Alijah Vera-Tucker and Jay Tufele haven’t said if they’ll return for USC
But Amon-ra St. Brown was in no hurry to make that leap, even as he watched teammates Alijah Vera-Tucker and Jay Tufele declare their intentions to skip the upcoming season. He couldn’t understand why anyone would announce before January, when top prospects normally are faced with that decision.
“I was out there treating every day like there was a season,” St. Brown said. “I wanted to play — that was my intention. And as we look now, we’re going to have a season, and I’m excited to play this year.”
A spring season might’ve changed that calculus. But patience ultimately paid off for St. Brown, and with the Pac-12 set to return in early November, the focus now turns to whether the two Trojans who already declared their intentions might change their mind.
Neither player’s status has changed yet, per USC coach Clay Helton. Vera-Tucker, an offensive lineman, has yet to sign with an agent and presumably still could return without consequence. Tufele, however, already signed with an agent. Under normal circumstances, the defensive lineman would be unable to return.
“We’re seeing across the country there are some waivers being put in place just because of these special situations that are happening, especially with not knowing we’re going to have a season,” Helton said. “There have been other schools where waivers have been applied. If they choose to do that, we would obviously look into that. But first, we’re going to let them absorb the information.
“I don’t think all decisions are final one way or the other,” Helton said of players looking to return or leave. “There are some tough decisions to be made and I want every man to have the privacy to be able to have the time over these next two weeks to make their personal decision.”
They’ll presumably have two weeks to decide, with USC hoping to start practice Oct. 9.
USC quarterback Kedon Slovis said he’s discussed the decision with Vera-Tucker, who was slated to protect his blindside.
“He’s a great player and we’d love to have him back,” Slovis said. But the quarterback was wary of “applying too much pressure because that’s his decision to make.”
Helton didn’t rule out other players deciding to opt-out between now and the opening of fall practice. Safety Talanoa Hufanga (above) is believed to be a potential first-round pick next spring, while wideout Tyler Vaughns briefly considered leaving for the NFL after last season.
St. Brown never let himself worry too much about that decision. Instead, he spent the last few months focused on making the best of what figures to be his final college season.
According to Helton, he’s well on his way.
“I’ve known him since he was a freshman in high school,” Helton said. “I’ve never seen him in this great of shape or so far advanced than where he’s at right now. I truly believe he’ll separate himself among other receivers in this country.”
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TrojanDailyBlog members — Always feel free to add information or topics to the TDB which don’t necessarily pertain to any particular moderator post or member comment.
The nation’s #1 2021 prospect, SDE Korey Foreman (6-4, 265) from Corona Centennial (CA) seems to be favoring LSU (already visited twice) and USC at this stage, with GA a dark horse.
If the Pac-12 had not decided to begin the season on Nov. 7, you could have crossed USC off Foreman’s slate.
Once again, I must correct my speculations based on Wilner. I have posted several times that the USC players having to petition the Governor publicly to play showed a lack of leadership inside the Pac and also SC. My thought was the Pac should have been handling this issue and not relying on the kids Well, Wilner reports what actually happened and I got it wrong. What occurred was the Pac did commence seeking the required changes from the Governor’s office shortly after the new Covid testing was in place. They hit a stonewall and were getting nowhere. My guess… Read more »
COVID decisions have all become a political statement. too bad.
the only thing I took away from that horrible debate is that our 2 party system is completely broken. are these really the two best people to be president? really?
The only real loser last night , IMO, was Chris Wallace. Otherwise, for me, it was a non-event.
CW had a very tough gig trying to control last night’s riotous debacle. He tried, but no cigar. I don’t know how this could happen in view of the well-known enmity between these two men, but it did. None-the-less, I look forward to the next couple of these as well as the VP candidates going after each other. We clearly need a better, more effective format though. The main complaint I had with CW is that he didn’t press for answers when either participant dodged the answer, which was frequently. CW could have calmly interrupted a dozen times and elicited… Read more »
They need to be able to kill the mic on the candidate who’s not talking. I’m confident that they will.
