USC practice notes
The storm clouds hovered but rain never came as the Trojans got back on the practice field Tuesday.
The first guy I would want to mention is Josh Imatorbhebhe, who made multiple plays during the day, including a nice TD catch in a red zone drill. Another guy who showed up was C.J. Pollard as he put guys on their backs on two separate run plays in a drill on Brian Kennedy Field. Those are two guys looking for bigger roles and today they stood out.
One of the drills at the start of the day was working on high-pointing the ball for receivers, and defending it for the secondary.
During the initial team drill we saw Imatorbhebhe get things started with a nice grab over the middle. Pollard read a screen pass to Aca’Cedric Ware (who is weighting in at 215 these days) and stopped it for no gain. Talanoa Hufanga tracked down a Velus Jones sweep from behind. Holden Thomas hit Imatorbhebhe with a touchdown.
There was a good lineman 1-on-1 pass blocking drill that was fun to watch and the best rep we saw came from Porter Gustin when he simply overwhelmed Erik Krommenhoek. Tyler Petite tossed Juliano Falaniko to the ground but Juliano came right back on the next rep and beat Chuma Edoga. Caleb Tremblay also had an impressive rep when he beat Chris Brown while showing active hands. Austin Jackson held off Jordan Iosefa without giving up any ground at all and when the play was over Jordan signaled to the offensive to indicate Austin won that one.
Vavae Malepeai returned to action after being held out for the opening week with a hamstring. Toa Lobendahn also returned and was limited to some snapping in 7-on-7 and some individual work. We also saw Marlon Tuipulotu doing some agility drills with a trainer early in the day.
Thursday practice session will be in full pads.
Helton said all 32 teams are expected to be represented tomorrow at Pro Day, which will take place rain or shine. It will be aired lived on NFL Network from 9-11, with Sam Darnold scheduled to throw around 10:30.
Among the guests at practice today were John Robinson, Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie, Justin Davis, Isaac Whitney, Rasheem Green, Chris Hawkins and Devon Williams.
Quotebook
“I love to have our younger guys at Pro Day so they can see what it’s all about, as long as they aren’t missing class” – Helton
"I'm looking forward to seeing how the quarterbacks react in full pads when the bullets are flying starting on Thursday, those are the situations I want to see" - Helton
Starting line-ups from team session
QB Sears
RB Ware
WR Pittman
WR Imatorbhebhe
WR Sidney
TE Petite
LT Jackson
LG Brown
C Neilon
RG Vorhees
RT Edoga
OLB Iosefa
DT Rector
NT Pili
OLB Gustin
ILB Smith
ILB Houston
CB Marshall
CB Langley
CB Harris
S Tell
S Ross
