Final scrimmage provides some clarity for USC football
Adam Grosbard (OC Register) — LOS ANGELES — USC wrapped up its last of two full scrimmages of fall camp on Saturday, with some answers about the Trojans’ depth chart coming into clearer focus.
The competition that’s come under the most intense scrutiny this camp has been at the two offensive tackle spots. But throughout this past week, it’s appeared that USC has been settling on those spots. Saturday’s scrimmage provided further confirmation, with redshirt freshmen Courtland Ford and Jonah Monheim getting the majority of first-team reps at left and right tackle, respectively.
Head coach Clay Helton wouldn’t go so far as to confirm this outcome, with last year’s starting right tackle Jalen McKenzie moving to a reserve role, but acknowledged the tea leaves have been there to read this week.
“We’ve kind of settled in on right and left,” Helton said after Saturday’s scrimmage. “You’ve probably seen that for yourselves.”
Likewise, Helton did not name a backup quarterback on Saturday, but true freshman Jaxson Dart got the majority of second-team reps during the scrimmage.
One position group that will need more time to suss out is the wide receiver rotation. It’s the group that underwent the most churn this off-season between the departures of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyler Vaughns to the NFL and the suspension of Bru McCoy.
Drake London, of course, is settled in as USC’s top receiver. But there are still questions about how the Trojans fill out the rest of the rotation. On Saturday, redshirt freshman Michael Jackson III started opposite London on the outside while first-year player Joseph Manjack IV started in the slot.
Memphis transfer Tahj Washington began the scrimmage on the second unit but had one of the best days of any player Saturday. On one long, aired-out pass from Dart, Washington slipped back in front of cornerback Dorian Hewett to make an off-balance catch in front of the goal line.
“I thought Tahj really stepped forward and did that for us and really showed himself as a guy that can be an every-down guy and made some great plays and made great yards after catch,” Helton said.
Helton was also pleased with the performance of Kyle Ford, but wants to slow play the decision-making process at receiver. Kyron Ware-Hudson returned from injury on Saturday, while Gary Bryant is nearing a full return from a hamstring issue.
But Helton does expect a more robust rotation at receiver this season compared to a year ago, when four receivers took up the vast majority of reps.
“Drake will probably be the high rep count guy and we’ll see where they go as guys gain confidence and are producing, then they’ll garner maybe a larger role,” Helton said. “But I see us using a multitude of guys early as we settle in.”
INJURY REPORT
Running backs Keaontay Ingram (ankle) and Darwin Barlow (hamstring) were non-participants on Saturday, but Helton said both were healthy enough to play.
“Because of lack of practice, I wasn’t going to throw them out there in the scrimmage,” he explained.
The plan in practice this week, Helton said, is to give starting running back Vavae Malepeai some rest and let Ingram and Barlow to get a heavier allotment of snaps to get their feet back under them.
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