Reign of Troy
Fansided

Adoree’ Jackson Thrives, Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick Fails and More USC Football News

By Alicia de Artola

facebooktwitterreddit

Can’t get enough USC football news? We’ve got your morning dose of all the best content from around the web concerning the men of Troy.

1st & 10:

First Take… There’s good news and bad news.

The bad news is a bit of deja vu. Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick, who was academically ineligible through last season and this spring, is once again academically ineligible this fall. Shocker, we know.

More bad news? Presumed starting defensive end Claude Pelon sprained his knee during practice Wednesday and is expected to miss some time this season while he recovers. How much time remains to be seen.

Ready for the good news? Adoree’ Jackson was the talk of the town yesterday, in his first practice on the offensive side of the ball this fall.

How good? The terms “impressive,” “dominant” and “incredible” were thrown around with abandon. USCFootball.com’s Shotgun Spratling called it possibly the best practice performance he’d ever seen. After all, Jackson took one reception 80 yards for a touchdown and scored four more times after that, including once on a run.

More good news? Four-star Bishop Amat-product Tyler Vaughns committed to the Trojans, giving USC their fifth receiver in the 2016 class and a natural receiving threat with great size and exceptional hands.

In a way, Wednesday ran the whole spectrum for USC — great, good, bad and ugly.

The question is whether it all balances out positively or negatively.

Could Pelon’s injury open the door for a freshman defensive lineman to get more reps to impress? Does Adoree’ Jackson reaching his full potential in every position cancel out Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick letting his potential go wasted in the classroom?

Only 16 days until we find out.

And Ten USC Football Links…

  1. San Jose Mercury News: USC has the second toughest schedule in the Pac-12, according to Jon Wilner, behind only Washington. Notably, UCLA has the third easiest schedule in the conference, while Arizona and Arizona State both check in at the bottom half of tough schedules.
  2. Bleacher Report: Cody Kessler and JuJu Smith check in as the top QB-WR duo in the nation, though after Wednesday’s performance from Adoree’ Jackson we may soon be talking about a trio.
  3. CBS Sports: Jackson made the CBS Sports All-American preseason first team as an all-purpose player and the second team as a cornerback and kick returner. USC didn’t have any other first teamers but Cody Kessler and Max Tuerk made the second team.
  4. Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Ricky Town was at Arkansas last night checking out the campus and practice for an unofficial visit. If he does choose the Razorbacks as his transfer destination it would be an interesting reversal on the Mustain transfer.
  5. College Spun: Antwaun Woods pledged to make the most of his final season in a tribute to the Trojan seniors on Instagram.
  6. Bleacher Report: Tyler Donahue gives his last minute prediction on the Tate Martell commitment decision later tonight. He says Texas A&M, which is not a surprise. Martell announcing for anyone else at this point would be a shocker.
  7. Prediction Machine: Worried about the hype surrounding USC this season? Prediction Machine’s simulations won’t help that. The same predictalator which correctly guessed the four playoff teams last season has the Trojans in this year, but losing to TCU in the final.
  8. ESPN: Cody Kessler named Steven Mitchell the surprise star of spring camp and the receiver has only earned more reasons for praise this fall, as Steve Bisheff explores.
  9. Reign of Troy: What does Tyler Vaughns’ commitment mean for USC? He’s the kind of receiver who can make his quarterback look better than he is.
  10. Reign of Troy: The RoT staff took a crack at prediction the winner of the Pac-12 South. Spoilers: USC got a lot of love but one member of the team sees UCLA trumping.

Stat of the Day:

Adoree’ Jackson received votes for four different positions — cornerback, safety, kick returner and all-purpose — on the CBS preseason All-American team.

Tweet of the Day:

More from Reign of Troy

Home/USC Trojans