Success rides on spring practice


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With the NCAA tournament almost over, and March Madness giving way to April and spring practice, college football is back at the forefront of everyone’s minds. USC football is off to a strong start in the first spring sessions under new head coach Clay Helton. With an incredibly taxing early season schedule next fall, spring practice takes on a little bit more meaning this year.

While every spring there are a few standouts who never translate their early success on the practice field to big time performances under the lights, understanding who will make an impact in the early season gauntlet helps shed some light on the state of the USC program.

The Trojans open up against Alabama and then face Utah and Stanford in two of their next three games, leaving little time to get acclimated to a new quarterback and new coaches. The early season schedule is somewhat reminiscent of Pete Carroll’s second season in 2002 when the Trojans kicked off the year against Auburn and then proceeded to face four consecutive ranked opponents.

The team’s results were mixed in the first five games, going 3-2 but losing both games to Washington State and Kansas State by a touchdown or less. The difficult September and early October set the stage for a phenomenal season the rest of the way, as the Trojans didn’t lose again and capped off the year with an Orange Bowl victory.

That’s not to say that the 2016 season will be the same, but there are some parallels. While this is Clay Helton’s first year as head coach, he was the interim coach for the majority of the season last year and has been around the program for a while. The big difference is at quarterback, where Carson Palmer had a Heisman Trophy winning campaign in 2002 and in 2016 the Trojans will be introducing a new face of the program.

That is not to say that the quarterback can’t make an immediate impact similar to what Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston made in their debut seasons, but the likelihood certainly isn’t great. Regardless, this spring is showcasing two talented quarterbacks who both offer different elements than what USC is used to the past few seasons under Cody Kessler.

Redshirt junior Max Browne, who was the prized quarterback recruit of the 2013 class, has taken the early lead according to coaches, relying on his experience and years in the program. Cerebral and with a stronger arm than Kessler, Browne has already showcased his knack for going deep and making big plays. While Kessler was incredibly accurate, his fear of making mistakes prevented the Trojans from the type of home-run plays that can swing games and seasons.

Browne doesn’t seem to have a similar fear and that could reap major rewards early in the season, when the Trojans will need some big plays and momentum-turning sequences to hang with the defending national champs as well as Stanford and Utah.

Locked in the battle with Browne is redshirt freshman Sam Darnold, who seems to have the type of gamer profile and natural skillset to possibly be the next great Trojan quarterback. What he gives up in experience to Browne, he makes up for with his rangy athleticism and a rifle arm.

While he may not be as ready as Browne is in terms of playbook knowledge and pure experience, Darnold seems to have the intangibles and an “it” factor that is so hard to quantify but made both Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart — and to a lesser extent Mark Sanchez — such talented college quarterbacks.

As of now it is unclear if Browne will be able to hold Darnold off, or if this will be a similar situation to 2009 when it seemed as if Mitch Mustain or Aaron Corp would get the job because of experience, and Matt Barkley ended up as the starter for the season opener. Either way, the spring has demonstrated that while the first few games might be bumpy, USC’s ceiling for success is higher with either Browne or Darnold at the helm.

Outside of the quarterback position, the Trojans look deep at the skill positions, with a lot of speed and talent across the board. If they are able to shore up both sides of the line during the spring and summer camps, the team could be a force to be reckoned with if they are able to make it out of the first month of the season with few, if any, blemishes on their record.

Jake Davidson is a junior majoring in accounting. His column, “Davidson’s Direction,” runs Mondays.