USC Spring Game: Studs and Duds

The USC Spring Game brought out the best in some unexpected figures but injuries and format but a damper on the proceedings.

Here’s a look at who and what stood out at the USC spring game for all the right reasons and all the wrong reasons:

Who were the studs?

Justin Davis:Ronald Jones shined as a freshman, breaking USC’s freshman rushing record and endearing himself to scores of Trojan fans as the next big thing in cardinal and gold. However, Justin Davis remained USC’s starting running back for the majority of the 2015 season and established himself as a reliable figure in that role.

Throughout spring Davis has continued to demonstrate why the coaches have such faith in him and at the spring game he showcased exactly why Jones will have to wait his turn. Running with purpose and fluidity, Davis scored a touchdown and single-handedly gave the offense a victory during the “change the field” segment of the day.

Daniel Imatorbhebhe:USC’s tight ends were utilized far more on Saturday than they had been over the past few years, giving weight to Clay Helton’s praise of them during the week. Daniel Imatorbhebhe in particular was visible presence throughout the day, catching passes from whichever quarterback was slinging the ball his way.

Jalen Greene:The third string Trojan quarterback ran with the twos while Max Browne and Sam Darnold shared reps with the ones. While the drop off in competition requires a slight asterisk on his performance, Jalen Greene was perhaps the most impressive quarterback at the Coliseum. He launched two consecutive deep attempts which were dropped by receivers. He scrambled impressively for a big gain. Most importantly, he threw with zip and accuracy to keep the Trojan offense moving whenever he saw the field.

Greene will have a decision to make about whether he stays at quarterback or moves back to receiver. If he stays USC can rest assured that a disaster scenario where Browne and Darnold are both unavailable during the season occurs, he’d make a capable replacement based on Saturday’s performance.

Jake Olsen:Helton prompted the Coliseum crowd to welcome blind longsnapper Jake Olsen onto the field and he rewarded their roar with two perfectly placed long snaps on field goal attempts near the end of the spring game.

It was a great moment for USC, it’s fans and Olsen himself. Hopefully, it was a precursor for his appearance in a game this coming season.

Who were the duds?

The Game:It’s easy to look at the crowd Ohio State brings in for their Spring Game and compare it to the 20,000+ USC claims it drew for Saturday’s affair at the Coliseum, but there are so many factors at play that comparing the two is pointless. Either way, if the Trojans wanted a show to entice fans to turn out in bigger numbers next year this Spring Game was not it.

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In fact, it was not a game at all. That wasn’t a surprise. Clay Helton had stated earlier in the week that the focus would be on situational drills because of the thinned out defensive line. Still, the “Spring Game” name becomes a misnomer when the outing is no different than regular practice.

Injury troubles:The trouble for USC’s Spring Game format, and the reason it will continue to disappoint, is that it’s necessary. And the defensive line depth was only hurt on the first rep of live action when Noah Jefferson jogged off with field with an injury.

Receivers’ hands:USC’s receivers have received a great deal of praise this spring but failed to live up to that hype on Saturday. Darreus Rogers, Steven Mitchell and De’Quan Hampton each dropped catchable balls. Hampton was anonymous throughout, as was Isaac Whitney.