There are times when the chips are down and you have one hand to play you tend to get a bit edgy. You hunker down into that stare or stance that tells anyone in your path that this is serious. You mean business and this isn’t going to end comfortably for those who oppose your will. This is what the 2019 USC Trojan Football needs to buy-in ttendo. They need to leave it on the field of play whether its at spring practice, fall camp or the weekly games in a season.
To get edgy you have to have coaches who know the difference from pushing the team to a heightened level of competitiveness versus training to see the zebras on every down. I think this team has seen enough yellow flags the past three seasons to know that isn’t the path but time will tell. Coach Helton has the referee support at practice now and is showing the team and staff that he is investing. We are also getting more feedback from the staff and that is also a good sign. Did he have a choice? Of course, Helton could have just gone the path of the past but as you wander down the path of a 5-7 season the clock is ticking and it is moving really fast at times.
We haven’t see a lot of proof but why would we after the first week of spring camp comes to an end. It’s too soon to cast judgement one way or the other. Benefit of the doubt is a pendulum that swings both directions until week one. Helton did state rather clearly that the QB-1 battle is on. He is moving his go-forward depth chart announcements to the end of the week. I hope he has marked his Friday night lights games. Just kidding there Im sure Swann will keep an eye on that one.
My personal hope is at the RB position. Really want to see what this group can do and it should be a much better view of the gaps and mroe freedom to the second layer as with the WR’s we have and Graham Harrel’s air raid in motion it should ease the pressure on the running game. Looking to see this starting in fall camp when it starts to get real.
Let’s keep an eye on the reported scuffles too as when you start to get edgy things tend to break loose. There are limits there but good ole fashion frustration edginess is not a bad thing. Bring back the one-on-one’s and let the strong survive. Find that “Rudy” personality and raise them up on your shoulders Trojans. You need a focal point. You need one player to rise above last year and make some noise and build a path where warriors loom large.
Fight On Trojans
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