State of Troy

Welcome back Trojan fans! College football is officially back. In just four days USC will kick off their 2018 campaign. Let’s break down how some of the Trojan units have changed after graduation and early departures and familiarize ourselves with key players that will be alongside Coach Helton and his staff as he enters his third year at the helm of the program.

Players that have left the program:

• Sam Darnold (NY Jets)
• Ronald Jones (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
• Uchenna Nwosu (LA Chargers)
• Rasheem Green (Seattle Seahawks)
• Steven Mitchell (LA Rams – Undrafted)
• Nico Falah (Tennessee Titans – Undrafted)
• Josh Fatu (Detroit Lions – Undrafted)
• Chris Hawkins (Seattle Seahawks– Undrafted)
• Viane Talamaivao (Seattle Seahawks – Undrafted)
• Deontay Burnett (Tennessee Titans – Undrafted)

OFFENSE

A lightning fast, but very young offense will be on the field for USC this year. Just yesterday, true freshman JT Daniels was awarded the starting quarterback spot. The 18-year old reclassified to arrive early at USC and immediately made an impact in Fall camp, beating out Matt Fink and Jack Sears for the starting job. Reports from those surrounding the program note that JT has the ability to spread the defense across the field, and his deep ball accuracy forces defenses to protect 50 yards deep and 53 yards across. I greatly applaud Coach Helton, Tee Martin, and Bryan Ellis for going with JT from the get go. Helton is acutely aware that with this move comes great risk and a lot of these decisions can impact his future in the business. I am thrilled that Helton did not make the safe move of playing someone with more seniority but went with the guy who can take USC to the next level and restore us to elite status in college football. JT will be throwing it to Michael Pittman, Tyler Vaughns, Velus Jones, and Amon-Ra St. Brown who are all looking to have breakout seasons. It won’t all be perfect though as with any true freshman, the mistakes will come. It will be about how we coach to JT’s strengths, and balance the offense while he continues to develop.

Speaking of balance, we have a stable of running backs ready to pound the ground this year. Aca’Cedric Ware returns for his senior season atop the depth chart alongside Vavae Malepeai. Don’t sleep on a now healthy Stephen Carr who showed flashes of greatness during his freshman year. He could easily assume a three-down role a few weeks in I believe. Tyler Petite and Josh Falo bring experience and talent to the tight end role and if we can get the ultra-athletic Daniel Imatorbhebhe healthy, we will be very solid at this position.

The O-line could be the real story though over the course of the year. A mixture of seniors and sophomores comprise our offensive line which is led by senior captain and center Toa Lobendahn. We will ask a lot of these guys this year, and their health is paramount. If we can stay healthy and avoid lineman penalties, JT should have enough time to make his reads and connect with the receivers and backs.

DEFENSE

This unit should command respect based on experience alone. We will start 6 seniors, 3 juniors, 2 sophomores, and 1 freshman. The rotating schemes is why those numbers add to 12 not 11. Porter Gustin went out with a meniscus injury early in camp, but after surgery he is well into his recovery and we should have him back soon. I hope we are patient though and don’t force him onto the field until the right time. Our secondary will be captained by Marvell Tell who returns for a big senior year. I love that Marvell is not often penalized, and his business-like demeanor makes him a trusted piece of our team. Cam Smith is a key player for us this year as well. Just like last year, he will shoulder a heavy load and should amass tackles regularly. With the departure of Jack Jones for academic reasons, and Ykili Ross planning to transfer, Bubba Bolden has emerged as the starting safety next to Tell. Bolden will need to play smart and disciplined football to keep us in games. Down in the trenches, Brandon Pili, Christian Rector, and Malik Dorton will be plugging the gaps and Jay Tufele, who had a great camp, should see action also. I am confident our defense can win games for us and the seniority of this unit should be able to teach the freshmen quickly so in the event of injury, the next man up will be ready to go.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Velus Jones will take over kick return duties, with Amon-Ra taking the punt returns. Let’s hope they both study a bit of Adoree Jackson film throughout the year. Chase McGrath returns as our field goal kicker after going 12/17 last year and hitting from 51 yards out. He is a serviceable kicker and should only improve with experience. Jake Olson a redshirt sophomore long snapper and true inspiration to all team members and fans hopes to get on the field again this year.

In summary, USC will have to find the right blend of experienced players, and young talent in order to be successful this year. Helton looks to build on back to back 10-win seasons, that for a few reasons have not entirely satisfied the fan base. With such elite expectations, and only four spots to play for in the playoffs, the Trojans need to impress early and sustain their pace for the whole campaign. It should be an interesting year with a lot of new faces and questions to answer, but I think our guys are more than up to it. 

FIGHT ON

Sources include: uscfootball.com, reign of troy, usctrojans.com and others.