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.

ocregister.com

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