USC true freshman TE Michael Trigg absolutely wowing at camp
Adam Grosbard (OC Register) — LOS ANGELES — After practice ended on Tuesday, there was one play everyone around USC was talking about.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart overthrew tight end Michael Trigg(above) in the flat. That should have been the end of the play: incomplete, move on with the rest of the day.
But Trigg went up and snatched the ball out of the air with one hand. As he landed, he sidestepped over one tackle, broke another by lowering his shoulder into the incoming defender, then dragged a handful of defenders with him as he turned the play into a 20-yard gain.
After practice, quarterback Kedon Slovis, tight end Jude Wolfe and tight ends coach Seth Doege had the same assessment of the 6-foot-4, 245-pound Trigg: “He’s a freak.”
Trigg, after expressing disbelief that he had to talk to the media after practice, had a simpler evaluation of his day, which also included a touchdown catch on a fade route over cornerback Prophet Brown.
“You know it’s always good to have some good days like this, but I think I just got to keep working,” the true freshman said.
Physically, Trigg has looked ready for the college game. He has deceptive speed for his size and has been able to compete with the older defenders on the USC roster. But he feels like he has work to do learning the playbook. His high school, Carrollwood Day in Florida, used a numbers system with its offense, so it’s been a curve to grasp the Air Raid. But he credits his older teammates with helping him learn as the 10 days of camp have progressed.
He also feels comfortable asking Doege any question.
“I feel like Coach Doege’s like my dad away from home. I could call him, tell him about anything,” Trigg said. “He [can] critique me in any way — I won’t take it the wrong way. I feel like he can tell me anything at this point.”
Trigg is part of an influx of talent in the tight ends room for USC. The Trojans return seniors Erik Krommenhoek and Josh Falo, but get sophomore Jude Wolfe back from a broken foot and add Trigg and Texas transfer Malcolm Epps.
With so many new bodies, USC has experimented with 11 and 12 personnel sets that would allow two tight ends to be on the field at the same time for both run and pass plays.
But at the moment Epps is sidelined with turf toe, an injury that could keep him out of the opener against San Jose State. So USC could use someone like Trigg to step up quickly.
After Trigg made another big play on Monday, catching a deep ball from Miller Moss, head coach Clay Helton came up to him to deliver that message.
“I said, ‘We need to learn the plays as fast as humanly possible,’” Helton relayed. “He has an advanced body and an advanced skill set, and he’s learning the playbook as fast as he can.”
But for now in camp, Trigg is turning heads, and his teammates are celebrating as he does.
“Trigg, he’s got a great personality, big personality. So the guys on the team love him,” Doege said. “He’s kind of goofy, but when the guys like you, they want to see you succeed. And when you succeed they’re going to celebrate with you. We’ve got a great group of guys, especially in the tight end room right now. … We’re all pulling in the right direction, pulling for each other.”
BRIEFLY
Cornerback Chris Steele returned to practice on Tuesday after being held out on Monday due to health and safety protocols. Defensive end Korey Foreman (groin strain) also returned to practice Tuesday.
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Clay McGuire contends the USC OL is on the right track:
“We’re starting to jell a little bit,” McGuire said. “Even playing a lot of people and a lot of rotations and a lot of movement, we’re starting to jell. We’re starting to really understand our schemes and how to use them, and we have really smart kids…When we see a defensive front, we’re able to really get us in the right blocking scheme…I think those guys are really starting to understand and jell as far as how to work together with what we have in our toolbox.”
Read comments from players stating that they no longer are worried about who to block, but are concerned about how. It could all just be Pre- season speak, but it’s encouraging. We can’t be worse than last year.
If USC still had all-everywhere Talanoa Hufanga, I’d say we once again would play ORE for the title, and probably lose. So nothing has really changed much. We’ve got some exciting new players, but not a lot of depth IMO. But since our best defensive player by far last year is now a 49er, I have deep-seated fears that the Bruins might beat us, even though the game is in the Coliseum. UCLA has been stuck in a vast football quagmire for an incredibly long time, but they might be ready to get unstuck. It all depends on how you… Read more »
My guess is the D is about a year out from replacing Hufanga. They have talent in the defensive backfield. My guess is it will take a year for it to jell.
