USC quarterback duels: Jaxson Dart-Kedon Slovis isn’t the first; here are five others
Jaxson Dart and Kedon Slovis are battling for the shot to start Saturday against Oregon State. (Young Kwak; Rick Bowmer / AP)
J. Brady McCollough (LA Times) — Jaxson Dart has played in one college football game, and the freshman emerged from it as the Pac-12’s offensive player of the week.
Kedon Slovis has played in 21 games, passing for nearly 6,000 yards and 50 touchdowns, and the junior is widely considered a future first-round NFL draft pick.
USC interim head coach Donte Williams has billed what’s to come as a “quarterback battle,” but, because of injuries for each player, it’s unclear how much of it will be staged at this week’s practices leading into Saturday night’s game against Oregon State at the Coliseum.
The X-rays on Slovis’ neck injury sustained at Washington State — which led to Dart coming into the game — were negative, according to Williams. He expects Slovis to be available for practice. On Monday night during his appearance on “Trojans Live,” Williams revealed Dart has a knee issue and is “day to day.” For now, the Trojans plan to hold him out as a precaution.
If Slovis practices and Dart doesn’t, one would think he’ll take the first snap against the Beavers. But it appears the fight for the starting job has only begun.
Dart, the reigning Gatorade national player of the year, had his teammates raving about his play-making ability, with one comparing him to No. 3 overall NFL draft pick Sam Darnold, the last great Trojan quarterback.
Even at USC, where heated quarterback competitions have become the expectation the last two decades, this one feels like it could be quite spicy.
As a prelude to Slovis versus Dart, here’s a look at five quarterback decisions that shaped the modern era of USC football:
1985: Rodney Peete takes over for senior Sean Salisbury
In the fall of 1985, Sean Salisbury was USC’s all-time leading passer, a fifth-year senior who would go on to the Canadian Football League and the NFL. The last thing anybody would have expected was Salisbury losing his job to a redshirt freshman, but that’s exactly what happened after the Trojans started 4-4 and USC head coach Ted Tollner promoted the 19-year-old Peete.
“It could have been construed as a desperate move,” wrote The Times’ Mal Florence.
But Peete nearly beat Washington in his first start and took down UCLA and Oregon, helping the Trojans to the Aloha Bowl at 6-5, beginning a three-year run as the starter.
Before Peete’s emergence, the notion of a “quarterback controversy” at USC was unheard of because the only question was which guy was going to hand the ball off to the next star at “Tailback U.” The Peete years serve as a marker for how the importance of the USC quarterback changed over time, and it was no coincidence it happened right as Bill Walsh’s “West Coast Offense” was shaping the game’s future.
From there, in the 1990s, USC featured high-profile quarterbacks Todd Marinovich and Rob Johnson and threw the ball enough to woo Carson Palmer to campus.
2003: Matt Leinart beats Matt Cassel to replace Carson Palmer
Matt Cassel came to USC in 2000 out of Chatsworth High, where he was rated the No. 8 quarterback in his class back in the early days of recruiting rankings. He bided his time backing up Palmer for three years, and all he would have to do was beat out sophomore Matt Leinart to take over what would be an electric USC offense.
Leinart, the touted Santa Ana Mater Dei left-hander, edged Cassel in preseason camp and promptly beat Auburn on the road, leaving little doubt Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Norm Chow had made the right call.
It was a different era, though, and Cassel would stay at USC for his final two seasons of eligibility, backing up Leinart, who like Palmer would win the Heisman Trophy in 2004. Ironically, Cassel would end up having the better NFL career, starting 81 games and making more than $65 million.
2007: John David Booty holds off Mark Sanchez
In 2006, Booty edged Sanchez, then a redshirt freshman, in fall camp. In 2007, USC began the season ranked No. 1, but Booty injured himself and threw four interceptions in Stanford’s 24-23 upset of USC that launched Jim Harbaugh’s coaching career into the big time.
The next two weeks, with Booty still on the mend, Sanchez started and beat Arizona and Notre Dame. Many Trojans fans were clamoring for the sophomore to keep the job the rest of the season, but after USC lost at Oregon 24-17 with Sanchez, Carroll went back to Booty for the rest of the year.
That season still doesn’t sit well with the USC faithful.
2013: Cody Kessler takes the reins from Matt Barkley
Four months into the Lane Kiffin era at USC in 2010, Kiffin secured the commitment of Max Wittek, the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the 2011 recruiting class. Only two months later, Cody Kessler, the No. 4 pro-style quarterback in the class, showed that he was undeterred by Wittek’s presence and committed to the Trojans, too.
