USC QB Jaxson Dart’s status for Notre Dame still up in air
Adam Grosbard (OC Register) — LOS ANGELES — USC quarterback Jaxson Dart showed signs of progress at Tuesday’s practice as he works to return from meniscus surgery, but his status for Saturday’s rivalry game against Notre Dame still remains undetermined.
Dart is still day-to-day with his knee injury, interim head coach Donte Williams said after practice, putting the chances of the backup quarterback’s return after the bye week in doubt. But Dart did show signs of improvement in Tuesday’s practice. It was the first time he participated in 11-on-11 drills, handling all the second-team duties against the scout team rather than third-string QB Miller Moss.
Dart was able to move around more, making throws on the move and navigating cone drills with the rest of the position group. While he’s still not fully planting his leg during his throws, nor playing at full speed, he was making strong, tight passes that led his receivers.
“I feel a lot better moving around this week than I did last week,” Dart said. “Today was probably one of the first days I really felt comfortable with mostly all the throws I had to make.”
Every day, the team doctors tell Dart what he can and cannot do at the coming practice. He says that as much as he wanted to rush back to playing, he understands that a little patience will go a long way toward his long-term health.
If he is ready to play Notre Dame, it will remain to be seen whether Dart is used or how he’s used. His breakout performance against Washington State raised the question of whether he should start over junior Kedon Slovis, but Dart had surgery the following week.
Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell didn’t rule out the possibility of using both quarterbacks, an idea USC intended to deploy against Washington State before Slovis’ neck injury knocked him from the game.
“Kedon has been really sharp. The ball is jumping out of his hand. He’s doing a lot of good things,” Harrell said. “It’ll be nice when we have them both back and figure out how to use them both. … We’ll put whoever out there that gives us the best chance to move the ball at that point and use our guys as best we can.”
For now, Dart is just waiting on that full clearance from the doctors. Playing 11-on-11 on Tuesday was a good first step. Dart admitted to feeling a need to catch up, but was also confident that the mental reps he took while recovering from the surgery have helped him avoid any serious regressions.
And when he does return to the field, whether it’s later this year or next, Dart learned a valuable lesson about protecting his body and the differences between the college and high school games.
“Probably should slide a little more next time,” he said dryly. “It’s not like high school anymore, I can’t just run through a lot of people. Everybody’s big and a lot of them are bigger than me now. So I gotta be a little bit smarter when I’m running.”
INJURY REPORT
TE Michael Trigg was not at practice on Tuesday as he continues to recover from a lower leg injury suffered prior to the bye week. Williams said he doesn’t expect Trigg to play against the Irish on Saturday.
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Playing Dart with a gimpy knee would be medical malpractice by the SC “Patch ’em up and play-em” medical staff. Besides, by telling Slovis this is his game, SC keeps Slovis’ head in the game leading up to the game. This kid is SC’s only chance, and unless Troy puts up 30-points the Trojans will go down to their 4th straight loss to this rival… Loved all the unsupported optimism that the Bellinger-miracle-game was the start of the Dodgers starting to win, again. The Dodgers won a lot of games during the season, but even its lofty win-loss record calculates… Read more »
Dart has played in one game so far. If this staff handles it right he could use his redshirt this season. I can’t see the emergency to get him into the ND game unless Slovis gets his bell rung again, but then it would be good to see what Moss is made of also. Slovis’ biggest problem is getting the ball into the end zone, his short game is darn good, and his long ball when he throws it is usually catchable. We have had so many drops this season I can’t blame him for looking for London every play.… Read more »
Why redshirt Dart now if he’ll be gone after the 2023 season anyway? No good QBs stay in school after a 3rd year. And if he’s not good enough to leave then, someone else will be playing over him, like Dart would be doing now over Slovis if he hadn’t gotten hurt.
That would probably be a decision Dart and the staff makes. I agree, if he is that good he will be gone, but I am not sitting in the coaches office so I have no idea what they will decide. There again even Dart would have to deal with the same offensive line Slovis deals with. I would like to see Moss and what he brings to USC football. I hope they get him some PT.
THE BEST PLAYER PLAYS. It is as simple as that.
