Trojans search for answers in Spring Showcase

After three weeks of practice to kick off the road to the 2019 college football season, the Trojans’ efforts for the past two months will culminate in the Spring Showcase on Saturday. The Showcase won’t take on the traditional form of the full-length Spring Game that teams across the country will participate in; instead, it’ll be run like a normal practice session, with large scrimmage stretches interspersed throughout the day.

Saturday will be the last day the Trojans take the field until fall camp begins in three months, which means that this gives players embroiled in position battles the opportunity to leave a lasting impression.

Offense

More likely than not, the most anticipated part of Saturday’s showcase will be the status of offensive coordinator Graham Harrell’s newly implemented air-raid offense. As one of the largest shifts in USC’s offensive philosophy in decades, Harrell’s system offers the promise of opening up the Trojan offense and maximizing the skills of the athletes. It seems as though after a few weeks of training, the team has made impressive strides in adapting to the air raid — especially from the skill positions and offensive linemen.

Veteran receivers junior Michael Pittman and redshirt sophomore Tyler Vaughns have made a smooth transition, and freshmen Amon-Ra St. Brown and Devon Williams seem poised to excel under Harrell as well.

Perhaps the most interesting offensive position to keep an eye on will be tight end — a position that’s been largely neglected by the offense. This showcase can lend more insight into how Harrell involves tight ends, as he tends to include them far more than other USC offensive coordinators have in the past. It’ll be worth keeping an eye out for sophomore Josh Falo, sophomore Erik Kroemmenhoek and freshman Jude Wolfe during the showcase to see how many plays are designed for them.

The offensive line might just be the unit that that’s acclimated best to the new style of play so far. Led by sophomore left tackle Austin Jackson, the unit has gelled quickly despite the shuffling of faces from the end of last season. There’s been an improvement of footwork, fluidity and the much-needed reduction of penalties. Freshman Justin Dedich, redshirt freshman Jalen McKenzie and redshirt freshman Alijah Vera-Tucker are names to watch going into Saturday as they try to establish their spots on this year’s new look line.

The position group that will draw the attention of most on Saturday will be the quarterbacks. Harrell has declared the quarterback position an open competition, though freshman JT Daniels has continued to take the majority of first-team reps in practice.

Altogether, the group of signal callers has been relatively unspectacular throughout spring ball. Even though the air-raid is meant to simplify the offense for quarterbacks, that’s not all that surprising. Learning and implementing a new offense within three weeks with limited snaps will always pose issues for quarterbacks.

Daniels, redshirt freshman Jack Sears and redshirt sophomore Matt Fink have all had good and bad days, alternating between them from one practice to the next. The surprise of the group has undoubtedly been Kedon Slovis, the incoming freshman who has been practicing with the team as an early enrollee.

Despite his status as a newcomer and the expectation that he’d be stuck at fourth on the depth chart, Slovis has been composed and efficient in his opportunities, showcasing impressive accuracy and a natural knack for air-raid offense timing. Saturday is an opportunity for any of the four quarterbacks to leave a favorable impression before fall camp.

Defense

The other side of the ball will also have its fair share of storylines worth watching, even if ESPN’s coverage of the Showcase Saturday glosses over them. With the loss of four of its stalwarts and arguably best players to the NFL Draft, the unit will look drastically different from its predecessor.

Gone is Porter Gustin’s predatory edge-rusher position as a permanent mainstay. It’ll now be relegated to a sub-package option as the Trojans run more of a traditional 3-4 front. With that change, redshirt junior defensive lineman Christian Rector now mans a starting role as a three-technique.

The linebacking corps seems to be coping well to the losses of Gustin and Cam Smith, with redshirt junior John Houston stepping up to handle Smith’s vacated responsibilities as the quarterback of the defense at middle linebacker. Palaie Gaoteote has been a force as an outside linebacker, and the rising sophomore figures to be one of the unit’s most dominant players going forward.

A bevy of young pass-rushers have been rotating at the other linebacker spots. Freshman early-enrollee Drake Jackson has shown flashes of potential to step up, as have the more experienced redshirt freshman Hunter Echols and freshman Abdul-Malik McClain.

By far the biggest makeover on the team will be in the secondary, where the team has lost three of its primary starters from last year. Freshman cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart has taken huge strides from last season where he barely touched the field, providing the defense with a prototypical frame with freak athleticism on the boundary. He continues to clean up his technique and footwork, but the improvement he’s made has already been enough to make him one of the starters at corner.

Freshman cornerback Chase Williams has also been impressive, finding a way to make an impact from anywhere on the field. At safety, redshirt freshman Isaiah Pola-Mao has taken over the leadership role of the secondary, backing it up with impressive play on the defense’s posterior. Pola-Mao’s impressive start to the 2018 season was cut short by injury, though he’s managed to work on his game despite the hinderance. His presence in the back of the secondary has been stable all spring long, and when his talented battering-mate at safety, freshman Talanoa Hufanga, returns from a collarbone injury in time for fall camp, they could form a ferocious duo.

Also deserving of a shoutout is early-enrollee safety Briton Allen, who’s demonstrated a sense of tenacity that could provide a major impact when he starts to harness it effectively. The young crop of defensive backs will be tested heavily in the upcoming season. Their progression as a unit will be one of the most critical storylines to follow over the course of the offseason.