Spring football practice is underway
After scoring the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation last month, head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Trojans kicked off spring practice Tuesday at Cromwell Field.
USC football faces a season with a lot of excitement thanks to a variety of factors. Five of the much discussed incoming players participated in their first college practice on Tuesday. Sarkisian is also entering his second season after his move from Washington, and senior quarterback Cody Kessler is one of the early season favorites for the Heisman Trophy. All of these factors have combined to generate hope, and some might say the expectation, for a championship season. Despite all the fanfare, however, the team remains focused.
“Honestly, I think [the expectations] are irrelevant,” Kessler said. “We’ve got a lot to work on, a lot to improve on and a long way to go to be where we want to be by the time we go into fall camp.”
Amid the buzz surrounding the start of spring football, it is easy to forget that USC does not have a game for another six months; Sarkisian stressed that no one on the team is looking that far ahead.
“The key for us is to focus on today,” he said. “How are we getting better today individually? How are we getting better today as a team, whether it is physically or mentally?”
Breaking Out of the Late-Game Funk
No one who followed USC last season has forgotten the two losses against Arizona and Utah last season, and neither have Sarkisian and the rest of the team. Tuesday’s practice ended with a simulation of the final two minutes of the game, and so will every other practice this spring. The first round went to the defense, which managed to shut down the Trojan offense three times in a row out of five.
“Who can we count on?” Sarkisian asked, issuing an early challenge to his team. “Who are going to be the guys who can make plays at those critical moments?”
Sarkisian noted that if USC had won those two games, they would have played for the Pac-12 Championship last season.
“You think about the ramifications, and of course we’re going to address [the late game struggles] and get better at it,” he said.
Replacing Buck Allen
Last year’s redshier junior tailback Javorius “Buck” Allen has left USC for the draft, and though junior Justin Davis had significant playing time last year and is Allen’s most logical replacement, Sarkisian is also keeping his eye on senior Tre Madden.
“I forgot how big and physical he is,” Sarkisian said. “He’s a physical runner. I think he and Justin complement each other really well because Justin has got such great speed and cutting ability, and Tre has such a hammer mentality … [and a] high football IQ with his quarterback background in high school and his ability to catch the ball.”
The New Guys
Five members of the 2015 recruiting class joined the team in time for spring practice: quarterback Ricky Town, linebacker Cameron Smith, offensive linemen Roy Hemsley and Chuma Edoga and wide receiver Issac Whitney, who is a junior college transfer. They made a positive impression on their captain and coach.
“The early enrollees and those who were freshmen last year came out today and really competed,” Kessler said.
Of course, not everything went right for the newcomers, but that much is to be expected from players competing in their first college practice. For now, Sarkisian was pleased with what he saw.
“They just kind of got into the flow of practice, which is about all you can expect them to do day one,” he said. “They flashed in some areas … then they had their moments when maybe they didn’t know the play as well as they would have liked. All in all, for the first college practice for those five guys, it went about as good as it could go.”
Quick Takes
Sophomore tight end Bryce Dixon was absent from practice due to a student conduct issue.
Senior linebacker Anthony Sarao was limited in practice with a foot injury. It is not serious, but the coaching staff decided to err on the side of caution.
Sarkisian singled out senior linebacker Lamar Dawson, saying that he looked like a “different player” after a great offseason conditioning program.
Redshirt sophomore Chris Hawkins, who is naturally a cornerback, spent a lot of time at safety. Sarkisian praised his football IQ and said that safety would best utilize his strengths.
After spending last season almost exclusively in the slot, redshirt sophomore Steven Mitchell began to line up more often as an outside receiver, a pattern that Sarkisian said that they would continue to experiment with.