Chris, I really do not know what to make of this. Does it mean GH knew his OL did not know its assignments for two years and did nothing about it? My guess was GH did not understand the OL and thought it irrelevant. This seems to confirm it. But I may be misreading it.
He’s a pretty fast talker (😅). But as you say. He never says anything. Perfect for a Helton underling collecting a big paycheck.
I used to be a big GH fan. I’m hoping I can somehow get back behind GH’s program. But after last season’s humiliatingly all-time bad running game, I don’t know how GH plans to move the ball against good teams, and no, that doesn’t include ARIZ.
Chris, I have stopped listening to this staff. They all seem to have Helton disease – make obvious statement that mean nothing (“we need to pass protect better”) or the statements are pure propaganda (“my goal is have two backs and run the ball about 40 times a game”). I read the practice reports for fun and laughs – as Rock noted, Clay gets two scrimmages in the first 3 weeks and completely wasted one. On days when Clay can practice contact, he does for about 30 minutes and then goes to 7 on 7 drills. I will believe what… Read more »
Another extremely impressive Trojan true freshman is Caleb Bullock (6-3, 180), the four-star safety from Pasadena Muir. Todd Orlando — “He’s long, he’s rangy. He’s very instinctive. He’s gonna have a role for us this fall, So he’s got great ball skills. From the second he got here, you know, some guys just have elite vision. And that stuff is really, really hard to coach. So when you see somebody that has that, we just got to put some weight on him you know. Get him bigger, faster and stronger. Bobby (Robert Stiner) will do a good job with him.… Read more »
Most Overrated College Football Coaches — by Tony Adame (Stadium Talk). No. Clay Helton did not make this list, but Kliff Kingsbury (#10), Sark (#6) and Kiffin (#1) did. College football coaches like to promise things. They do this because it gets fans excited and makes them think they’re the one: the savior to their beloved teams. But they don’t always deliver. And if you make enough promises and don’t follow through on them, we start to get a better idea of exactly what kind of coach you are. In no short order, it’s how you become overrated. These are the most… Read more »
How can a top 50 overrated list include Scott Frost, Sark and Kiffin and exclude Clay? I guess everyone realizes Clay just stinks. So, he is not overrated; he is known to any rational person to be completely in over his head. Interestingly, if and when Clay is let go, there is zero chance any Power 5 program touches him. Yet, Kiffin and Sark get great jobs.
I’m still shocked TEXAS went foralways mediocre Seven-Win Sark. Heck, Saban makes everyone look like a superstar. And it’s gonna take a superstar to fix TEXAS.
Too funny. They aren’t pulling any punches either.
“You don’t get mad about our annoying habits — e.g. beating you 4 out of 5 times since you took over and 7 of 10 since you got to USC (sorry about that, our little Helty-Welty!) — and you always see to it that even when you recruit higher-rated talent than us, you rarely rub it in our faces by being at all successful in developing and deploying that talent on the field. That hasn’t gone unnoticed, you beautiful soul — what a wonderful, selfless gesture!”
