USC football: Evaluating each quarterback in the first Fall Camp scrimmage

Matt Fink

Fink had looked more or less out of the quarterback battle at the start of Fall Camp. He simply didn’t move the needle. That changed quite a bit on Saturday when he showed the tempo at which the offense could move with him at the helm.

He kept it fairly simple, accurately finding receivers underneath, but also showed an ability to put the ball downfield when the pass was on. He used his speed to give an extra dimension to the offense.

Most of all, he seemed comfortable in the system, looking like the veteran he is.

Does that mean he’s back in the running? One day won’t be enough to best his competitors, especially since he saw the fewest drives of all the quarterbacks. But the door doesn’t look totally locked anymore.

• Drive 1 (2nd team)
  • Fink went 4-of-4 on an impressive opening drive. He hit Drake London on the outside before a handoff was stuffed by Trevor Trout and Kana’i Mauga. A wide receiver screen to London and a handoff to Quincy Jountti were also stopped by Mauga, but the chains moved still. Fink found Munir McClain on a comeback, then handed off to Jountti again before competing the first big pass of the day. When Velus Jones got free from Adonis Otey on a streak, the quarterback put the ball over the top and hit his receiver in stride.
• Drive 2 (1st team, two-minute drill)
  • Fink went 3-of-3 to set up a field goal, which Michael Brown put through. The first play was stopped by a false start from Austin Jackson, which worked out because Brett Neilon had launched a bad snap. Stephen Carr took a handoff for a chunk gain to the left before Fink also gained yards with his feet on a scramble. Hunter Echols dropped the quarterback for a sack, but he came back on the next play by completing a downfield pass to Michael Pittman, whose path to the endzone was stopped by Chris Steele. With 14 seconds on the clock, Fink spiked the ball, then moved that bit closer with a quick shot outside to Pittman with five seconds on the clock for the field goal attempt.
• Drive 3 (Combo 2nd and 3rd team, red zone)
  • Fink’s offense score two touchdowns, one more directly than the other. The drive started with a quick pass to Drake London, who was able to complete the catch despite it being slightly behind. Then Fink handed off to Quincy Jountti, who broke a tackle by EliJah Winston and stormed into the endzone up the middle. On the reset, Fink hit Jude Wolfe on a curl. Jountti was stuffed by Chris Steele and Winston while Ben Easington was stopped by Juliano Falaniko and Connor Murphy. On the next play, Fink took it himself, running for a touchdown from 10 yards out.
• Drive 4 (Combo 2nd and 3rd team)
  • Fink went 1-of-2, though the incompletion was deemed a pass interference by Dominic Davis to convert a third down. The completion was to Josh Falo, who was stopped quickly by Raymond Scott. Quincy Jountti took three handoffs, but gained little.