New coaching staff and quarterbacks take the field

Football spring practice opened Tuesday afternoon, and the team’s focus is on improving everyday. Everyone had some first day kinks, but players said that it felt good to be back on the field.

“It feels great,” senior wide receiver Darreus Rogers said. “I’m playing faster. This is probably the smoothest I’ve been since I’ve been here.”

Junior wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster agreed but also mentioned the quick turnaround from hard workouts to full practice.

“My legs are kind of tight and sore,” Smith-Schuster said. “Yesterday was our first day squatting, so then to come out here full speed running … but it feels good.”

Coaching Turnaround

With first-year head coach Clay Helton at the helm, a slue of new coaches has been added to the staff including his brother, quarterbacks coach Tyson Helton.

“It was a great first day,” Tyson Helton said. “A lot of excitement, a lot of focus which is the way it should be. There’s a lot of talent out here, and I’m looking forward to working with them every day.”

The coaches have been well-received by many players who are saying that they are totally on board with the new staff as well as their new implementations.

“This coaching staff is amazing — they make me want to work hard and be perfect,” Rogers said.

Offensive players said there was going to be a lot more action for the receivers on offense this year to create a more balanced offensive scheme.

“We have new signals and plays, so we have to adjust to that,” sophomore tailback Ronald Jones II said. “The team likes the new plays and new systems. There are a lot more receiver sets because we don’t really have a fullback yet. It looks like we’re going to be a lot more balanced this year, which is good.”

Quarterback Frenzy

Four quarterbacks saw significant reps for the Trojans on day one including redshirt junior Max Browne, redshirt freshman Sam Darnold, redshirt sophomore Jalen Greene and true freshman Matt Fink. Tyson Helton said he was impressed with his quarterbacks for where they were at the beginning of the season.

“Quarterbacks were about where you’d think for a first day; there’s a lot of things we need to correct but pretty good overall,” Helton said. “There were a couple jitters early, but once they got in the groove, I think they realized ‘Hey, this is just like anything I’ve always done.’”

Browne and Darnold are expected to be the frontrunners in the quarterback competition, but Greene received a significant amount of reps during practice as well. Helton said he was specifically impressed with the play of Browne, Darnold and Greene.

“They understand the plays and the mechanics of the plays, we just have to get better and better on the technique side of things,” Helton said. “The young freshman Matt Fink, it’s his first day out here, so limited reps, but we wanted him to have some success, so we put him in certain situations, and he took advantage of them.”

Dealing with the different quarterbacks is a challenge for receivers according to Smith-Schuster, but he had nothing but praise for them after practice.

“Max Browne has a cannon that we have to get used to,” Smith-Schuster said. “Sam Darnold has that accuracy, and Jalen Greene, who has that speed, but also throws with his left hand. Trying to catch from different quarterbacks is kind of hard, so I’m glad we’re doing it at the beginning of spring.”