ND has the right to talk now — not because they are a real player on the national stage (they get blown out in big games for a reason). But on Rivals, while Clay’s 2022 class has slipped out of the Top 10 and fallen all the way to #32, ND is currently sitting in first place. It is funny to me, though, to see that ND is holding on to first place without a single committed 5-star player (under the Rivals rankings, anyway). It reminds me of George Carlin’s joke when he said, “I never had a ‘ten,’ but… Read more »
The Irish writer, Pat Rick, is simply recognizing the lay of the land and exactly how ND football views Clay The Cat Helton as a competitor, and that is as no threat whatsoever. It was enlightening to say the least. Rick concludes by saying, “We can’t wait to see you, and will be counting the days until we can hold yours and your team’s collective dignity in our hands once again following yet another rivalry win.” I’d call that pretty good trash talk. Unfortunately, I have zippo confidence that USC will ever beat ND again with Helton as our coach.… Read more »
Of course, Allen. ND hauling in a Top 10 class this year isn’t going to help things. The fact is, ND has strong talent now, at least outside the skill positions, but mediocre coaching. I just don’t think much of Brian Kelly’s preparation, strategy, and in-game decisions. God help us if ND is able to get better coaching in place with the roster they will have next year. While ND fans are happy to keep CH around, I am similarly happy to keep Brian Kelly around. I don’t think ND can win a national championship for them, by any stretch.… Read more »
Wow. That shocks me. I’d be more than happy to have Brian Kelly as USC’s coach (and watch him reel in the best talent too). He’s 43-7 over the last four years and has beaten teams like CLEM and LSU. In fact, I’d rather have Kelly over Kiffin (erratic, always a new job, now stuck at mid-major OLE MISS, still love the guy), Sark (in recovery, a total flop as a HC so far), Ed O (seems surrounded by problems and vultures now, as usual, except for his one great year, love this guy too), or Helton (ridiculously inept and… Read more »
Even Helton would look good against ND’s hand-picked schedule of service academies, creampuffs, and the weaker bunch of ACC opponents, Allen. Not to mention, you need to factor in there what a mess WE are — SC is supposed to be a tough spot on ND’s schedule but we have not been for most of Kelly’s tenure due to our ineptness. So we have a hand in making Kelly look better too. Look, anyone would take virtually anyone over Kiffin, Sark, and Helton, so I am not sure of your point there. Reasonable minds can differ over Eddie O, but… Read more »
People can always come up with warped reasons for wins and losses, every single week of the football season. But me? I just go by the scoreboard, and ND always beats USC now, just like when Lou Holtz was their coach. Last year, I also KNEW ORE would beat us and sure enough the game was over in seven minutes. I also KNEW USC was lucky to not have to play the Irish last year. It’s not ND’s fault that USC hasn’t been able to beat good teams for a long time. This thread was started by @UtahTrojan and it’s… Read more »
I completely disagree. Kelly is one of the best coaches in the country, and has won wherever he goes. Notre Dame and tough academic requirements, and Indiana doesn’t develop a lot of Div1 talent. If he was coaching at SC, we would be a playoff contender virtually every year.
Instead, under Gomer, we go to the holiday bowl and get blown out by Big 10 teams.
Texas WR Joseph Manjack IV, has been another USC camp sensation, in more ways than one actually. “Manjack’s (three-star) hands have drawn attention at USC this month — in particular, what’s not on them. He doesn’t practice or play with gloves. He told reporters the story last week: “When I was little, my dad said, ‘What’s the excuse for dropping the ball with gloves?’ I said, ‘The gloves.’ He said, ‘Stop wearing them, we don’t need any excuses.’ (I said,) ‘Yes sir. We don’t.’” “There is a lot of detail and discipline that goes into playing receiver for us,” USC… Read more »
I’m very impressed with new USC TE coach Seth Doege, who hauled this hugely under-recruited Texas WR in. Fantastic recruiting work to land Manjack IV.
TE Michael Trigg also had some excellent things to say about Doege, who’s obviously a real relationship builder.
“Pulling the trigger on that kid (Manjack IV), that’s where it’s fun,” Doege said. “Because he earned that offer by his play, and it got better and better and better. And the best thing about recruiting him is he knew the difference between us and some other programs that were recruiting him. He knew the opportunity here.”
Ex-USC RB Stephen Carr continues to standout for Indiana during fall camp
A recent video posted by the IU Football Twitter account gives a good indication of what to expect from Hoosiers RB Stephen Carr. The run displays Carr’s speed, power, and ability to break tackles during a scrimmage.
