears? The guy who replaced Sam Darnold at San Clemente High — and led the Tritons to their first state championship — probably had the second-highest ceiling of the three and also the second-most experience as a redshirt freshman. It left him as something of a wild card in the proceedings. Well, as the great George Costanza once said, “You wanna get nuts?! Let’s get nuts!” Sears has strung together a great week of practices, and appears to be running neck and neck with Daniels through the first week of camp.
One of the aspects of the practice format that could have limited Sears and Fink is that they are talented runners, and, with quarterbacks unable to take contact, coaches are blowing the whistle and not letting them loose in the run game. As the first week wore on, though, that did not seem to limit Sears, who has shown a strong arm and a much-improved ability to deliver the ball under pressure. Sears threw the pass of the day, avoiding an outside rush and hurling the ball down field to St. Brown for a 40-yard touchdown reception. The way he has played this week, that wasn’t a surprise either.
Sears’ development is a great thing for USC, even for those who might want the highly touted Daniels to win the job. Now, thanks to Sears, it appears Daniels will actually have to earn it.
Lowlights: It was a clean day for Sears at the Coliseum.
Matt Fink
Highlights: Fink did not advance his case for the starting position Thursday. It would seem, at least based on how many positive plays Daniels and Sears have made during the first week of camp, that Fink will need to establish some momentum soon to realistically stay in the competition. Saturday’s scrimmage at the Coliseum is a perfect opportunity to show his coaches and teammates something.
Lowlights: During a rough stretch in 11-on-11 play, Fink had four consecutive incomplete passes. One of them was a slight overthrow on a deep ball to Velus Jones Jr. If he hits that, it helps to salvage the day.
What they said:
USC offensive coordinator Tee Martin:
On Jack Sears: At Wednesday’s short scrimmage “he played at a high level. He did some good stuff. Mentally, to be on the field around him, to hear what he’s thinking, he’s asking the right questions. He’s giving good feedback. I thought he had some really good throws. Obviously, guys aren’t going to be perfect ever, but I think he’s managing well.
“He has a really good live arm, good athleticism. He can run. He’s in a good place right now. I just want to continue to progress him in the direction he’s going.”
On where the competition stands: “They’re all different talent wise. If you grade them out, they’re all doing some positive things in certain areas, and we’ve got areas where you want to improve. It’s too early to say 1-2-3 right now.”
USC coach Clay Helton:
On his overall feeling after Wednesday’s short scrimmage: “Those three kids, I told them all, I was really proud of them. One, they made quick decisions, and they did it again today. And we put some heat on them. You saw the pressure period. And Clancy [Pendergast], I love him, we went to open down and distance and he still pressured. And that’s what we need for those quarterbacks.
“I thought yesterday they made great timely decisions and they were accurate. They came out and threw four touchdown passes when we got into the red zone scrimmage. I was impressed with them today in the blitz period with getting the ball out on time. I look forward to watching the tape. It was good to see that sense of urgency. It’s something we didn’t have the first three practices. Those live bullets help.”
It’s a strong day for the three USC contenders
JT Daniels
Highlights: At least once per practice, Daniels throws a perfectly placed ball to a wide receiver’s back shoulder. It’s one of the toughest timing throws to make, and Daniels does not hesitate to deliver it, trusting Tyler Vaughns and Michael Pittman Jr. to adjust in the air and make the play. Back shoulder throws can be effective because the defensive backs have a tendency to overrun the receiver’s route. All the receiver has to do is slow down just a little after the ball is thrown. Daniels’ first throw in seven-on-seven Wednesday was a drama-free back shoulder toss to Vaughns. Also in seven-on-seven, Daniels connected on three straight passes — a quick pass to Vavae Malepeai out of the backfield, an out to Pittman and a check-down dump pass to Markese Stepp. In the 11-on-11 red zone session, Daniels ended his day with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Vaughns.
Lowlights: Daniels did not complete many passes during 11-on-11 Wednesday, the first day in full pads. He was working mostly with the second team — a product of it being Sears’ turn to start with the first unit.
Matt Fink
Highlights: Fink started his day in seven-on-seven drills with a sharp pass to Trevon Sidney in a tight window over the middle. In one of his best moments of camp to this point, during an 11-on-11 red zone session, Fink rolled to the right and found Velus Jones Jr. in the back of the end zone for a diving touchdown catch. Later, Fink rolled to his left and threw to Amon-Ra St. Brown across his body over the middle for a reception. This was probably Fink’s best day of camp, and he’ll look to build confidence heading into Saturday’s scrimmage at the Coliseum.
