Tag: USC

USC WR Michael Pittman Jr. open to reunion with Sam Darnold

At the Senior Bowl down in Mobile, Alabama, former USC WR Michael Pittman Jr. says that he would love to reunite with Sam Darnold.

The Jets don’t have many selling points, but their soon to be third-year quarterback is definitely one of them. Michael Pittman Jr., who was teammates with Sam Darnold at the University of Southern California, certainly thinks so.

Pittman played with Darnold in 2016 and 2017 as he began his collegiate career. In his first two seasons, Pittman had 29 receptions for 486 yards and two touchdowns.

“That would be great,” Pittman said of a reunion, according to the New York Post. “Sammy D was like one of the best quarterbacks I’ve ever played with. He’s just a straight gamer. He is a young quarterback that has 10-15 years left. That would be nice to have that run with him.”

Pittman is coming off a breakout season in which he caught 101 passes for 1,275 yards and 11 touchdowns. His excellent senior season earned him an invitation to this week’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. With the Jets in need of receivers, Pittman could be someone that New York sets its sights on come Day 2 of April’s draft.

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay listed Pittman as one of his top five wide receivers in April’s draft

“He’s big. He’s 6-foot-4. He’s 220 pounds,” McShay said via 247 Sports. “He just looks the part of the wide receiver that you are looking for in the NFL. He doesn’t have great speed, but what he does so well is separate late and create yards after the catch because he’s so strong and he’s so focused as a player. He has 95 catches this year for USC. They’ve had a lot of problems offensively, I get it but Pittman, to me, is one of the best five wide receivers in this upcoming NFL Draft.”

Pittman would be a nice addition to a team lacking a true No. 1 threat at wide receiver. He would be welcomed with open arms and it certainly helps that he has a rapport with the starting quarterback.

Former Texas Defensive Coordinator Todd Orlando named USC’s DC

After being hired by Texas Tech to be the LB coach, Todd Orlando has been hired by USC as their DC. He will be replacing Clancy Pendergast.

Nine days after being hired by Texas Tech to be their linebackers coach, Todd Orlando has left the Red Raiders in favor of taking the defensive coordinator job at Southern California. This being his first job in the Pac 12, Orlando will be replacing Clancy Pendergast in Los Angeles.

The Trojans defense struggled in 2019, giving up 29.4 points per game this season. Giving up over 400 yards a game, teams were able to run all over USC last season, letting up 162.8 rushing yards per game. The final straw for Pendergast came in the bowl game against Iowa, where the Hawkeyes scored 49 points.

This will be Orlando’s fifth different defensive coordinator job. It will be an uphill climb for him though, as USC has had a difficult time recruiting, ranking 10th in the conference.

Hopefully for Orlando, his defense will suite the Pac 12 better than it did in the Big 12. The Trojans are a ticking time bomb, being on the brink of firing their head coach Clay Helton. If Orlando can improve the defense, maybe USC won’t have to make any of those moves.

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Eagles OC coordinator candidate Graham Harrell to remain at Southern Cal

Graham Harrell expected to stay at USC as Eagles continue search for offensive coordinator

The Philadelphia Eagles search for an offensive coordinator will continue on, as Graham Harrell reportedly will remain at USC according to Bruce Feldman.

Harrell is bowing out of the process days after Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks coach James Urban interviewed with the Eagles, and then opted to remain in Baltimore with the Ravens.

Internal candidates for the position vacated by Mike Groh include Eagles running backs coach/assistant head coach Duce Staley and possibly quarterbacks coach Press Taylor.

Pete Carroll’s son is a candidate for Hawaii head coaching job

Brennan Carroll, a longtime Seattle Seahawks assistant and son of head coach Pete Carroll, is a candidate to be Hawaii’s next head coach.

Seattle Seahawks assistant offensive line coach Brennan Carroll, son of head coach Pete Carroll, has emerged as a candidate for Hawaii’s head coaching vacancy, according to Fox Sports reporter Bruce Feldman.

