USC Football, 2017 Reflections & The Journey Ahead
USC football ended its 2017 season on a disappointing note after a 24–7 loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29 in Arlington, Texas. The Trojans will now enter the 2018 season without top quarterback Sam Darnold, leading running back Ronald Jones II, and top receiver Deontay Burnett.
The Trojans have to rely on freshmen to replace weak spots in 2018. With the 11th best recruiting class in the nation, the Trojans have the talent to continue their Pac-12 dominance.
USC’s main weakness on offense is at the quarterback position. With the departure of Sam Darnold, nobody on the Trojans’ roster has started a game. In 2017, Darnold passed for over 4000 yards, completing 63 percent of his passes with a 2-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio.
USC has to find a replacement for star wide receiver Deontay Burnett, who caught 86 passes for 1114 yards in 2017. Five-star incoming freshman Amon-Ra St. Brown will help improve the Trojans’ offense. St. Brown caught 72 passes for 1320 yards at Mater Dei High School in 2017.
At running back, the Trojans look towards Stephen Carr to replace Ronald Jones II, who was top-ten in the country in rushing, recording 1550 yards on 261 carries in 2017. Carr showed flashes of excellence against Stanford in 2017 with 119 yards rushing on 11 carries.
The Trojans need to figure out their quarterback situation before two tough back-to- tough away games at Stanford on Sept. 9 and at Texas on Sept. 16.
The Trojans three potential quarterbacks include Matt Fink, a 6-foot-3 dual-threat quarterback, Jack Sears, a 6-foot-3 pro-style quarterback without any in-game experience, and JT Daniels, a 6-foot-2 five-star pro-style quarterback who is enrolling at USC a year early.
Fink is a dual-threat quarterback. Offensive coach Tee Martin prefers to run a pro-style offense with few quarterback run plays. Fink also struggles to consistently throw a tight spiral.
Daniels is the front-runner in the quarterback battle after a successful high school career at Mater Dei, a school known for Trojan quarterbacks, including Matt Barkley and Heisman-winner Matt Leinart.
On defense, USC will be missing lineman Rasheem Green, who recorded a team-high ten sacks in 2017.
USC will welcome back linebacker Porter Gustin, who sat out for a majority of 2017 with an injury. Cameron Smith, USC’s middle linebacker, also announced that he will be back.
The core of USC’s defensive backs will return for next season. USC’s defensive backs will feature safety Isaiah Langley, cornerbacks Iman Marshall and Jack Jones. USC defensive back coach Ronnie Bradford will have to improve the Trojans deep ball coverage in order for USC to compete for the 2018 National Title.
Cornerback Jack Jones was named third-team AP All-American, but he still has some flaws in his deep coverage. Jones is effective in stopping the run and quick passes, but he still struggles on deep downfield throws.
Jones ineffectiveness on deep throws was shown in multiple games, but UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen continually directed his passes towards Jones on deep throws. If USC wants to compete against elite offenses like Arizona, led by dual-threat quarterback Khalil Tate, USC’s cornerbacks will have to improve their coverage.
Games you should circle on your calendar:
- USC vs. Stanford, Sept. 8
After a warm-up match against UNLV, USC’s new skill position players will face Stanford’s tough defense. Stanford will be missing their top safety Justin Reid, but the Trojans will have to figure out their quarterback situation before taking on Stanford. USC will look towards receivers Tyler Vaughns, Michael Pittman Jr., and five-star commit Amon-Ra St. Brown to win the game for the Trojans.
2. USC at Arizona, Sept. 29
Arizona is coming into 2018 hot with their new head coach Kevin Sumlin, who used to coach the Texas A&M Aggies. Under Sumlin, A&M was 86–43 and led the Aggies to their first top-five finish in over 50 years. Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate shined last year, rushing for 1325 yards in only nine games. USC will have to have their defensive line and linebacker core step up in order to win this tough test in the desert.
3. USC vs. Notre Dame, Nov. 24
If the Trojans are successful through their first 11 games of the season, this game could have national title implications. The Fighting Irish will continue to have a tough defense with the return of linebacker Te’von Coney and defensive tackle Jerry Tillery. The Trojans could not get past the Irish in 2017 after a 49–14 blowout in October. The Trojans will need to be in perfect form by November and hope that they do not have as many injuries as their 2017 team. With a Week 6 bye, the Trojans will have an opportunity to rest, unlike the Trojans Week 13 bye in 2017.
Prediction: USC 9–3, losses to Stanford, Arizona, Notre Dame