Thanks for the spot on simplification! ✌
I could see Donte Williams’ gameplan being Jaxon Dart will come into the game if USC is so far behind Dart would be doing cleanup work and ND starters were out of the game or, USC is so far out in front that the game is over and the ND headhunters are out of the game. The 3rd option is WSU happening again with Slovis knocked out. And then we all are holding our breath the game ends without a 2nd USC QB out of the game. It pretty much depends on the USC OL playing the game of their… Read more »
So far, Donte Williams has done himself no favors as the USC interim coach. He’s in a brutal spot as I’ve pointed out before. But he’s obviously a long way away from being ready to be the HC at any big-time program, and that’s if he ever is. If Slovis isn’t getting the job done on Saturday, he should be quickly replaced by Dart, assuming Dart is 100% ready both physically and mentally. I’d even play Miller Moss over Slovis if Slovis starts out like he did against ORE last season and just started throwing picks at breakneck speed. But… Read more »
Defining USC stat per The Athletic’s Antonio Morales: “Yards per play allowed by the USC defense this season: 6.18. That’s tied for 106th in the FBS. It’s a considerable step back from last season’s mark of 5.49 yards per play. USC allowed 5.91 yards per play in 2010, then hadn’t come close to surrendering six yards per play until this year. The Trojans aren’t stout upfront, their linebackers aren’t really playmakers and the secondary is vulnerable. Obviously, that’s a bad combination for any defense, and it helps explain how USC has allowed more than 40 points in three consecutive home… Read more »
Mandel’s (The Athletic) Mailbag: Isn’t USC a better coaching gig than LSU? Question — “If I’m a sought-after coach and I’m offered the same contract at both LSU and USC, wouldn’t USC be the better option? At USC I’m still in a fertile recruiting ground. I also have a much higher chance to win a championship in a weaker conference, which Clemson has proven won’t keep you out of the College Football Playoff. Finally, if I can consistently win nine-plus games every year, and get to the Playoff once every five years or so, I’m much more likely to get… Read more »
USC hasn’t beat ND in South Bend since 2011, when Lane Kiffin became the first USC HC to win his first away game against ND 31-17 in the days of Matt Barkley.
Kedon Slovis — “I’m excited to play there (in South Bend). I know a lot of guys that played there last time (USC lost 30-27 in 2019) are excited to play there again.”
5-Star DL Prospect Mykel Williams Flips Commitment from USC to Georgia DL Mykel Williams told Chad Simmons of On3.com he has flipped his commitment from USC to the Bulldogs: “Georgia has had my attention from the beginning, and nothing ever changed, but my love for Georgia now is stronger than ever. Even when I was committed to USC, Georgia never fully left my mind. I loved USC, and I liked them a lot, but Georgia was always there. They never went away. … My love for Georgia is stronger now. I am locked in with Georgia.” The native of Columbus, Georgia, is a 5-star… Read more »
So is this a crick in Donte’s armor? I doubt we lost him due to a coaching change because my 6th grade band members knew The Cat wasn’t a real coach.
Hey, The Cat fooled Bohn, Folt and Caruso for years.
Poor Donte Williams really has a Trojan Horse by the tail here. I can’t imagine a more difficult situation for the USC interim HC, especially with super rival ND coming up on Saturday in South Bend.
The QB Williams may want to play the most may not even be available. I’d sure feel a little better about USC’s chances if Trigg, who looks like a big play waiting to happen, weren’t hurt.
Not so sure this is a reflection on Dontae . Last week I saw an article (On3.com ,I think) that quoted Williams as saying Coach So,Oto was his connection to USC. As the tenure of the assistant coaches comes through a close I think we will see more decommittments and other prospects committ elsewhere. The new guy will have a hell of a tough task ahead of him. I hope he can work the portal. Sunny Dykes at SMU & Tucker at MI State built their current teams with transfers.
Mel Tucker sure is getting a lot of play as the possible new LSU coach. One year at CU, two at MICH ST and LSU on the horizon? Busy guy.
Has SEC & Saban pedigree. Always helps
Allen, To be expected. I doubt any of this present staff (including Donte) survives. We should count on losing all the quality recruits in this class. The new coach (particularly if he is from the pro ranks) will have to substitute the transfer portal for recruiting.
