Here are the highlights from the USC press conference following the Trojans’ 38-13 win over Washington State:
Head coach Clay Helton
Opening statement:
“I have to start off by commending our defense. Once again, I thought they led the way right from the start. We talked about really trying to make Washington State one-dimensional and try to shut down a back that had 119 yards per game and all of a sudden you look up and we [allowed] 73 total rushing yards. That allowed us to really have some third-down situations where we could get after the quarterback and produce four sacks and three turnovers. I just thought it was a consistent display defensively across the board. I thought we really started out hot and the playmakers did an amazing job. There’s a reason that C is on Amon-Ra St. Brown’s chest, because he’s an unselfish player. You go three games and you’re not in the end zone, he and I talked about it and said, ‘Don’t change a thing this week — touchdowns will come in bunches.’ He’s just played the same, unselfish physical tough game each and every week, and you look up and he has four touchdowns on the day and really set the tone early to be able to separate from a good Cougar football team. I thought Kedon [Slovis] was extremely accurate in this game — 25 of 32, 5 touchdowns. Didn’t play our best ball in the second half, so there’s always some stuff that we can correct offensively, but to get a 25-point win — 16 last week, 25-point win this week — this team is making progress each and every week. So 1-0 on the week, now we’ve got to turn the page. We’ve got a short week coming up against a really good team that’s hot right now — crosstown rival in UCLA that’s doing a really good job. And we’ve got a lot to play for and that’s what you want in December.”
Emotion on the sideline:
“I think it’s been that way really the last two games. We’ve celebrated with each other, and to be honest with you we’re just thankful to get the opportunity. This is what we said before we walked out to take the field, man, is this not a gift given by God, who blesses us and guides through a really hard situation last week and allows us to come out and play this game. It’s so awesome to be able to see these guys who love each other so much and play for each other so much just to have fun together over the last two weeks. It’s been neat to see what they can be, and they keep improving each and every week and they celebrate each other’s victories and successes and support each other. That’s what you want from a family and that’s what you want for your team.”
Why the team played out of a dime package all night:
“I thought [Todd Orlando] did an amazing job. We walked in and we were really nervous. When you looked at them skill-wise, you looked at the two slot receivers and you looked at the running back and how much yardage and production they were putting up and they were attacking every inch of the field — RPO game on the perimeter, vertical shots, in-between the tackles with the back, the quarterback creating. And we really felt that we needed to put the maximum number of athletes that we could on the field, so great package by TO, practiced it all week. It allowed us to all of a sudden Talanoa [Hufanga]’s Mike linebacker, there’s times that even Drake [Jackson] in some of the fronts was the Mike backer. But really creative and I thought for a young quarterback, especially in the first half it was hard to get a hold of and figure out. Extremely creative by TO and credit to the kids because they really dove into this week, perfected it and then brought it to the park on game day.”
On the freshmen offensive linemen’s performance:
“Yeah, really proud for them. We kinda knew early in the week that Courtland [Ford] would have to start in this game and he got a lot of work and Jonah [Monheim] got the opportunity to come in late when we lost Liam [Jimmons] and we put him in at guard and I’ll tell you what, did a nice job. He’s been at right tackle the majority of the time working there but did a nice job of filtering in at guard and had some tackle late. So credit to both kids, excited for them. Casey Collier got in late there. It was nice to get some of the future of this o-line in. And I thought Courtland for the most part, we’ll watch the film, but it was awesome. I thought [Alijah Vera-Tucker] and Brett [Neilon], they told me, ‘Don’t worry Coach, we got our baby. We’re gonna take care of him.’ And they did, they really did. I thought they had him prepared and had him ready and he played a really good game. I’m looking forward to watching the tape, but you can expect a lot from him in the future. He’s gonna have a fabulous career here.”
If he’s concerned about the run game after this performance:
“I wish we could’ve run it a little better in the second half, but with the seven-, eight-man fronts we were looking at, with cover-one, cover-three, some zone pressure, it really challenged us early. We haven’t seen that much as far as saying ok, let’s see if you can pitch and catch and hold up in protection. I thought the guys hit on all cylinders. Obviously there’s a lot of bright spots in the game and a lot of things you wish would be better. I look forward to watching the film in the second half, where I felt we could’ve run it a little better, especially towards the end. But again, you win by 16 last week, 25 this week, I really feel like the offense is starting to click. Want to be able to have that run game go along with it and take some pressure of Kedon, and I know it will. The one thing I’ll credit Graham [Harrell] with, he loves taking what the defense gives you. If you’re going to play that much cover-one or cover-three, you may get a pass every down. We took advantage of it early, and then we stated getting more two-high looks in the second half and couldn’t take advantage in the run game.”