In the summer of 2013, it was time for them to duel with Matt Barkley finally out of the picture, but the two were so close in Kiffin’s eyes that the competition bled into the fall. The Trojans lost to Washington State 10-7 in their second game, with Kessler and Wittek both struggling in the defeat.
The next week, Kiffin chose Kessler, and he would lead USC for the next three seasons.
2016: Sam Darnold replaces Max Browne early
A walk down memory lane. Good stuff, Allen! IMO, Sam did the most with the least
I will finally get to see my first live USC game this Saturday night on TV. I will date myself but I remember as a kid in 1962, which was an NCAA Championship year for John H. McKay, greatest USC football coach in my lifetime, we used two QB’s. We had Bill Nelson and Pete Beathard. God Bless both of them. That was an era of platoon football and the stats should support that they combines to bring USC McKay’s first NCAA Championship with both playing important roles in our success. I do not know if that is possible today… Read more »
More Push for James Franklin (The Athletic): “USC the brand has been hurt so bad. Whoever they get, it needs to be a name — oh damn, that’s the USC coach now?” one of the former USC assistants said. “Getting offered by USC used to be a big deal. Guys would cry on the phone when I told them they had a USC offer, but that doesn’t happen anymore. I think James Franklin’s name was huge. He took back a state when he got rolling at Penn State. He’s got the No. 1 class in recruiting. He’s been in the SEC.… Read more »
Herbstreet agrees with me, his #1 pick for HC is Matt Ruhle. Make him say no or yes.
Down Goes Helton — From All Sides “After The Athletic (Bruce Feldman and Antonio Morales) spoke to a dozen people who either worked in the program, were closely affiliated with it, coached against the Trojans or have a deep knowledge of the Southern California recruiting scene since Pete Carroll left for the NFL, this much is clear: There are several factors that have led to the Trojans squandering their talent advantage over the rest of the West Coast, largely recruiting deficiencies and a lack of development — and their next head coach will be the one dealing with the ramifications. “I… Read more »
Unless it has to happen due to Slovis being injured, I hope Coach Williams is patient enough to not rush Dart into the starting position. Slovis is definitely good enough to keep his job. Let Dart come in for clean-up duty to stay ready but he will be needed healthy when Sovis leaves. In the meantime, something has to be done about the OL. It’s the same old story: Can’t consistently open RB holes and puts the QB in danger in passing plays. How long is this going to be accepted?
I don’t believe the OLs can be fixed this season. We are what we are, and have been for some time.
The next permanent coach will decide exactly what he wants the USC OL of 2022 to look and play like.
I would take that a year further Allen. Don’t know if we are going to get any quality OL in the next class (maybe one) and you just don’t see them In The portal.
A lot of times as I watch I wonder if it is the play calling. The entire universe knows USC cannot run straight ahead, especially in the red zone, yet they continue to run there. I have seen some success off tackle, but we do not have the speed to go real wide. Of course how we line up dictates which way the ball is going, unless we are in a two back set, which we are not often enough, so after watching game film the defense knows where we will run by the side the rb is set. So… Read more »
Our O Line has a knack for getting our QB’s hurt, but Dart injured himself on a designed run play if I remember correctly. He kept it on a read option and banged into the ground.
More on James Franklin:
Per both Colin Cowherd as well as guest/sidekick Joel Klatt, the name that keeps coming up among their sources who are described as “people around USC”, is James Franklin.
Franklin supposedly has a “very big presence” when among people.
I just don’t know how to feel about Franklin. I think he would recruit like crazy, but I am not sure he would get us to more than just a good team. I know we would win the south every year under him and be with Oregon for conference. But I’m hoping for more, much more.
I we need to be in the hunt for the NC and do not see Franklin as that guy.
I agree with Chris, Jam, and Utah. Franklin is a trendy name to kick around, but not for USC.
Has Franklin really been “trendy”? It seems to me that his name has always been associated with USC as a possible new coach, regardless of his loss to Sam Darnold in the 2017 Rose Bowl. And Franklin blew the end of that game. I think what many USC fans are afraid of is that Franklin is not just a trend. Instead, he has stuck to the Trojans for a long time as a possible HC someday. And as I commented above, “people around USC” are talking a lot about him to the media. This could eventually be a very unnerving… Read more »
Allen, everyone has an opinion and when the new coach is hired there will be those that are unhappy or just completely outraged. Whoever they hire we fans have no alternative but to go with it as best we can. Of course here on the blog we will dissect the hire until we run out of stuff to say about it. I just hope the hire is not influenced by the media, that USC does its due diligence and gets it right whoever it is. I like Fickell, Stoops, Campbell, Harsin, Fleck, but my #1 pick would be Matt Ruhle,… Read more »
If we are going to take Franklin, I would roll the dice on Donte all day with a smaller salary and pay huge money for coordinators to surround him. Donte with a great staff with experience could be lights out. I’m positive he is as good a culture guy, leader, and recruiter as anyone we bring in. We just don’t know how well he puts it all together. If he wins the conference, he will shoot above anyone other than a legit big name in my opinion.