Gee, where have we all seen this before? It almost makes me laugh. Poor Husker fans. Andy Staples (The Athletic) — “Earlier this year, the Cornhuskers shoved out AD Bill Moos, who in 2019 handed Scott Frost one of the most inexplicable contract extensions in college football history. “With no one else bidding for Frost’s services and with Frost sitting on an 8-13 record at Nebraska, the Cornhuskers extended him two more seasons (through 2026). And while some schools do offer coaches on-paper extensions for recruiting purposes, Moos guaranteed another $5 million of Nebraska’s money for no apparent reason. Had Frost been… Read more »
Vikings Linebacker Cameron Smith (USC, ILB, ’15-18) Announces Retirement From NFL Smith (all-Pac-12 at USC in 2017) was selected in the 2019 Draft as a 5th round choice of the Vikings. Smith had open-heart surgery in 2020 and then suffered a concussion in his first game of this season. After careful consideration and thorough discussion with my friends and family, I have made the difficult decision to retire from the NFL. I know this transition isn’t going to be easy, but I’m excited to tackle this next chapter of my life with the same passion pursuit that I did football.… Read more »
There might be a College head coach the agrees with Brett Farves opinion that you should not play football until you are 14 AND I could see that Head Coach could campaign for less violence and make a rule……..Walk-through practices only !!!!!………This coaches name ? …..Clay Helton !
From Yahoo Sports; another top 25 poll 16. USC (5-1) It’s another big year for Trojans’ coach Clay Helton. USC won its first five games of the season before losing to Oregon in the Pac-12 title game. That was the only game of the season where USC didn’t score at least 28 points. The connection between QB Kedon Slovis and WR Drake London should be strong again and Texas transfer Keaontay Ingram is in line for a big role at RB. The Trojans need to replace Talanoa Hufanga on defense, but he’s just one of three starters who don’t… Read more »
I have people I know asking is there a new threat that can affect college football in this country (High Schools dropping football forever) ? I tell them to read this NY Times article >>>>>> “Amid Concern Over Concussions, High Schools Struggle to Fill Football Rosters ” …….Then in the last 24 hours a Brett Farve story hits the internet (There are 2 High schools in my area that quite often make top 25 in the country and their life blood is sending scouts to 7th and 8th grade football leagues ) and Brett Farve says >>>>> ” Pro Football… Read more »
Football will be if not already a way out of poverty for poor kids. Upper income areas may drop football first. The only players from well off families will be QBs. Football is like Boxing was a hundred years ago. If you are athletic and well off you will choose another sport like baseball, basketball, or soccer.
Then there are the lawyers and politicians trying to kill anything fun.
A younger family member of mine (as they researched some football history ) asked me ….. ” If Dick Butkus played in the NFL now and refused to change his playing style would he be getting suspended a lot for being too violent ? ” I responded ” I could see him getting suspended for that ” . ( about 40% of his hits are probably illegal now ).
In the above article it states, “USC has experimented with 11 and 12 personnel sets.”
What?– 12 men on the field. This has got the hand of Helton written all over it.
Not too down in the weeds. Everyone calls their grouping by those numbers. I heard Tom Brady interview once where he said they (Patriots) ran the same play like 6 times in a game and the only thing they changed was personnel group. They broke it down, it was so interesting. Welker caught the ball in basically the same spot each time, they basically blocked the exact same, the only change was how they lined up. And it worked each time.
I hope we see Michael Trigg in a few games. Dragging the defense down field is really a plus. Maybe they can hand him the ball on a tight end sneak. (Even if it isn’t who we are. Note to the Cat; Losing stubbornly is not who we are.
Amon-Ra St. Brown is off to a quick start with the Lions per The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner. I had forgotten, but am glad to see, that former Ram coach Anthony Lynn is now coaching him : “The Lions have a gem on their hands here. Throughout camp and now into his first NFL (exhibition) game, St. Brown has shown the route-running nuance of a seasoned vet. That backfield alignment hints at how offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn might use him, too — as a moveable piece who can play from anywhere or keep defenses leaning with pre-snap motion. “St. Brown should be on… Read more »
Young Trigg is truly the next Gronk/Ditka/Newsome/Gonzalez/Mackey! He could and should be the best of all time.
I think that after this one great catch-and-run, “the freak” should be fast-forwarded into the USC HOF and put onto the Wall because he’s gonna win the Mackey Award after being named unanimously to every important 1st team AA team in only his second year.
I’m not sure if DC Todd Orlando and his defensive staff is buying any of this, but in my long-suppressed pre-season football glee, I just can’t see it any other way.