How the team bounced back from the unexpected week off:
“I really thought during this week of practice, there’s almost like, I think Ra said it, it almost felt like a bye week and you could see how fresh the guys were in practice this week and how much they were flying around and I credit them. They know – we’ve talked about how important December – you always want to play meaningful games in December and here we are. We’ve got the opportunity to continue to lead our half of the league and needed this one tonight how well Colorado’s playing right now. It’s an important game for us. I thought these guys were really fresh during the week. They brought excitement with them to the park.”
On safety Talanoa Hufanga:
“Well, he’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach. He’s so football instinctive. We ask him to do so much. He plays in the post. He plays in the box. He can play man. When he pressures, he can be a real detriment and a good matchup on a running back to beat him in protection at 215 pounds. He’s a complete player and such a great playmaker. I think that’s his third turnover, his third interception and man, what a special play. When he hurdled the guy, I was like oh my goodness, we’re taking it to another level now. Just a special player that we’re so thankful to have and that’s what he said. He actually came over and he said, coach, that’s why I’m here. I want to be able to help this team make big plays and I want to be able to help win a championship and he made some special plays tonight. He’s playing really good football.”
QB Kedon Slovis
The connection with St. Brown:
“I think for us offensively, it wasn’t necessarily, I think Amon-Ra probably had three or four receptions and four touchdowns. It wasn’t like he was getting the ball every play. So it was awesome that he got to score every time but at the same time we were getting the ball out to everyone and everyone was just executing it and playing excited. I think that’s the biggest difference from when we’re playing well and when we’re not is really just playing excited and executing and doing your job.”
If he felt like his old self:
“Yeah, and not just for myself, I think across the board everyone was kinda doing their job and playing excited again. Especially in that first half, you know, offensive line was blocking well, had a nice pocket for me to step up into, the receivers were doing their job, getting to their spots. It makes my job easy, so really it’s a testament to how well everyone else played around me.”
If the extra week off helped:
“I was really excited to get to the Colorado game. I felt again, against Utah, not my worst game in the world, but I felt like we left a lot out on the table as an offense, so I was really looking forward to that Colorado game. I think that carried over to this week. As a whole offense, I think we were looking to going out there and putting a lot of points up. With our situation up front, we knew we were going to throw the ball and we knew the looks that we were going to get that we were going to throw the ball as well, so those opportunities kind of presented themselves.”
On his non-throwing arm injury:
“My arm’s fine. It just hit my funny bone kind of weird so my fingers were kind of stuck for a second, but it fixed itself after a drive so I’m good.”
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
The last time he had four TD catches in a game:“The last game I remember having four touchdowns in a game was actually my first game in high school as a junior. That’s the last time I had four touchdowns in one game. So for it to come today was actually crazy for me, in college, to score four touchdowns is very uncommon so I’m just glad my teammates and my coaches trusted in me.”
How fun the first quarter was for the offense:
“I felt like this was the first time as receivers we felt like we were getting more man looks early on in the game. The first three games, as receivers we felt we were getting a lot of cloud looks, a lot of zone, and they came out really playing man and that was something that we love man. As receivers, we love one-on-ones and we just came out, played well, Kedon threw great balls and we made plays.”
How the team bounced back from the unexpected week off:
“For us, for receivers, we run a lot, even as a team as a whole, we felt like it was a time for us to get our legs back underneath us. Obviously some time away, we don’t like being away from football so long, but I think the few days off helped us get our legs underneath us and I remember coming back on Tuesday for practice and I just felt fast. I remember some of my friends, some of my teammates telling us, “our legs feel good, I feel fast.” I felt great that whole week. We had some linemen out, so it was kind of a different practice for us, but as receivers and quarterbacks, our timing, we were able to get a lot of roues in, a lot of throws on, a lot of one on one reps. We practiced great, we felt great all week so it wasn’t that bad for us.”
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