They need to have a 250lb nun with a ruler to smack their knuckles if they talk out of turn. CW came up with the questions which led nowhere. Out of it I gave all three a zero. No substance, no positions. What did we learn? Trump is a no BS president, Biden is an old time politician.
Yahoo.com — “The idea that you’re going to cut off their microphone — that’s a pretty tough call,” Wallace said. “I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to make it, so on a practical level I wonder if that’s going to work. It just it strikes me as a bridge too far.”
He couldn’t keep his Trump hatred under wraps. It soon came to be an unfair fight–2 against 1 and DJT fought back. This is why the President’s base adores him. When attacked, he will fight back, especially when someone lies about him. This makes him unique among Republican presidents, with the possible exception of Reagan.
Covid/Wuhan CCP Virus has been the first virus that was utilized for political-economic reasons by your friends in the Red Chinese Govt.
Here in the USA, Covid-19 has been the first political pandemic.
Bleacher Report has high hopes for Amon-Ra St. Brown Amon-Ra St. Brown, USC JT Daniels’ (now finally physically cleared to play in this week’s AUB vs GA contest in Athens) former favorite target will be back at USC after a 1,042-yard sophomore season. The switch to Kedon Slovis at quarterback certainly didn’t hamper St. Brown’s production, and he looks like the best wide receiver in the Pac-12, which is set to get going in November. As the Trojans figure out how to replace Michael Pittman Jr.’s production (101 receptions, 1,275 yards last season), St. Brown’s per-game numbers should climb even… Read more »
i personally think that if Drake London picks up where he left off at the end of last season and Bru McCoy lives up to his hype, the receiver corps will be stacked again. but i cant help but wonder why Oregon took 4 receivers that USC must have wanted. there is some issue with recruiting on the offensive side of the ball this year. defensive recruiting is as good as anyone could expect with Helton as HC, but offensive recruiting was run over by Oregon and some other top programs. i’m pretty sure that Bohn sees this as the… Read more »
In case you haven’t heard, Trojan QB commit Jake Garcia has been ruled ineligible to play in the state of Georgia.
USC’s first-year admission rate — 16.1% of the 59,712 applications received.
The average test score was in the 95th percentile and 26% were straight-A students.
About 21% of the 2020 entering first-year class received a merit-based scholarship from USC.
Stewart Mandel (The Athletic) on bowl games: “The mass uncertainty that hovered over the 2020 offseason prevented me from writing one of my favorite stories of the year: Preseason bowl projections. There was no way of knowing which bowls would be played, much less trying to predict who would go where. “All that changed last week, however, when the Pac-12, Mountain West and MAC announced their returns (on the heels of the Big Ten), and the NCAA Football Oversight Committee officially signed off on waiving bowl eligibility requirements for this year. So, does that mean all 41 scheduled bowls be… Read more »
Where would the Holiday Bowl be played? The old stadium in San Diego is basically abandoned. SDSU has taken over the property and has started on a new stadium, to be complete in 2 years. The Aztecs will be playing at Carson till then.
The San Diego Union Tribune — If the SDCCU Holiday Bowl is played in 2020, it will be in San Diego.
With SDCCU Stadium closing, the 43rd annual Holiday Bowl game will have to be at venue like USD or Southwestern College.
USD’s Torero Stadium would seem the best fit. It has hosted several teams — currently the San Diego Loyal soccer team — and events with infrastructure requirements similar to what would be needed for a postseason college bowl game.
SDSU has moved its home games 111 miles north to Carson’s Dignity Health Sports Park.
One of the reasons for SDSU moving to Carson was the lack of space for TV cameras at these small stadiums. I guess there won’t be spectators, at least in California, maybe all the TV cameras won’t be an issue for a lesser bowl. It would be weird for the Holiday Bowl to be in Carson.
I just sincerely hope USC doesn’t end up in the Holiday Bowl yet again. Seems like it has become our go-to postseason spot somehow.
The 2014 game was fun, it felt like USC was on the way back. Then Sark imploded and the next year felt like why even bother. Then getting pounded by Iowa last year. I’m over it, get back in the national spotlight already.