I am a big fan of Donte, and if he pulls it off and we see a new USC football team I am with you.
Chris, if Mike Bohn can’t bring in a home run HC ( which is what we all want), then your suggestion makes sense. We know Donte can recruit like hell and for what we have seen so far, he is all energy at practice & on the sidelines in a game. You look at Saban & Sweeney. They are more organizers & game managers in their programs and surrounded by coordinators & position coaches that know their stuff. I believe that could work here too as a 2nd option.
Donte has to go a long, long way to show me he’s USC HC material. His team so far has played one good half of football. Woeful WSU wasn’t a decent measuring stick to say the least.
There is a lot more to being a HC than the x’s & o’s. Being responsible & accountable for everything from nutrition to weight training to discipline ( on and off the field) is a demanding work load for any coach and particularly for a coach who has never even been a co-ordinator.Is he ready to identify, attract and lead a coaching staff? Maybe, but USC can’t be a training ground again. They already have a big hole to climb out of. I Iike Donte and think has a lot of great qualities. But as each day goes by I… Read more »
We are going to hear the prognostic exclamations for the next 4 months. Why are the main stream pundits squawking so loudly for Franklin….? Even Finebaum surprised me with his unwarranted acclamation for Franklin. Forget the Babble Bubble…. Franklin is a 9-10 maybe 11 win coach with a bit of consistency, however, he’s been at Penn State 8 seasons, has he taken his team to a Championship or even less a playoff spot…No. he’s the flashy guy that never quite made the Big Leagues his entire career. prudently, I think USC has to reach a bit higher for its next… Read more »
Obviously, most Trojan fans just don’t want James Franklin to be the next coach. He’s clearly rubbed USC faithful the wrong way and has convinced so many that his ceiling is too low for USC. Maybe that’s true. I have no dog in this hunt yet. I’m not supporting anyone. Too much more needs to be revealed and chewed up about those who would actually take the job. I’m hoping to hear more from TDB people about better alternatives, so we can start shooting holes in those candidates as well. This monumentally important USC hire is gonna be so fantastic… Read more »
I agree Chris. It just seems his teams play to a certain level but can’t win the big games that puts his teams into the league championship & the playoff. We need a HC that can get into the playoff consistently.
I am watching Franklin and Fickell. Who takes their team further this season will be the college coach SC looks at. Fickell has ND next week. Franklin has OSU next month. Those will be key games. If Franklin gets past OSU, wins the conference and gets to the CFP his stock will be huge and may not want to leave PSU but we all will want him then.😥 If Fickell beats ND, he’s the guy.
As of what I’ve seen so far. PSU might take down OHIO ST this year, even though the game is at The Shoe.
This year Michigan is going to be the bump in Franklins road to glory…perhaps Wisconsin as well.
Finally, someone’s on MICH’s bandwagon. Jim Harbaugh has been such a colossal failure at Ann Arbor so far.
It’s about time he got something right, especially after going 2-4 last year and getting killed by both PSU and WIS in Ann Arbor.
No. No. No. 5% improvement over Helton. We can do much better.
Antonio Morales (The Athletic): “A lot was made on social media and on the TV broadcast about Jaxson Dart’s eye black throughout the game. There’s just one black stripe that goes down the right side of his face.
“Afterward, Dart said he saw an LSU player wear his eye black that way, then decided to do it himself and has stuck with it ever since. But a source close to the situation said the design is actually an ode to Anakin Skywalker’s scar…”
theathletic.com
Lol. I think it is funny how many times I have seen it in articles. I have seen Billy Idol and Mel Gibson
I wonder what Matt Cassell would do if he played college ball today? Things worked out well for him anyway but he may have had a great college career by transferring.
I had a flash back to the 06 season and seeing the “In the Moody for Booty” t shirts.
Also wonder what Sanchez would have done in the NFL if he stayed another year like Pete wanted him to.
Yet Sanchez started off so fast in the NFL. He didn’t seem to run into problems until later, after he had even more competitive experience for years.