With all the talent at tight end, I hope the group is more involved in the passing game this season. I would be great to see some two tight end sets to help the run game too!
there are reports that we are running more 2 back sets and some under center in short yardage. It’s a guarantee we will see more tight end usage, pass catching I should say.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart overthrew tight end Michael Trigg (above) in the flat. That should have been the end of the play: incomplete, move on with the rest of the day.
Physically, Trigg has looked ready for the college game. He has deceptive speed for his size and has been able to compete with the older defenders on the USC roster. But he feels like he has work to do learning the playbook. His high school, Carrollwood Day in Florida, used a numbers system with its offense, so it’s been a curve to grasp the Air Raid. But he credits his older teammates with helping him learn as the 10 days of camp have progressed.
“Trigg, he’s got a great personality, big personality. So the guys on the team love him,” Doege said. “He’s kind of goofy, but when the guys like you, they want to see you succeed. And when you succeed they’re going to celebrate with you. We’ve got a great group of guys, especially in the tight end room right now. … We’re all pulling in the right direction, pulling for each other.”
It would appear the Irish have a pre-season fixation with the Trojans.
https://www.onefootdown.com/2021/8/20/22628885/notre-dame-football-friday-fire-usc-edition-never-be-satisfied-fighting-irish-rivalry-trojans-nd
USC’s four 2021 captains are WR Drake London, S Isaiah Pola-Mao, RB Vavae Malepeai, and P Ben Griffiths.
Vavae Malepeai #6 TB Isaiah Polamao #21 S Ben Griffiths #24 P Drake London #15 WR
Clay McGuire contends the USC OL is on the right track:
“We’re starting to jell a little bit,” McGuire said. “Even playing a lot of people and a lot of rotations and a lot of movement, we’re starting to jell. We’re starting to really understand our schemes and how to use them, and we have really smart kids…When we see a defensive front, we’re able to really get us in the right blocking scheme…I think those guys are really starting to understand and jell as far as how to work together with what we have in our toolbox.”
wearesc.com
Read comments from players stating that they no longer are worried about who to block, but are concerned about how. It could all just be Pre- season speak, but it’s encouraging. We can’t be worse than last year.
If USC still had all-everywhere Talanoa Hufanga, I’d say we once again would play ORE for the title, and probably lose. So nothing has really changed much. We’ve got some exciting new players, but not a lot of depth IMO. But since our best defensive player by far last year is now a 49er, I have deep-seated fears that the Bruins might beat us, even though the game is in the Coliseum. UCLA has been stuck in a vast football quagmire for an incredibly long time, but they might be ready to get unstuck. It all depends on how you… Read more »
My guess is the D is about a year out from replacing Hufanga. They have talent in the defensive backfield. My guess is it will take a year for it to jell.
Chris, I really do not know what to make of this. Does it mean GH knew his OL did not know its assignments for two years and did nothing about it? My guess was GH did not understand the OL and thought it irrelevant. This seems to confirm it. But I may be misreading it.
I’m getting to the point where I don’t want to hear GH interviewed. He never says anything. It’s not as bad as Clay, but it is bad.
He’s a pretty fast talker (😅). But as you say. He never says anything. Perfect for a Helton underling collecting a big paycheck.
I used to be a big GH fan. I’m hoping I can somehow get back behind GH’s program. But after last season’s humiliatingly all-time bad running game, I don’t know how GH plans to move the ball against good teams, and no, that doesn’t include ARIZ.
Chris, I have stopped listening to this staff. They all seem to have Helton disease – make obvious statement that mean nothing (“we need to pass protect better”) or the statements are pure propaganda (“my goal is have two backs and run the ball about 40 times a game”). I read the practice reports for fun and laughs – as Rock noted, Clay gets two scrimmages in the first 3 weeks and completely wasted one. On days when Clay can practice contact, he does for about 30 minutes and then goes to 7 on 7 drills. I will believe what… Read more »
I should add I also get some information from the practice notes, like the comment on Bullock below. But, those are far between.