The IOWA pounding was truly a sight to see. “We’ve come a long way baby,” was what went through my mind as I watched Bohn look across the field at the end of that disaster.
Well Allen, that was certainly not one of my proudest Trojan moments. I never thought I’d see a Trojan Bowl Team get punched in the mouth that badly. 😫
@Terrific Tommy It was the epitome of a Gentleman Clay Trojan team at its worst in the Holiday Bowl. Ugh.
Hopefully, these new defensive coaches will set a big-time fire under this USC team that has been missing so far under Helton. Please.
TE Marcedes Lewis (one of Pete Carroll’s biggest recruiting defeats ever) of the Packers (15 years in the League):
“We’re not gonna go anywhere that the line doesn’t take us, whether that’s the defensive line, or the offensive line. It all starts there.”
BTW, personally I don’t think an undefeated Pac-12 team will break in to the CFB playoff group because other one-loss teams in a better conference would still beat the Trojans or the Ducks — the only two teams with a totally remote chance to be considered. But such a short reg season won’t end up cutting it IMO.
Can’t wait to see the Pac-12 schedules!
Yahoo Sports — Several Big Ten stars who decided to opt back in to playing college football in 2020 have been cleared to do so. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said during a Monday radio appearance that both cornerback Shaun Wade and guard Wyatt Davis have been cleared to play. Both Wade and Davis had opted out and declared for the NFL draft amid the uncertainty about when Big Ten football would return. But when the Big Ten announced its return on Oct. 24, both Buckeyes changed their minds. Now, according to Day, they have been cleared. “It’s great… Read more »
Off topic, housekeeping question. Allen/John, can you run down the status list, from Active Member to Mt Rushmore and what it takes to move up? Just curious.
The system is based on the number of ‘Likes’ that a member receives for their comments. Active is 0-49 Noble is 50-249 Knight is 250-499 Diamond is 500-999 Mt Rushmore is 1000+ Since the beginning of the Pandemic and Stay-at-Home orders the number of members using the ‘Like’ system has dropped dramatically. I am hoping this trend will change once USC starts playing football games again. A side note: We have a steady group of people that regularly comment but what you may not realize is that our average readership during the summer is about 400 people per day and… Read more »
Thanks for the update. Those eavesdroppers should just jump in. The waters fine.😎✌
Thanks for the info. I was not aware there was a FB page.
How the AP voted in week 4:
USC only named in 15 of 62 ballots
Allen, I think it won’t be much longer before the Jets move on from Darnold. I hope he gets another shot with a team that’s not an absolute train wreck.
What a mess. Darnold’s not helping either at this stage. Some combinations just aren’t gonna work out. It seems like the completely woeful Jets are a little too much for Darnold to overcome right now. His confidence must be just shot and he frankly looked like it was when speaking after the brutal Jet loss over the weekend: ESPN.com (Rich Cimini) — “The ‘Tank-for-Trevor-Lawrence’ chorus got a lot louder Sunday, almost as loud as the ‘Fire-Adam-Gase’ groundswell. “The New York Jets‘ season has turned into bad stereo, as quarterback Sam Darnold did his embattled coach no favors by throwing three interceptions (two returned… Read more »
The Jets look like the Browns and Bengals. Poorly managed organizations that year after year hire a new coach, draft a number one quarterback and build nothing around him. I was looking at the highlights of the KC – Ravens game and couldn’t help but think, you could drop Sam Darnold into the Chiefs offense and he would thrive. Not Pat Mahomes good but in a season or two he would be. Just think what Carson Palmer and Mark Sanchez would have done if their first years in the NFL weren’t in the dumpster fires they got put in.
