USC ends spring practices with no decision on starting quarterback
Quarterback Max Browne looks for an open receiver during USC’s spring game. Browne completed seven of 11 passes for 114 yards and three touchfowns with no interceptions.
The bass throbbed and the music wailed, and Max Browne, standing in front of a wall of speakers, had a substantial throng of reporters to attend to after USC’s spring game Saturday.
He tried talking, but it turned into a yell. So he directed the gaggle upfield, not unlike how he’ll command an offense on the same Coliseum field next season. Or hopes to, at least.
In a quieter space now, he addressed USC’s quarterback competition in an indoor voice.
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“My goal was to win the job at the end of spring,” he said. “Didn’t happen. But not the end of the world.”
In a race with freshman Sam Darnold, Browne has nursed a lead all spring. He started Saturday’s exhibition — a situational scrimmage rather than a full-out game — with the first team. He attracted the biggest media horde afterward.
But, it seems likely now, USC Coach Clay Helton will not name a starter until the fall.
Browne said Helton huddled with the quarterbacks this week and told them he has the luxury of having “two NFL quarterbacks.”
On Saturday, Helton announced Browne is still in the lead, but he didn’t see a great separation between the pair. He plans to review film on Sunday and convene a meeting with the quarterbacks on Monday, where he’ll probably announce the competition will extend into fall camp, though he could still name a starter then, he said.
But both quarterbacks spoke as if Monday would not produce a decision.
Each did his part on Saturday. Browne had three touchdowns, Darnold two. For Browne, a would-be fourth was dropped by Steven Mitchell Jr. Browne completed seven of 11 passes for 114 yards and Darnold six of seven for 63 yards.
“I absolutely loved how the quarterbacks played today,” Helton said.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, who caught touchdown passes from both quarterbacks, compared their strengths afterward.
“Darnold’s balls are a lot faster,” Smith-Schuster said. “It’s more like — have you ever seen Aaron Rodgers throw the ball? How fast the ball just goes there? That’s what it is.”
Browne, he said, can hoist deep balls that could make USC dangerous vertically. Browne’s first pass of the day was a play-action strike to Darreus Rogers for a 64-yard touchdown. His pass to Smith-Schuster was a 38-yard launch over the safety for another score.
“You could see it today,” Smith-Schuster said. “He has the arm strength to put it over guys.”
Jefferson scare
Team drills had lasted all of one play, and already, it was on the verge of disaster. Defensive tackle Noah Jefferson walked off the field, holding his left elbow.
On the sideline, trainers soon cocooned his arm in a sling, and he did not return.
USC had limited its spring game to a series of situational drills to avoid this specific scenario. Its attrition-tattered defensive line had already lost Kenny Bigelow Jr. for the season, and it could not afford another loss. Now, here was Jefferson, a projected starter, down early.
It was, Helton hopes, a false alarm. He said Jefferson hyperextended his elbow, “nothing, I don’t think, that’s going to be serious,” Helton said.
But it underscored how fragile this unit could be for much of the season.
“It wasn’t worth the risk of bringing him back out so we held him,” said Helton.
Quick hits
Wide receiver Ajene Harris played both offense and defense to provide depth at cornerback. … Helton said Justin Davis ended spring practice as the favorite to start at running back. … Jake Olson, USC’s blind long snapper, was guided to the line of scrimmage during USC’s field-goal period near the end of practice. The crowd cheered. He reached for the ball, then flicked two clean snaps to the holder. “To hit two dead on the money? How special a kid is he,” Helton said. … Incoming Athletic Director Lynn Swann gave an on-field interview during the practice. He indicated he’d prefer to keep a low profile on the job. An athletic director, he said, is “like an offensive lineman. You only hear my name when something goes wrong.” … Toya Martin, wife of offensive coordinator Tee Martin, sang the national anthem.
Follow Zach Helfand on Twitter @zhelfand
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