Another extremely impressive Trojan true freshman is Caleb Bullock (6-3, 180), the four-star safety from Pasadena Muir. Todd Orlando — “He’s long, he’s rangy. He’s very instinctive. He’s gonna have a role for us this fall, So he’s got great ball skills. From the second he got here, you know, some guys just have elite vision. And that stuff is really, really hard to coach. So when you see somebody that has that, we just got to put some weight on him you know. Get him bigger, faster and stronger. Bobby (Robert Stiner) will do a good job with him.… Read more »
Most Overrated College Football Coaches — by Tony Adame (Stadium Talk). No. Clay Helton did not make this list, but Kliff Kingsbury (#10), Sark (#6) and Kiffin (#1) did. College football coaches like to promise things. They do this because it gets fans excited and makes them think they’re the one: the savior to their beloved teams. But they don’t always deliver. And if you make enough promises and don’t follow through on them, we start to get a better idea of exactly what kind of coach you are. In no short order, it’s how you become overrated. These are the most… Read more »
Huh, a coach that recruits well but can’t deliver championships. Reminds me of someone but I just can’t think of his name.🐱✌
How can a top 50 overrated list include Scott Frost, Sark and Kiffin and exclude Clay? I guess everyone realizes Clay just stinks. So, he is not overrated; he is known to any rational person to be completely in over his head. Interestingly, if and when Clay is let go, there is zero chance any Power 5 program touches him. Yet, Kiffin and Sark get great jobs.
I’m still shocked TEXAS went for always mediocre Seven-Win Sark. Heck, Saban makes everyone look like a superstar. And it’s gonna take a superstar to fix TEXAS.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.onefootdown.com/platform/amp/2021/8/18/22628651/we-want-you-in-our-lives-forever-love-letter-usc-head-coach-clay-helton-from-notre-dame-football
Too funny. They aren’t pulling any punches either.
“You don’t get mad about our annoying habits — e.g. beating you 4 out of 5 times since you took over and 7 of 10 since you got to USC (sorry about that, our little Helty-Welty!) — and you always see to it that even when you recruit higher-rated talent than us, you rarely rub it in our faces by being at all successful in developing and deploying that talent on the field. That hasn’t gone unnoticed, you beautiful soul — what a wonderful, selfless gesture!”
ND has the right to talk now — not because they are a real player on the national stage (they get blown out in big games for a reason). But on Rivals, while Clay’s 2022 class has slipped out of the Top 10 and fallen all the way to #32, ND is currently sitting in first place. It is funny to me, though, to see that ND is holding on to first place without a single committed 5-star player (under the Rivals rankings, anyway). It reminds me of George Carlin’s joke when he said, “I never had a ‘ten,’ but… Read more »
The Irish writer, Pat Rick, is simply recognizing the lay of the land and exactly how ND football views Clay The Cat Helton as a competitor, and that is as no threat whatsoever. It was enlightening to say the least. Rick concludes by saying, “We can’t wait to see you, and will be counting the days until we can hold yours and your team’s collective dignity in our hands once again following yet another rivalry win.” I’d call that pretty good trash talk. Unfortunately, I have zippo confidence that USC will ever beat ND again with Helton as our coach.… Read more »
Of course, Allen. ND hauling in a Top 10 class this year isn’t going to help things. The fact is, ND has strong talent now, at least outside the skill positions, but mediocre coaching. I just don’t think much of Brian Kelly’s preparation, strategy, and in-game decisions. God help us if ND is able to get better coaching in place with the roster they will have next year. While ND fans are happy to keep CH around, I am similarly happy to keep Brian Kelly around. I don’t think ND can win a national championship for them, by any stretch.… Read more »
Wow. That shocks me. I’d be more than happy to have Brian Kelly as USC’s coach (and watch him reel in the best talent too). He’s 43-7 over the last four years and has beaten teams like CLEM and LSU. In fact, I’d rather have Kelly over Kiffin (erratic, always a new job, now stuck at mid-major OLE MISS, still love the guy), Sark (in recovery, a total flop as a HC so far), Ed O (seems surrounded by problems and vultures now, as usual, except for his one great year, love this guy too), or Helton (ridiculously inept and… Read more »
Even Helton would look good against ND’s hand-picked schedule of service academies, creampuffs, and the weaker bunch of ACC opponents, Allen. Not to mention, you need to factor in there what a mess WE are — SC is supposed to be a tough spot on ND’s schedule but we have not been for most of Kelly’s tenure due to our ineptness. So we have a hand in making Kelly look better too. Look, anyone would take virtually anyone over Kiffin, Sark, and Helton, so I am not sure of your point there. Reasonable minds can differ over Eddie O, but… Read more »
People can always come up with warped reasons for wins and losses, every single week of the football season. But me? I just go by the scoreboard, and ND always beats USC now, just like when Lou Holtz was their coach. Last year, I also KNEW ORE would beat us and sure enough the game was over in seven minutes. I also KNEW USC was lucky to not have to play the Irish last year. It’s not ND’s fault that USC hasn’t been able to beat good teams for a long time. This thread was started by @UtahTrojan and it’s… Read more »
I would laugh at the mention of Heltons name if it didn’t hurt so bad.
