First scrimmage of spring lacks offensive firepower
On Saturday, the USC football team kicked off its first spring scrimmage at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Trojans are aiming to continue their early momentum from the early successes in spring practices.
USC coach Lane Kiffin announced that sophomore Tre Madden will stay at running back for the duration of spring practice.
Work in progress · Sophomore Tre Madden has been seeing time this spring at running back, although he was recruited as a linebacker. - Chris Pham | Daily Trojan
“Madden did some special things,” Kiffin said. “The ability to stay up at 225 pounds with that forward lean, and then you see the speed from a big guy too.”
Madden originally came to USC with the intentions of being a linebacker for the Trojans. During the 2011 season, he recorded 15 tackles for the Trojans.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Max Wittek is becoming more comfortable during spring practices.
“I feel great and I feel very comfortable with my decisions and my reads,” Wittek said.
Though his first pass was deflected, Wittek moved forward with a positive attitude.
“He got his hand up in the passing lane and made a great play and was able to pick it off,” Wittek said. “I just put it behind me and said let’s move forward from there.
Offensively, the Trojan roster has endured woes during spring workouts. A full scrimmage could not be run because of the fact that offensive numbers were too low. Despite a low turnout because of injuries, transfers and players participating in track, Kiffin remained optimistic about the offense’s performance on Saturday.
“The offense did a lot better than I thought they would have with the personnel out there, so that was good to see,” Kiffin said.
Sophomore wide receiver Marqise Lee chose to forgo Saturday’s practice to represent the Trojans in the Trojan Invitational at Loker Stadium. Lee was victorious in the men’s long jump.
Junior cornerback Nickell Robey, who would have competed against Lee, chose to attend football practice instead.
“I made the right choice for myself by coming out here with my team,” Robey said. “I’m a competitor, so I’ll be a little disappointed. But this is for the team, so I had to put my personal problems out of the way.”
Many of the Trojans’ top performers were unable to participate in Saturday’s scrimmage because of numerous injuries. Redshirt freshman running back Javorious Allen (hamstring), redshirt sophomore quarterback Jesse Scroggins (hip), sophomore wide receiver George Farmer (hamstring), and senior center Khaled Holmes (calf) did not practice on Saturday. Tight ends Xavier Grimble (toe) and Randall Telfer (hamstring), both redshirt sophomores, did not practice, while redshirt sophomore linebacker Dion Bailey was limited. Redshirt freshman fullback Soma Vainuku injured his back during Saturday’s practice at the Coliseum.
Kiffin believes that most of the injured players will return to practice on Tuesday.
The Trojans will continue spring practice culminating in the annual spring football game, which will be held in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, April 14.