Lowlights: Much of the day in full pads was devoted to working on the Trojans’ running game. With the opportunities he had, Fink didn’t have any noticeable gaffes.
Jack Sears
Highlights: Similar to Fink, Sears had his best day of camp to this point, showing that he can move the Trojans with quick decision-making and accurate throws. He began the 11-on-11 red zone session with a screen to Vaughns, who made a few defenders miss for a nice gain. Sears finished that series with a well-timed flare pass to the right to running back Stephen Carr, who ran it in for a touchdown. The next series, Sears hit tight end Tyler Petite on a fade pass to the end zone for another touchdown. Sears finished his day with a third touchdown pass, finding Carr again on a swing pass.
Lowlights: In a small sample size, Sears was nearly flawless Wednesday and put himself in better position heading into Saturday’s crucial scrimmage.
What they said:
USC coach Clay Helton:
On red zone work: “I liked how the quarterbacks operated in the red zone. Any time you get in that tight of a red zone, the windows become a little tighter and you’ve got to get the ball out quicker. To be able to see how they executed from the 25 in today was good to see. I look forward to watching the tape.
“They were throwing touchdowns, which was nice. Obviously it wasn’t perfect today, but for practice five and it’s your first full pad practices, and you’re getting the ball out on time and the ball’s being completed … you really didn’t see any critical error today, which was good to see. I’m pleased. Now I’m going to watch the tape and hopefully I’m still pleased afterward.”
Helton: USC’s quarterbacks are ‘all about even’
Here are the takeaways from Tuesday’s fourth fall practice, USC’s last practice not in full pads:
JT Daniels
Highlights: The USC coaches ended Tuesday’s practice with 16 plays in the red zone, none of which resulted in a touchdown for the offense. While the defense rightfully claimed superiority over the Trojans no matter who the quarterback was, Daniels had the most success getting USC in position to score. He hit tight end Tyler Petite with a well-timed pass in a seam over the middle with a nice touch on it. He hit tight end Josh Falo on a bootleg to the right.
Lowlights: In another session of 11-on-11, Daniels was handed a pristine chance to make a big play on a flea-flicker. He threw it a bit short in the end zone to Amon-Ra St. Brown, allowing safety Marvell Tell to bat the ball away. Daniels had another pass tipped at the line, which luckily found its way into the hands of offensive guard Chris Brown, who fell forward to joyous applause from his teammates. Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good. For the second straight day, Daniels took a sack.
Matt Fink
Highlights: In an early session of 11-on-11, Fink threw the day’s only touchdown pass after rolling out to the right and buying time, hitting Michael Pittman Jr. on an out route. Fink gets credit, too, for his celebration of Brown’s reception of a tipped pass from Daniels. Fink ran across the field to join in with Brown and the other Trojans, even though it wasn’t his series.
Lowlights: During a rough stretch in the red zone, Fink missed Aca’Cedric Ware on a routine swing pass. He then had a bubble screen picked off by Iman Marshall, who probably would have returned it for a touchdown had it been a real game. This was one of Fink’s only major mistakes so far in camp.
Jack Sears
Highlights: In his first session of 11-on-11s, Sears got into a quick rhythm, hitting Stephen Carr on a slant and Velus Jones Jr. on a quick out. On the next two plays, he showed his running ability, pulling it down to run on one play and then keeping on a read-option for what would have been a nice gain.
Lowlights: Sears threw a deep post route to Jones into double coverage that was intercepted by redshirt freshman cornerback Greg Johnson.
What they said:
USC coach Clay Helton:
On getting quarterbacks a chance to find rhythm: “We’re trying to give them four, five, six reps in a row so that they can get in a flow. If it was one rep after the other, that’s hard on a quarterback. But we’re trying to give them almost, like, mini-series. We’re not to the point where we’re ready for 10, 12, 14 play drives. We’ll be there soon. I’m hoping to be able to put the ball down a little bit tomorrow and play and let it flow. We’ve got a scrimmage Saturday to let it flow.”
On whether he will cut competition from three to two: “Not right now. If I think there’s a major difference, I would, but right now there isn’t. If it got to that point, I would consider it, but right now, they’re all about even. They’re just learning and making mistakes and hopefully learning from those mistakes. I’m looking forward to [Wednesday]. Looking forward to Saturday. Those will be two big days for those kids.
“We’ve got the majority of our install in. Now we’re going to see who can take that install and perform.”