I sure hope you are right about Darnold. I’ve always been his biggest fan. But lately his very poor accuracy rate has me wondering if he can learn to be much more on target. You’d sure think so, but he’s going through a real tough patch, which he has freely admitted, that has people now debating whether the Jets should just move off him. He’s often inaccurate even when he has time to throw now. But I too still think Darnold has what it takes — but only with some better surrounding parts. I truly wonder what he would command… Read more »
Did Sam fail in the learning system of CFB or did the system fail Sam? Was he really prepared to play in the pros? I am not so sure due to the coaching scenario going on at USC. He could have stayed another year or two and developed with what little was at USC to help him mature no matter the danger of being seriously injured due to a sad OL unable to hold back most defenses. Not to mention he was mostly the show in pulling out wins for Helton. Sam could have transferred to another program with better… Read more »
As he watches Kyler Murray( 1st pick in 2019 NFL Draft) complete passes to DeAndre Hopkins and Larry Fitzgerald does he realize that if he stayed in college another year HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN the 2019 1st pick in the draft and be the Cardinals QB .
My dad (God rest his soul) told me a good part of life can be the decisions we make !!!!!
Yahoo Sports — “Georgia may have found a solution to its unsteady quarterback situation. “Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart said Monday that JT Daniels, the highly touted transfer from USC, has been cleared to play in Saturday’s game against No. 7 Auburn. “Daniels, the presumed favorite to start at QB following the departure of Jamie Newman, has been working to rehabilitate the knee injury that caused him to miss almost the entire 2019 season at USC. “JT will be cleared but I don’t know how much that changes the picture in terms of reps and development,” Smart said. “We’ll be looking… Read more »
Does JT still have his SC tats? That should be interesting in the Georgia locker-room if he does. 😁
He’d need a real tat transformation expert to change that huge complicated tat of a Trojan and the Coliseum on his right leg.
instagram.com
May be time to put some UGA tats on the other leg. Just another phase in his career.
He didn’t waste any time!
Four-star CB Philip Riley (6-0, 190; very physical and an outstanding athlete) out of Valrico (Fla.) just committed to USC today after decommitting from ND football on Friday.
USC is now ranked #8 by 247Sports with 19 commits. ORE leads the Pac-12 and is now at #3.
New Trojan CB coach and recruiter extraordinaire Donte Williams continues to pay dividends.
They better come up with more than one RB for 2021.
I am a Colts fan so he will be missed …..But him getting back to full health comes first >>>>>>>>>
Ian Rapoport
@RapSheet
· 50m
#Colts WR Michael Pittman had compartment leg syndrome in his calf, source said, and he had surgery last night. It went well. He should be back the game after their bye. So, likely Week 8.
More info on Pittman >>>>>>>David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc
@ProFootballDoc
·
50m
Compartment syndrome is one of the true medical emergencies. Too much bleeding into a confined space and cuts off microcirculation and compresses nerves. Cutting open fascia relieves the swelling issue. About 6 week return when caught early.
LAT report — Former USC OL standout Max Tuerk (26 yrs) tragically died from an enlarged heart on June 20 while hiking.
OC Coroner — Tuerk had “severe cardiomegaly with left and right ventricular hypertrophy.”
Still so very sad to have this happen to the young man.
I always hope to see USC Trojans succeed in the NFL.
Sam Darnold now has a passer rating of only 70, and he actually looks like he is regressing in the NFL. Yesterday, he looked worse than I’ve ever seen him. Talk about “lost.”
Sure hope he finds a team to be successful with — because it’s not the Jets.
Colin Cowherd believes that this upcoming Thursday will be Adam Gase’s last day as the Jets’ head coach.
Amon-Ra St Brown: It sure is easy to like this Trojan stalwart!
LAT — St. Brown considered leaving school before his junior season for the NFL draft, too.
“I would be lying to you guys if I said I wasn’t thinking about it, but I think for me, I was in no rush,” St. Brown said, noting that typical draft declarations come in January. “I wanted to play and that was my intention. And as we look at it now, we’re gonna have a season and I’m excited to actually play this year.”
I’d like to see these men return. But is saying they’re declaring for the draft the same as a dying wish? If they haven’t signed with an agent yet, are they disallowed from playing? I’m asking for a friend.
I believe if they have not signed with an agent they can reinstate. If they have signed with an agent they must return any and all money received and get approval by the ncaa before they can reinstate.
Slovis needs to have a good left tackle and AVT is the guy. Tufele is the best D lineman we have, if he can get some grace from the ncaa it would be great for him to return and shine for USC in his last season.
