It was quite an enjoyable day watching DL coach Brad Lawing on Monday morning. Lawing really likes to try to push his guys' buttons and get them motivated, and he uses all manner of techniques to get it done. He did not seem happy at all with the effort of some of the older guys in particular, and made the entire unit repeat a drill on one occasion. Guys like Jadeveon Clowney and Devin Taylor were not immune to the criticism.
I also noticed that today (and really, the first few practices) Lawing has really gotten after freshman Deon Green. He is finally healthy enough to participate in practice, so he does not have reps under his belt. He's getting them now and obviously going through an adjustment period. Just from watching Lawing over the past several seasons, I know that he's either riding guys because he's unhappy with the effort or because he sees a lot of potential and wants them to reach it. I think with Green, it's the latter. Lawing is very high on his ability, but he just needs those mental and physical repetitions to keep learning.
Buster Anderson continued his dominance on Monday. He's been unstoppable dragging across the field and cutting it upfield. By the time the linebackers see him cross in front, he always seems to be a step ahead. I haven't seen him even come close to dropping a pass the first four days.
Ace Sanders, like in the spring, has been unguardable. In the one-on-ones, Victor Hampton played the best coverage you could possibly ask for, but Sanders still got enough separation to get open and catch the ball.
Watching the kickers working on field goals and also kicking off, I think Adam Yates has still looked the best up until this point. He seems to be getting the most consistent height and hangtime on his kickoffs, and he's got the most lift on his field goal attempts as well.
I think Dylan Thompson has really improved a lot since he arrived at USC. He looks decisive, you can tell he's comfortable with what the staff wants him to do with the ball, and he's looked good delivering the ball. One pass in particular stood out when he hit Nick Jones streaking down the sideline and put it right between the cover corner and the safety coming over the top for a completion.
USC's quarterbacks missed a couple of targets on deeper balls during seven on seven, for the most part looked sharp. In particular, they had a lot of success hitting receivers in the middle of the field.
In the team drills, Jadeveon Clowney was once again excellent. He totally disrupted a few plays that would have been sacks in live action.
Also, watching these first few days, I think these guys are ready to hit someone. It's gotten chippy several times during the team drills and even in non-contact, there's a lot of pushing around and trying to rip the ball out on the part of the defense.
Again, tough to tell in non-contact situations, but freshman RB Mike Davis looks good running the ball. Just looks like a natural out there.
Darius English has impressed the first few days. He has a great frame that obviously needs to add weight, but Lawing has been doling out a lot of praise to him. Today, he singled him out in front of the veteran lineman, saying that English was fresh out of high school but still getting things right the first time through in drills unlike some of the older guys.
I thought Jimmy Legree was pretty active today at cornerback. He missed a couple of opportunities at tough picks that he got his hands on, but was roaming around pretty well. In one-on-ones, I also saw him jam freshman WR Shaq Roland. That's an area I think Roland needs to improve on, getting off of press coverage.
A.J. Cann has impressed me. He looks noticeably bigger like I have mentioned before, and he's really getting after it, especially getting downfield on blocks and screens. Brandon Shell also got in space and knocked CB Cadarious Sanders back about five yards on a screen play.
Miss my practice insights from Sunday night? Check here.
This post was edited on 8/6 12:42 PM by Chris Clark
I also noticed that today (and really, the first few practices) Lawing has really gotten after freshman Deon Green. He is finally healthy enough to participate in practice, so he does not have reps under his belt. He's getting them now and obviously going through an adjustment period. Just from watching Lawing over the past several seasons, I know that he's either riding guys because he's unhappy with the effort or because he sees a lot of potential and wants them to reach it. I think with Green, it's the latter. Lawing is very high on his ability, but he just needs those mental and physical repetitions to keep learning.
Buster Anderson continued his dominance on Monday. He's been unstoppable dragging across the field and cutting it upfield. By the time the linebackers see him cross in front, he always seems to be a step ahead. I haven't seen him even come close to dropping a pass the first four days.
Ace Sanders, like in the spring, has been unguardable. In the one-on-ones, Victor Hampton played the best coverage you could possibly ask for, but Sanders still got enough separation to get open and catch the ball.
Watching the kickers working on field goals and also kicking off, I think Adam Yates has still looked the best up until this point. He seems to be getting the most consistent height and hangtime on his kickoffs, and he's got the most lift on his field goal attempts as well.
I think Dylan Thompson has really improved a lot since he arrived at USC. He looks decisive, you can tell he's comfortable with what the staff wants him to do with the ball, and he's looked good delivering the ball. One pass in particular stood out when he hit Nick Jones streaking down the sideline and put it right between the cover corner and the safety coming over the top for a completion.
USC's quarterbacks missed a couple of targets on deeper balls during seven on seven, for the most part looked sharp. In particular, they had a lot of success hitting receivers in the middle of the field.
In the team drills, Jadeveon Clowney was once again excellent. He totally disrupted a few plays that would have been sacks in live action.
Also, watching these first few days, I think these guys are ready to hit someone. It's gotten chippy several times during the team drills and even in non-contact, there's a lot of pushing around and trying to rip the ball out on the part of the defense.
Again, tough to tell in non-contact situations, but freshman RB Mike Davis looks good running the ball. Just looks like a natural out there.
Darius English has impressed the first few days. He has a great frame that obviously needs to add weight, but Lawing has been doling out a lot of praise to him. Today, he singled him out in front of the veteran lineman, saying that English was fresh out of high school but still getting things right the first time through in drills unlike some of the older guys.
I thought Jimmy Legree was pretty active today at cornerback. He missed a couple of opportunities at tough picks that he got his hands on, but was roaming around pretty well. In one-on-ones, I also saw him jam freshman WR Shaq Roland. That's an area I think Roland needs to improve on, getting off of press coverage.
A.J. Cann has impressed me. He looks noticeably bigger like I have mentioned before, and he's really getting after it, especially getting downfield on blocks and screens. Brandon Shell also got in space and knocked CB Cadarious Sanders back about five yards on a screen play.
Miss my practice insights from Sunday night? Check here.
This post was edited on 8/6 12:42 PM by Chris Clark
