Need for speed

And while the departure of receivers Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith, combined with the emergence of tight end Fred Davis and tailback Joe McKnight, put a dent in those numbers, they don’t explain the tremendous drop from the 2006 season, when the top-four receivers totaled 68% of the team receptions and 74% of the receiving yards.

Drops played a large role in the receivers’ inability to register more receptions, but perhaps the more glaring weakness was their ineffectiveness in stretching the field and generating a downfield passing game.  This season, the drops will be an issue that must be addressed by the entire receiving corps, but when it comes to developing a deep game and piling up yards-per-reception, all eyes will be on speedsters Travon Patterson and Ronald Johnson.

A two-sport star in high school, Patterson ran for the Long Beach Poly track team, posting personal bests of 10.44 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.41 seconds in the 200 meters.  This past spring, he sprinted for the USC track team, running the leadoff leg for the 400-meter-relay team at the at the Pac-10 meet.

This fall, Patterson should finally be able to showcase that track speed on the gridiron.  A redshirt sophomore, he spent his first season as a Trojan stuck behind a deep group of receivers and his second on the sidelines due to a foot injury.

Patterson is now entering his third season at USC and is putting together a fantastic fall camp after a great off-season.  The Trojan offense has had a difficult time moving the ball against this defense, especially without quarterback Mark Sanchez, but Patterson has been a bright spot.  He’s consistently made his presence felt during scrimmages and stepped up yet again this past Saturday, hauling in a touchdown catch.

“I just come out here to play,” Patterson said.  “I’m trying to do whatever I have to do to get the offense going.  We’re trying to execute well as an offense right now, so we can take it into the season.”

While Patterson and Johnson are certainly intriguing with their speed, perhaps the most exciting thing about them is that neither has yet touched his potential.  Patterson has just four catches in two years and Johnson tallied seven as a true-freshman last season.  Those are numbers that each receiver could better in just one game this season.

Johnson in particular seems more at ease with the offense heading into his second season.

“At first, it was hard getting the playbook down,” he said.  “But now it’s pretty easy.  I feel very comfortable now.”

Though both players should excel in attacking the seams of the opposing defense and getting on the receiving end of deep play-action passes, their maturation as complete receivers has been evident.  

Johnson showed last season that he understands that his speed can get him past the last defender, but now he’s also using that speed to force defenders off of him, creating space for himself underneath the coverage.  

For Patterson, working crossing routes underneath defenders and using his speed to get side to side in a hurry has been his strength at USC.  But he’s now developed the skills to take defenders one-on-one in an effort to beat them down the field.  In fact, on his touchdown catch during last weekend’s scrimmage, Patterson did just that, saying afterward, “I was seeing a lot of space in front of me, and I thought, if I win this one-on-one battle, it’s a touchdown for me.  Mitch (Mustain) saw the same thing and hit me.”

Another great asset that these receivers have at this point in their careers is the ability to go up against a phenomenal secondary every day in practice.  

“They’ve been together now for three years,” Patterson said of the defensive backfield.  “They know a lot and it’s very tough going out there against them, because they know the coverages and they know how to stop certain routes.”

“We see new things every day because of their experience,” Johnson said.  “We have to prepare in meetings just to go against this defense and run our plays.”

Of course, the Trojan offense has more than a few talented receivers to throw at that defense.  In addition to Johnson and Patterson, the Trojans have nine scholarship receivers, four with starting experience and all with the ability to earn playing time this season.

“We’re about 20 receivers deep,” Patterson said.  “We’re just going out there to compete.  We’re not worried about who’s starting or who’s getting the most playing time.  We’re just going out there to contribute as a team.”

“It’s a blessing,” Johnson said of the talent at the position.  “I never thought that I’d be out here playing football at USC and now that I’m here, I get to play with all these great guys, making me better.”

Of course, until the season starts, this group still must deal with the issues from last season, when they couldn’t be counted on to carry the team.  Even in blowout victories, like the Rose Bowl against Illinois, the wide receivers were largely invisible.  Of the 26 passes completed by USC in that game, only five were to receivers.  Both Davis (seven) and McKnight (six) out-caught the entire unit.  

This season, the receivers have become a bit of a Redeem Team themselves, claiming that last year cannot be duplicated and was simply an aberration.

“We’re definitely stepping up this year,” Johnson said of his fellow wideouts.  “We know a lot more and we’re doing a lot better.”

With Sanchez at the helm this season, the receivers figure to be more involved in the offense.  Provided he can return from a dislocated kneecap, and with what looks to be a solid running game already in place, the outcome of the season could again depend on how the Trojan receivers perform as a unit.  

“Oh yeah,” Johnson said when asked if he was ready for the season to begin.  “I can’t wait.         

It’s tough to blame either receiver for getting antsy as fall camp crawls toward its conclusion.  After all, both Patterson and Johnson are used to things moving at a higher rate of speed.