If he hadn’t gone to the Jets it may have been better for him. Palmer going to the Bengals, Sanchez and Darnold going to the Jets were tough on their NFL careers. Still funny Cassell fairs the best going to the Patriots. All the other SC QBs mostly have been NFL backup/practice squad type guys. But hey they got to the NFL and got paid good money to play football.
Carson Palmer would be USC’s best NFL QB ever. Agree, or disagree?
Better team? Yes.
I think Palmer was, although it is to bad he didn’t have the team around him at his caliber.
14 year career as starter. 4 playoff games on 2 different teams. Palmer was a 4x Pro Bowl, Pro Bowl MVP 06, franchise records for Bengals and Cardinals. A guy who would have won a Super Bowl with a better team.
Carson Palmer was the best all-around football player I ever saw in person as a prep. Tied with the very Mater Dei’s phenomenal Matt Grootegoed. Then came Junior Seau. All Trojans. At least that’s how I remember it. I could be forgetting someone. No wonder USC has such tradition.
No doubt about it, Sanchez, Darnold, Palmer, Barkley and a few before them were targets having hotshot names used as fodder to easily fill in a hole on a team not wining but still having owners needing to attract fan interest to buy tickets.
Cassell benefited by being mentored and taught by the GOAT.
Once they figured him out.
We were loaded at QB in 2002. Cassell and Lienart backing up Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer. I am glad that Matt Cassell had a pro career and made some money. People that I have talked with who knew Matt said he is a terrific person. I always was rooting for him while he played. He did learn something at USC. He learned to be patient and opportunity does arise. Proud of all those three QB;s from 2002, We will find success this season, I feel it on the horizon Trojans, stay the course. To Victory!
I think this “quarterback controversy” is a tempest in a tea cup situation. I believe Coach Williams (sounds better) said all positions are going to battle for starting at game time. I understand the importance of a consistent quarterback, but I don’t know if this is smoke and mirrors to distract us from the real problem (the O-line) or if it is as I said just the media making something from nothing.
I’m worried only if Dart is really hurt. Otherwise, it’s all good, as they say.
Donte Williams also admitted that there were plans to play Jaxson Dart on Saturday in short-yardage and red-zone situations to give the offense another wrinkle for opposing defenses to account for (The Athletic).
theathletic.com
On Scottie’s old blog (that hasn’t been live since Helton was fired), Pudly noted (from someone else) that Jaxon may have some meniscus damage. Fingers crossed that isn’t the case…if any ortho surgeons are here, I hope they correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that repairing a meniscus tear is about a 10 week recovery (slow healing time of that tissue), and if it can’t be repaired, then it is shaved off, and in that case, return time would be 4-6 weeks or so.
It all depends on how severe the tear or damage is.
I had a meniscus arthroscopy about six years ago and was literally fine in two and a half weeks. It can actually be a very rapid rehab process, if the repair job isn’t too extensive.
Football being so demanding might extend the recovery required. But it can be quick if it turns our Dart needs it.
Exactly. I had one done as well a couple of years ago, in which the tear was just shaved off (it was in an area in which sewing it back together wasn’t possible), and I was good to go very soon afterwards.
A meniscectomy, trimming the torn portion, has a quick recovery but long term increase chance of osteoarthritis. A meniscus repair can be done if the tear is along the outer vascular area, the recovery is slower to protect the healing repair, but long term less chance of OA in the knee.
Thank you, Golden Trojan. Hopefully he heals fully and quickly.
So for now on we call you Dr. Golden.😆
Just a retired physical therapist, who rehabed a lot of knees.
Some of these turned out to be no brainers. Leinart and Darnold being primary. Kessler just played and we never saw Wittek. Cody also stuck around in NFL for a few years, so I guess that was a no brainer as well. Sanchez was better than Booty and should have played, but it wasn’t a huge gap.
I feel like the Danrold situation was the most frustrating for the player. Max Browne was all everything in high school and I remember watching him beat everybody in one of those quarterback camps before USC. But I also remember the “quarterback coach” who recruited him. If ever there was an example of the Helton effect, he is it. The harder he tried the worse he got. Helton put a deer in the headlights on the field for Alabama to plow into. (it’s a wonder he hasn’t sued for malpractice)
That could be any player under Helton. Even Toa regressed.
I liked Kessler because he was such a blue collar guy and worked his tail off to become the starter. He had a good line in front of him and had a good career at USC. Cassell was really good but Leinart was a winner.
Tour comment about having a good line in front of him makes out current situation hurt. We will send to have such good linemen over the years. But under Helton he just seemed to refuse to get them.