I completely disagree. Kelly is one of the best coaches in the country, and has won wherever he goes. Notre Dame and tough academic requirements, and Indiana doesn’t develop a lot of Div1 talent. If he was coaching at SC, we would be a playoff contender virtually every year.
Instead, under Gomer, we go to the holiday bowl and get blown out by Big 10 teams.
Texas WR Joseph Manjack IV, has been another USC camp sensation, in more ways than one actually. “Manjack’s (three-star) hands have drawn attention at USC this month — in particular, what’s not on them. He doesn’t practice or play with gloves. He told reporters the story last week: “When I was little, my dad said, ‘What’s the excuse for dropping the ball with gloves?’ I said, ‘The gloves.’ He said, ‘Stop wearing them, we don’t need any excuses.’ (I said,) ‘Yes sir. We don’t.’” “There is a lot of detail and discipline that goes into playing receiver for us,” USC… Read more »
No excuses! Nice attitude. Will take you far in life.
I’m very impressed with new USC TE coach Seth Doege, who hauled this hugely under-recruited Texas WR in. Fantastic recruiting work to land Manjack IV.
TE Michael Trigg also had some excellent things to say about Doege, who’s obviously a real relationship builder.
“Pulling the trigger on that kid (Manjack IV), that’s where it’s fun,” Doege said. “Because he earned that offer by his play, and it got better and better and better. And the best thing about recruiting him is he knew the difference between us and some other programs that were recruiting him. He knew the opportunity here.”
Ex-USC RB Stephen Carr continues to standout for Indiana during fall camp
A recent video posted by the IU Football Twitter account gives a good indication of what to expect from Hoosiers RB Stephen Carr. The run displays Carr’s speed, power, and ability to break tackles during a scrimmage.
He’s a “good” Hoosier now!
Gee, where have we all seen this before? It almost makes me laugh. Poor Husker fans. Andy Staples (The Athletic) — “Earlier this year, the Cornhuskers shoved out AD Bill Moos, who in 2019 handed Scott Frost one of the most inexplicable contract extensions in college football history. “With no one else bidding for Frost’s services and with Frost sitting on an 8-13 record at Nebraska, the Cornhuskers extended him two more seasons (through 2026). And while some schools do offer coaches on-paper extensions for recruiting purposes, Moos guaranteed another $5 million of Nebraska’s money for no apparent reason. Had Frost been… Read more »
Oh to be a college football coach! Guaranteed money even when you fail!🤑
Vikings Linebacker Cameron Smith (USC, ILB, ’15-18) Announces Retirement From NFL Smith (all-Pac-12 at USC in 2017) was selected in the 2019 Draft as a 5th round choice of the Vikings. Smith had open-heart surgery in 2020 and then suffered a concussion in his first game of this season. After careful consideration and thorough discussion with my friends and family, I have made the difficult decision to retire from the NFL. I know this transition isn’t going to be easy, but I’m excited to tackle this next chapter of my life with the same passion pursuit that I did football.… Read more »
A lesson for all, have a plan for life after football. You never know when it will come.
There might be a College head coach the agrees with Brett Farves opinion that you should not play football until you are 14 AND I could see that Head Coach could campaign for less violence and make a rule……..Walk-through practices only !!!!!………This coaches name ? …..Clay Helton !
