Offense tops defense in football’s annual spring game

USC spring football concluded on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after the annual spring game. With a thin depth chart, head coach Steve Sarkisian opted not to play a full split-squad game, instead running a similar system as last year, with a scoring system in place for both the offense and defense. With USC royalty from Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott to projected top-five pick Leonard Williams in attendance among the reported 22,788 fans, the Trojans took the field and showed off what they had been working on through 14 spring practices.

Despite being in full pads, there wasn’t too much contact throughout the game, which meant that players such as tailback Justin Davis were a bit starved for touches, but this allowed USC’s lethal aerial attack take center stage. The Trojans’ top two signal callers both enjoyed productive days: senior starter Cody Kessler completed eight of 10 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown in his brief stint on the field, including a 60 yard bomb to redshirt sophomore receiver Steven Mitchell, who continued his head-turning spring with seven catches for 90 yards.

Redshirt sophomore signal caller Max Browne has also impressed many this spring, and he didn’t disappoint on Saturday. Sarkisian said that the spring game “was Max Browne’s game,” and the young quarterback put up great numbers in what will likely be his most significant time on the field until Kessler’s departure after next season. Browne completed 24 out of 37 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers, and his remarkable progress, despite a lack of game action, was not lost on his coach.

“His game has drastically improved -— it’s very evident.” Sarkisian said. “As a coaching staff, [it] is very encouraging to us that our practices are that competitive. . . we can create [a competitive atmosphere that] can help a quarterback develop.”

During last year’s spring game, the Trojan offense struggled as it adjusted to coach Sarkisian’s system during his first year in charge. This year, however, USC experienced no such offensive problems, which pleased Sarkisian.

“I think it’s night and day [compared to last year],” Sarkisian said. “The guys are very comfortable in the system, and not just the system but the subtleties and nuances within the system.”

When compared to last spring’s numbers, there is no doubt that this Trojan offense has become much more comfortable in Sarkisian’s system. In 2014, the offense fell to the defense by a score of 15-19, with Kessler completing five of 10 passes for 86 yards (Browne was five for 15, 65 yards). This year’s score was 37-23 in favor of the offense, and the quarterbacks’ stellar stat lines speak for themselves.

It was widely expected that  wideout Nelson Agholor’s departure would leave a gaping hole in the Trojan receiving corps, but if this spring and the spring game are any indication, USC will be just fine. Sophomore JuJu Smith capped off a productive spring with an outstanding line of nine receptions for 152 yards and a touchdown, and junior Darreus Rogers and junior college transfer Isaac Whitney made four and five grabs respectively.

“To me, the receiving corps were a real positive coming out of [spring practice] that I didn’t [anticipate],” Sarkisian said.

The biggest surprise of the day came from walk-on redshirt junior Christian Tober, who nabbed two short touchdown catches: one from Kessler and one from Browne.

The high-octane offense might have stolen the show on Saturday, but the plays made on the other side of the ball also hinted at a bright future. The defense forced three three-and-outs against the offense, redshirt sophomore Joel Foy recovered a fumble and redshirt freshman Jalen Jones picked off a Ricky Town pass. This was all without the wealth of defensive prospects arriving in the fall, including five-star cornerback Iman Marshall.

The defensive line put pressure on the quarterback, though sacks were called very quickly throughout the game in order to minimize contact. Sarkisian was satisfied with what he saw from his front four but also noted it as an area of focus in the fall.

“We need to get [the defensive line] healthy … [and] we need to get the influx of these freshmen that are coming in,” Sarkisian said. “To solidify that is going to be a big point of emphasis of ours when we come back for fall camp.”

Meanwhile, kickers Matt Boermeester and Alex Wood continued their battle to replace the graduated Andre Heidari, and both played perfectly on Saturday. Redshirt sophomore Boermeester opened the scoring with a 52-yard boot before hitting a 39-yarder later on. Redshirt junior Wood turned in almost an identical performance, splitting the uprights on a 51-yard attempt after nailing a 35-yarder shortly following Boermeester’s first score.

USC fans got their first look at four-star recruit Ricky Town on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Ventura native went zero for one, throwing his second pass for an interception. Sarkisian shrugged off Town’s early struggles, saying that it was “part of being a true freshman quarterback.”

Sophomore safety John Plattenburg is still dealing with a sprained ankle and did not participate in the spring game.

Sarkisian praised junior Su’a Cravens, calling the linebacker-safety “ridiculously talented” and saying that “his effort has been contagious.”

USC opens the season on September 5 against Arkansas State.