I’d sure be picking on USC’s commits were I a D1 school. Trojan recruiting would seem to be at a standstill as far as bringing in anyone new, or even keeping commits committed.
But once the new guy comes in, everything will change very rapidly in the recruiting of both preps and portal kids. It’s all gonna be very exciting IMO, especially if Trojan fans are pleased about the new HC.
Surprised that any current players haven’t jumped in the portal yet. Not saying it won’t happen, but I was expecting that at 2 to 3 would have jumped already.
Who knows what USC football will look like in 2022? Definitely one of CFB’s great mysteries for now. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be on this Trojan football team, as either a player or coach, only three days away from taking on ND in South Bend. So many questions and concerns.
Curious as to who the team leaders are. If any? They and new recruits will determine how successful the rebuild will be. If there aren’t any leaders the whole roster will need to be cycled through. I hope leaders emerge because I don’t want a 3-4 year project. With the right coach and player leaders the job could be done in 2-3 years.
I’m really hoping that current players and recruits are patient enough to see what the new coach and staff looks like before deciding to bail. There must have been other factors besides football as to why they came to USC to begin with. There will be plenty of time to de commit or transfer later. I could definitely see Slovis transferring to one of the Arizona schools, where he is from, if it looks like he will lose his job to Dart next year. I don’t think he will enter the draft off of this year’s performance unless things change… Read more »
Since Slovis isn’t even a team captain, and he always seems alone on the sidelines, I’ve come to the conclusion he must not be considered much of a leader by the team. Maybe I’m not being fair to Slovis, who came through big time often last season. But your QB has so much to do with the success of your team. Having all the intangibles to lead and perform is so important. Dart seems to have that edge, but he’s barely played, so maybe I’m just wishfully thinking. Wouldn’t it be wild if Slovis led USC to victory over ND?… Read more »
Unless Dart is 100%, which he won’t be on Saturday, they should let him totally recover. Every game the remainder of this year is a throw away game in reality. The purpose for Dart to play is get reps in game time speed and prepare for next year. Anything other than that is total BS, He must be healthy to play period!
I just listened to Keely E and Shotgun S on Ryan’s Board giving an update on Tuesday’s practice. Well, they reported that the staff had finally figured out that they were making mistakes in practice structure. They were not practicing full out during the practice squad segment! It took these geniuses 4 weeks post-The Cat to figure that out! Maybe there is a chance of some improvement by UCLA as Dart will probably be ready by then (I doubt he is ready for ND) and maybe some improvements in practice effort will have taken hold by then. There is a… Read more »
Congrats on your Mt. Rushmore TDB stature @TrojanRJJ and being the prolific TDB content contributor we have always known you to be! Speaking of UCLA, I’m really looking forward to the Ducks invading the Rose Bowl this weekend at 12:30 pm (ABC) for ESPN’s GameDay special. I’m pulling for ORE (+1.5) over the slightly favored Bruins, of course. I sincerely love to see the little gutties lose in any sport they play. With the USC/ND kick set for 4:30 PT (NBC), this is setting up to be another very special day of CFB. UTAH (-3.5) at ORE ST (coming off… Read more »
Cody Bellinger strikes again!
I think that swing turned the entire series around.
It was totally remarkable and I’m sure glad I had it turned on to watch it live.
I hadn’t watched a single Dodger game this year until they beat the Giants in the first-ever PO game between the two clubs. Now, as Vin Scully would say, I’m watching “Dodger baseball” all the time. What a thrilling bunch. Maybe they’ve got the magic to win two crowns in a row. Lots of baseball still to be played.
Playoff baseball has drama that is just different. Late in games every pitch and swing matters and can make or break a team. It’s fun stuff!
They were dead in the water. Lifeless. The stadium was like a morgue.Ready to be down 3-0, and done. That’s the beauty about baseball. Bellinger has come back from the dead, and so have the Dodgers.
Definitely one of the greatest days and turnarounds in the history of the Dodgers, from my limited, fair-weather-fan vantage point.
We’ve all watched ball games that just didn’t seem worth watching anymore based on the general trend of what’s happening. When I heard that always remarkable, penetrating crack of the bat, and looked up to see Cody Bellinger dancing towards first, the world suddenly became a different place. .