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

Kedon Slovis

Up until Saturday, Slovis could arguably be considered the No. 2 quarterback in the running for the starting job. Saturday was a reminder that he is a true freshman still settling in to life on the college stage.

Slovis had a rough day, throwing two interceptions. He might have been forgiven for those throws if not for too many other throws being a bit off on the day. Even completions were made more difficult than necessary for his receivers.

Throughout Spring and Fall Camp, Slovis has been a pleasant surprise, so one day shouldn’t take all the shine away from him as a prospect, even if it did feel a little bit like a wake-up call.

• Drive 1 (1st team)
  • Slovis went 1-of-2 on a drive that resulted in a touchdown. An opening handoff went nowhere, then a bad snap set the offense back further, especially as a sack was called. On third down, Slovis went short to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who made Greg Johnson miss and took off down field before being run out of bounds by Isaiah Pola-Mao. Slovis missed Devon Williams on a slant defended by Chris Steele, then showed some mobility on a run. Down near the goal line on third down, the quarterback handed off to Markese Stepp, who used a great block by Josh Falo to get outside and score.
• Drive 2 (3rd team)
  • Slovis went 1-of-2 starting out with a handoff to Kenan Christon. He found Matthew Hocum for a completion on the outside, but came up short on third down when he put a slant woefully behind the receiver and nearly in the arms of linebacker Spencer Gilbert. On the reset, he went 2-of-2, again starting with a short handoff. He threw a curl to Hocum and an out to Chase Locke before the drive finished.
• Drive 3 (2nd team, two-minute drill)
  • Slovis went 4-of-8 in a drive which ended on an interception. His first pass was batted down by Spencer Gilbert before his second attempt to Velus Jones was poorly thrown and incomplete. On third down, he found Devon Williams for a converting comeback, then found some rhythm hitting Jones on the outside. A long throw to Williams was defended by Isaac Taylor-Stuart and fell incomplete before the quarterback found Jones again but on the inside. Next he got the ball to Drake London, then scrambled with the clock ticking under 30 seconds. Finally, he tried to go outside but Adonis Otey picked the pass.
• Drive 4 (Combo 2nd and 3rd team, red zone)
  • Slovis went 1-of-3 on an unsuccessful redzone drive. His first handoff to Kenan Christon was stopped by Spencer Gilbert, then an attempt to Matthew Hocum was broken up by Adonis Otey. The corner couldn’t celebrate too long though because he went back to the same spot and converted the third down to Hocum on the next play. Christon took another handoff but was swallowed by Connor Murphy. A shovel pass to Christon moved the offense closer to the goal line, but a third-down slant to Hocum was again broken up by Otey to end the drive.
• Drive 5 (1st team)
  • Slovis went 1-of-4 in what was his toughest drive of the day. He started it out by throwing an interception to Chase Williams. Then he was pressured by Jay Tufele and missed Amon-Ra St. Brown. He completed a comeback to Devon Williams, but his slant to the receiver on third-and-short was broken up by Chris Steele.