From Yahoo Sports; another top 25 poll 16. USC (5-1) It’s another big year for Trojans’ coach Clay Helton. USC won its first five games of the season before losing to Oregon in the Pac-12 title game. That was the only game of the season where USC didn’t score at least 28 points. The connection between QB Kedon Slovis and WR Drake London should be strong again and Texas transfer Keaontay Ingram is in line for a big role at RB. The Trojans need to replace Talanoa Hufanga on defense, but he’s just one of three starters who don’t… Read more »
I have people I know asking is there a new threat that can affect college football in this country (High Schools dropping football forever) ? I tell them to read this NY Times article >>>>>> “Amid Concern Over Concussions, High Schools Struggle to Fill Football Rosters ” …….Then in the last 24 hours a Brett Farve story hits the internet (There are 2 High schools in my area that quite often make top 25 in the country and their life blood is sending scouts to 7th and 8th grade football leagues ) and Brett Farve says >>>>> ” Pro Football… Read more »
Football will be if not already a way out of poverty for poor kids. Upper income areas may drop football first. The only players from well off families will be QBs. Football is like Boxing was a hundred years ago. If you are athletic and well off you will choose another sport like baseball, basketball, or soccer.
Then there are the lawyers and politicians trying to kill anything fun.
A younger family member of mine (as they researched some football history ) asked me ….. ” If Dick Butkus played in the NFL now and refused to change his playing style would he be getting suspended a lot for being too violent ? ” I responded ” I could see him getting suspended for that ” . ( about 40% of his hits are probably illegal now ).
In the above article it states, “USC has experimented with 11 and 12 personnel sets.”
What?– 12 men on the field. This has got the hand of Helton written all over it.
Hah! Hopefully it’s the number of different sets not the number of players!😆
First number is the number of backs and second number is tight ends. 10 personnel is 1 back no tight ends. 12 is one back and two tight ends.
Thanks fun to get some down in the weeds info.
Not too down in the weeds. Everyone calls their grouping by those numbers. I heard Tom Brady interview once where he said they (Patriots) ran the same play like 6 times in a game and the only thing they changed was personnel group. They broke it down, it was so interesting. Welker caught the ball in basically the same spot each time, they basically blocked the exact same, the only change was how they lined up. And it worked each time.
think GH or Clay can do anything like that?
Helton get confused when he runs out of fingers to count on.
I hope we see Michael Trigg in a few games. Dragging the defense down field is really a plus. Maybe they can hand him the ball on a tight end sneak. (Even if it isn’t who we are. Note to the Cat; Losing stubbornly is not who we are.
Amon-Ra St. Brown is off to a quick start with the Lions per The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner. I had forgotten, but am glad to see, that former Ram coach Anthony Lynn is now coaching him : “The Lions have a gem on their hands here. Throughout camp and now into his first NFL (exhibition) game, St. Brown has shown the route-running nuance of a seasoned vet. That backfield alignment hints at how offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn might use him, too — as a moveable piece who can play from anywhere or keep defenses leaning with pre-snap motion. “St. Brown should be on… Read more »
Here is what an observer from another board added about Trigg:
“My Boy! I Watched His Dad Play College Ball Was A D2 All American TE At Stillman College And I Remember When He Was Born! Has The Pedigree!”
I watched the play with the one-handed catch and run and actually wondered; is Trigg that good or was the defense that bad (7 players missed tackles).
Young Trigg is truly the next Gronk/Ditka/Newsome/Gonzalez/Mackey! He could and should be the best of all time.
I think that after this one great catch-and-run, “the freak” should be fast-forwarded into the USC HOF and put onto the Wall because he’s gonna win the Mackey Award after being named unanimously to every important 1st team AA team in only his second year.
I’m not sure if DC Todd Orlando and his defensive staff is buying any of this, but in my long-suppressed pre-season football glee, I just can’t see it any other way.
With all the talent at tight end, I hope the group is more involved in the passing game this season. I would be great to see some two tight end sets to help the run game too!
Snaps from under center? With Jar-jar the Cat and our boy OC? Naw…never happen!
there are reports that we are running more 2 back sets and some under center in short yardage. It’s a guarantee we will see more tight end usage, pass catching I should say.