Greene embraces transition from QB to WR


Much has been said about the relationship between quarterbacks and their wide receivers. Uniquely, the friendship redshirt freshman Jalen Greene  has with USC quarterbacks Cody Kessler  and Max Browne stems from the one thing they all have in common —playing quarterback. And that has made all the difference.

“Cody’s really been great to me since I got here,” Greene said after practice Tuesday. “Our lockers are right next to each other, and I talk to him a lot. I can talk to him about anything and ask him about anything. He’s been a great older brother.”

Greene converted to playing receiver at USC in response to all of the injuries at the position. But before then, Greene had always played quarterback.

Additionally, Greene said he hadn’t played receiver since Pop Warner but admitted that all his time as quarterback has caused him to develop a distinctive feel for what his QBs wants him to do.

“Playing quarterback helps me a lot, but it kind of bites me in the foot in practice sometimes because I understand what Cody is looking at, and I can see the zone,” Greene said. “So, sometimes I might overrun a route because I know he isn’t looking where he should be looking. At the same time, it really helps us out being on the same page because I am seeing the defense the same way he is.”

The left-handed Greene graduated early and enrolled at USC in the spring of 2014. As a senior quarterback at Serra High School, Greene completed 134-of-229 passes for 1,544 yards with 33 TDs and six interceptions in 2013.  Though Greene has played receiver all season, he threw his first touchdown on a 75-yard TD pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster on a trick play where he was lined up as a receiver.

Greene added a few key catches that game and responded with two receptions in his first start of the season at wide receiver in USC’s huge win over No. 3 Utah.

“It’s really fun seeing him. I mean he came in here as a quarterback, and I was working with him every day,” Browne said. “Now, watching him be a receiver and doing good things and making huge catches out there has been awesome. I think a guy like him, who works so hard, has developed every week. And it has been really huge for us.”

Yesterday, interim head coach Clay Helton said the main reason why Cal’s Jared Goff is so successful is because of his “extraordinary” relationship with his longtime receiving corps that allow him to anticipate exactly where they are going to be, and what they are going to be doing. Similarly,   Greene said the connection he’s made with his QBs has resulted in his own success.

“I think that I’m definitely improving a lot because I’m adjusting every game,” Greene said. “Just knowing how to see the game as a receiver. Just understanding how to fit in certain zones or get to certain blocks easier, or just running my routes quicker, and learning the things to get separations from my guy. That’s been huge.”

Wide receivers coach Tee Martin, who coached Randall Cobb, a wideout who also converted from quarterback to receiver at the University of Kentucky in 2011, compared Greene’s ability to the now Packer’s Pro Bowl receiver.  He said that as quarterbacks, both players have a better understanding of the formations and schemes of the defense.

“Jalen is supremely intelligent. He is a lot like Randall Cobb,” Martin said.  “So, we try to use all of those talents. He’s thrown the ball a couple of times this year, and he has shined as a receiver.”

Martin said that the thing that has surprised him the most about Greene’s transition is just how physical he’s played this season —even as a quarterback. Martin additionally praised Greene’s improvement in his blocking and creation of separation from cornerbacks with his body.

“The good thing about Jalen that shocked me is how physical he plays,” Martin said. “You would think that a guy playing quarterback, not saying that quarterbacks aren’t tough, might be soft. But he is playing really physical now. And as a wide receiver, that’s good to see.”

While Greene largely played quarterback at Serra, he also ran for 1,209 yards on 155 carries with 14 TDs. Serra was 13-1 in 2013 and advanced to the CIF Western Division title game. Greene’s dynamic play making resulted in him making the 2013 Prep Star All-West, Cal-Hi Sports All-State second team, Max Preps All-State Division II first team and All-CIF Western Division.

Greene’s ability to utilize his speed to avoid defenders has certainly been applied by USC coaches.

“I think why they put him at receiver in the first place was because he is just so athletic,” said senior wide receiver George Katrib, who has been a mentor for Greene since he switched to the position. “You’ve seen how athletic he is in the pass catching game with the plays he’s made these past couple games.”

Katrib says that Greene is fitting in seemingly with the other receivers at this point in the season. And, that Greene’s commitment to hard work and the success of the team would cause him to excel at any position USC coaches decide to put him at next season — whether it’s at  receiver or quarterback.

Helton, who was coincidentally Greene’s quarterback coach when he arrived at USC, said that he will not make a decision on the redshirt freshman’s future position until the season is over.

Greene said has helped him grow both as a man and a football player, but added that  he will keep passing and working extremely hard until next spring so that he can eventually play quarterback again.

“I love Coach Helton. He helped me out a lot and really taught me things about the defense that got me smarter and raised my football IQ,” Greene said. “He’s a tremendous coach. The whole team has rallied around him, and I hope we are able to keep him.”

Greene added that he hasn’t talked about playing quarterback with any coaches yet because he is solely dedicated to his role as a receiver.

Greene’s play-making ability at the wide receiver position similarly impressed USC legend Keyshawn Johnson, who watched USC’s practice from the sideline Wednesday.

“From what I’ve seen here, and in the games, he really looks good and its been impressive to see him make the transition to playing receiver,” Johnson said. “I think that over time he’s going to continue to get better. I think that being a quarterback will help him understand how to run routes precisely, how he needs to come back on certain routes and intricacies like that.”