USC quarterbacks show their stuff during first workout in pads
Here are the takeaways from Monday’s third fall practice, which was USC’s first in shoulder pads.
JT Daniels
Highlights: Daniels took the first snap with the first team in 11-on-11, but USC quarterbacks coach Bryan Ellis said that was just his turn in the rotation, with Matt Fink and Jack Sears having gone first Friday and Saturday, respectively. This was Daniels’ first day facing a real pass rush with plenty of blitzes mixed in from the first-team defense. He completed four of his first five passes, including a pristine 20-yard post corner route to tight end Tyler Petite and three straight short passes to Tyler Vaughns on his left side. Maybe most impressively, the one time he felt pressure, he chose to throw the ball away. In another series, he evaded pressure (it may have been a sack without the yellow no-contact jersey) and hit his high school teammate and USC roommate Amon-Ra St. Brown for a big gain down the right sideline. He continued to show that he has the arm strength and accuracy to compete immediately for the starting job.
Lowlights: It was to be expected under the circumstances, but Daniels took a few sacks. That could be viewed positively, too, as he wasn’t willing to throw the ball into coverage and risk a turnover.
Matt Fink
Highlights: After three days, Fink has been nothing more than steady. He is the lone quarterback who has not thrown an interception in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 drills, but it hasn’t appeared as if he has consistently gotten the offense moving either. Monday, he threw a nice deep ball to Josh Imatorbhebhe, who dropped the pass.
Lowlights: To Fink’s credit, he has done the best job of limiting mistakes to this point.
Jack Sears
Highlights: The consensus is that Sears has made huge strides in his game since the spring. He’s making quicker decisions and getting rid of the ball with better timing, but the Trojans haven’t had a fully-padded practice.
Lowlights: Monday, Sears missed a wide-open Michael Pittman Jr. in 11-on-11 drills. Later, he also missed Pittman on a routine out route, throwing short. These are the type of throws he needs to start completing.
What they said:
USC coach Clay Helton:
On facing pressure: “They’re handling it well. The biggest thing I always have a concern with when you put that pressure on them is having turnovers, and I haven’t seen that. I saw a couple times a ball should have been thrown away rather than having a sack. I told JT, the biggest difference between being a high school quarterback and a college quarterback, as Matt and Jack had to learn, is timing. You have to make timely decisions and the ball has to come out, and he felt that today.”
On Daniels: “The thing that has stood out to me is, one, his arm strength, and two, his accuracy. He does not miss many throws. That’s been probably the most impressive thing I’ve seen about him. We need to speed him up just a hair.”
USC offensive coordinator Tee Martin:
On Daniels and Fink: “[Daniels] can make all the throws. His deep ball accuracy is really good. He had a good day of doing that. I think Matt Fink is also having a good camp thus far. He’s really throwing the ball well as well.”
More on Daniels: “From what I see right now in terms of natural ability, his ability to know what he’s doing, processing really quickly pre-snap and post-snap, he’s ahead of the curve when it comes to that. He’s managing and getting in and out of plays way ahead of schedule.
“He’s shown the ability to escape maybe more than what has been expected.”
USC quarterbacks coach Bryan Ellis:
On Fink and Sears: “How far they’ve come since spring is unbelievable. It’s a testament to those kids. They’ve really worked hard. I think Jack has just improved tremendously. Matt’s obviously the furthest along mentally. He’s been here longer and been in the same system for three years now.
“They’re really athletic guys. That’s in every read. It’s part of those guys’ games. If they don’t like it, take off and run. Jack’s probably a little bigger and probably a little more quick laterally. Matt’s faster. They do a good job with it.”
On Daniels: “He’s got a rocket for an arm, and we have really good receivers on the outside. He knows to fire it out there. So far, he’s been really accurate with those throws.”
On what he’s looking for: “Timing, decision-making and accuracy. We’re always going to recruit a thrower here first. We’re going to use running as a last option.”
On competition as a whole with Daniels in camp: “It’s helped. Competition brings out the best in everybody. They’re not dumb. They know that JT was a highly-regarded guy, and we recruited him to be the quarterback, just like we recruited those two to be the quarterback. They know they’re all going to get a fair shake at it. They know each rep is vital, and I think there’s never a middle ground when that competition comes. Either you sink and you can’t do it, or you rise to the top. There really is no in-between.
“The kids know. The kids aren’t dumb. At the end of this thing, they’ll know who the best one is. They may not want to admit it to themselves, but they all know just as much as the rest of the team knows, ‘This is the best guy.’”