Both AVT and Tufele would be wise to return and play so scouts can see them one more time and they can help their draft position.
If it wasn’t mostly for “luck”, I don’t know how Clay Helton could be where he is today. No matter how poorly he performs in his HC duties, he continues to land on his feet backed up by an administration that no one on the outside can figure out. The only skill he possibly has is knowing who to genuflect in front of.
Jam, I don’t know of anyone on here that would disagree with you.
Jam, the truth is stranger than it seems. Luck has to be combined with something else to actually be considered lucky. In this case Helton’s ability to win a game was seen as an asset and so the administration did the lazy thing. Helton has been as lucky as the administration has been lazy. The fans and faithful have been ignored because the administration doesn’t answer to them. Nobody disputes that Helton’s teams have won games, but anybody who knows football knows Helton’s teams have been below standard. It’s not that we lost a game or two, it’s who and… Read more »
Helton’s biggest problem has been that he surrounded himself with coaches who were not highly qualified/skilled. To some degree, that problem has been improved, if not fully solved.
I’m starting to wonder if SC will have a really good team this year (Urban Meyer thinks so). I decided that even if I generally wanted Helton replaced, I just cant hope for this team to fail.
USC is loaded. Big question though, and that’s the OL as we all know. I’m not sure Urban Meyer has drilled down enough into this weaker part of the USC team. Without at least a very solid OL, all the other stuff becomes very vulnerable to misfiring, as we have seen over and over again with Gentleman Clay’s Trojan teams.
USC’s inability to play up to its accustomed potential started when its OL became unreliable in its execution. It no longer could provide a rushing game and put its QB in harms way. You can pay millions to keep an incompetent HC who does nothing to help the program prosper and yet USC can’t hire a competent position coach for the OL…..
Actually, the O-line weakness for USC is very predictable. CH hired Neil Callaway and Tim Drevno to handle USC’s OL, even though Drevno was originally shoehorned in as the RB coach and running game and pass protection coordinator in March 2018. He became the OL coach for 2019, instead of the RB coach. Neither Callaway nor Drevno have ever been able to come close to recruiting and/or developing elite groups of prospects like OL coaches do at other currently more successful big-time programs. Maybe the question is, if you were an elite college OL coach, why would you want to come… Read more »
The truth about Robert Woods —
“He’s almost as much a running back as he is a wide receiver” — FoxNFL
Great run/catch by Robert Woods late in 3rd Q, as Rams try to climb back into it at BUFF: 28-17 Bills.
AP TOP 25 1 Clemson (2-0) 1 ACC 1,542 (55) 2 Alabama (1-0) 2 SEC 1,473 (3) 3 Florida (1-0) 5 SEC 1,324 4 Georgia (1-0) 4 SEC 1,310 5 Notre Dame (2-0) 7 IA Independents 1,231 6 Ohio State (0-0) Big Ten 1,169 (4) 7 Auburn (1-0) 8 SEC 1,133 8 Miami (FL) (3-0) 12 ACC 1,045 9 Texas (2-0) 8 Big 12 862 10 Penn State (0-0) Big Ten 840 11 UCF (2-0) 13 American Athletic 743 12 North Carolina (1-0) 11 ACC 734 13 Texas A&M (1-0) 10 SEC 705 14 Oregon (0-0) Pac-12 651 15 Cincinnati… Read more »
How could ORE still be in at #14 (with all their opt-outs), which is around where they were in the pre-season, while USC is left totally out of the top 25 and doesn’t sneak in until #29? Very confusing to me…
SWAG system.
This whole ranking is weird. Georgia still at #4 after a really pathetic start to that game and Ohio State ranked 6th? It seems like half the AP didnt even know that the Big 10 and Pac 12 were going to play this season. Or maybe teams in those 2 divisions are being punished for playing less games? It will start to shake itself out over the next month. Who really cares about where the polls start?
I love polls for some reason. Just fun to see how others rank teams. Sometimes right on. Other times wildly inaccurate. But I still look forward to USC officially getting into a top 20 position, then the top 10, and if miraculously lucky, even a top five spot. But I think Top 5 will always simply be too much for Clay Helton to guide the Trojans back to. It all comes down to how much autonomy will all these new coaches really be given!? Graham Harrell got a lot of that based on my observations. Hopefully, the trend continues, despite… Read more »
How in the world Georgia could be considered below #15 is a true mystery. They flat out don’t have it this season. Auburn will shut them down and put the beat down on them. Florida and Alabama are the only contenders in the SEC. This weeks polling is proof positive that polls this early, especially this season are completely not legit.
Stewart Mandel @slmandel
Urban Meyer on FOX just now: “Oklahoma’s done. They can’t make the Playoff.”
I remember saying the same thing about his 2014 team after it lost to VT in its second game.
Only reason I agree with this now is the shortened season. No time to recover.
Pac 12 players with NFL potential can play 6-7 real games in November. Won’t that look favorably by playing versus avoiding injury by not playing? If I’m an NFL scout I would be more impressed by a guy that plays than the guy that plays it safe. But what do I know?
I agree totally.
Pros are only interested in the pros, the money, and how they can drain everything from a player before they burn them out. We would love to see guys play for sure.
Larry Scott on the chances of a PAC 12 team making the College Football Playoffs.
With Oregon having so many of their stars opt out (and my guess is any Oregon kid with NFL potential is going to opt out), that leaves SC as the only team with an outside chance and SC has Clay.
SC is the biggest unknown of any team this year. The schedule is going to be lightweight and the Pac-12 teams are all not really prepared to play. Going into a second season of the air raid with a loaded deck of receivers is going to give this team a big boost, but can Slovis stay upright and healthy if the o-line is such a big question? And will Stepp finally have a big year, or will SC running attack be MIA? And will Todd Orlando be the defensive savant that turns SC’s talented defense into a real force? I… Read more »
I’m still praying USC starts off the season with lowly and desperate UCLA. I know the TDB probably disagrees with me vehemently, but I can’t help it.
Please chime in if you have any thoughts about USC beginning its schedule with UCLA, instead of the other way around.
We could play the little gutties every week. That could be fun.
With this offseason being so unusual, with no spring practice, on again off again etc, I feel that the first game of the season is when an upset is most likely to take place. I agree that there is no reason to believe the gutties will be a good team, but I doubt Clay’s ability to have us ready early on ( not that I think Clay knows how to get a team ready under any circumstances).
Bottom line, I would rather play them the last game, not the first. I like our chances better, despite Clay’s misgivings.
I’m confident USC, even with Clay Helton, can beat the little gutties right now, especially with the new defensive coaches. Remember, UCLA voted against the Pac-12 even playing. I don’t think their team is even remotely prepared to play under Choc Chip Kelly, who was hoping he’d have another year off before he laid another egg.
Sometimes over confidence has a way of evening up the chances of an underdog? And you show a measurable weakness and it can’t be resolved in time, you can get beat. In addition how many of these teams are weakened by opt-outs & positive tests? LSU got beat because its D-line couldn’t get to Costello soon enough and the tigers lost one of their premier DBs. I don’t remember MSU having that great of WRs. Same might be said of OU’s defense? This could be one of the screwiest CFB seasons to date and even a PAC-12 team could qualify… Read more »
If Clay Helton couldn’t make completely sure to his Trojans not to EVER be overconfident against even the worst of the little gutties of UCLA, then he’s even a worse coach than I give him credit for. That’s entirely possible, however.
I am with you. Candidly, I think UCLA is the weakest team on the schedule this year. Best to use them as a warm up. And, they are NOT going to be ready to play.
I actually want to play Cal to start off the season this year. Why make it easy on Helton? If he is going to remain as coach, let him earn it.
If SC cant beat Cal, then we need to really move on to a new head coach. 7-0 is the only really acceptable record this year. Aside from Oregon and maybe ASU, the year should include a good number of blow-outs.
Let’s hope that AVT returns.
Allen, I’m all for it. Beating ucla makes for a great weekend. Anytime!!
Really Larry? The rest of the USA no longer believes the BS you are pushing….