Hawaii is in need of a new head coach after Nick Rolovich replaced Mike Leach at Washington State University, after Leach left for Mississippi State.

Carroll played tight end at the University of Pittsburgh from 1999-2001 before joining USC as a Graduate Assistant in 2002, under his dad.

Carroll ended up serving a variety of different roles while at USC, including tight end coach and eventually recruiting coordinator, before he was let go by new coach Lane Kiffin, who came in to replace Pete Carroll after he went to Seattle.

Carroll then spent four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Miami, coaching tight ends and wide receivers while also leading the recruiting charge, before he joined the Seahawks in 2015 as an assistant offensive line coach, a role he still holds today – for now.

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Notre Dame’s Highest “Top Early Top 25” Ranking We’ve Seen

The Irish also come in one spot behind Florida who is fresh-off an Orange Bowl victory and 11-2 season.

We tend to react when national college voices weigh in on Notre Dame gets mentioned, whether it’s good or bad.

This week you’ve seen us post a few different “Too Early Top 25” rankings that various college football writers have offered.  We reacted to one by considering firing it into the sun while the other we dissected, we pretty much fell in line with.

Now we have one that has ranked Notre Dame higher than any we’ve seen this week.

From Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde:

9. Notre Dame

There are two attractive but difficult additions to the schedule: Clemson at home and Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. Those are in addition to games at USC and Pittsburgh. But with Ian Book and most of the offensive line returning, Brian Kelly has some building blocks. There are a lot of good players to replace on defense. The recruiting consistency of the Fighting Irish will come into play there.

Notre Dame coming in at nine placed them a spot ahead of national champion LSU which may come as a shock to some.  The Irish also come in one spot behind Florida who is fresh-off an Orange Bowl victory and 11-2 season.

Three 2020 Notre Dame opponents show up on the list with Clemson being top-rated in the nation and Wisconsin checking in at 13 and USC at 16.  Simple logic leads you to understand why the November 7 showdown with Clemson could very easily be the biggest game at Notre Dame Stadium since The Game of the Century versus Florida State in 1993.

Slovis Named FWAA Freshman All-American

USC’s backup QB Kedon Slovis was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America The 6-2, 200 pound, 3-star recruit from Scottsdale, Arizona is the first true freshman in USC history to achieve this honor Slovis threw for a total of 3,502 yards and 30 touchdowns with a completion rate of 71.9

USC’s backup QB Kedon Slovis was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America The 6-2, 200 pound, 3-star recruit from Scottsdale, Arizona is the first true freshman in USC history to achieve this honor Slovis threw for a total of 3,502 yards and 30 touchdowns with a completion rate of 71.9

Slovis Named FWAA Freshman All-American

USC’s backup QB Kedon Slovis was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America The 6-2, 200 pound, 3-star recruit from Scottsdale, Arizona is the first true freshman in USC history to achieve this honor Slovis threw for a total of 3,502 yards and 30 touchdowns with a completion rate of 71.9

USC’s backup QB Kedon Slovis was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America The 6-2, 200 pound, 3-star recruit from Scottsdale, Arizona is the first true freshman in USC history to achieve this honor Slovis threw for a total of 3,502 yards and 30 touchdowns with a completion rate of 71.9

Tennessee adds graduate transfer wide receiver from USC

Tennessee adds graduate transfer wide receiver from USC.

KNOXVILLE — Only one week removed from a Gator Bowl victory over Indiana, it has already been a productive offseason for Tennessee football.

The Vols added another piece to their team on Thursday, as former USC wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. announced on his Twitter account that he will transfer to Tennessee to play out his final season of eligibility.

A native of Saraland, Ala., Jones was recruited heavily by Butch Jones and his staff to Tennessee, but elected to go to the west coast and play for USC. Current Tennessee wide receivers coach Tee Martin recruited Jones to Los Angeles as part of the 2016 recruiting class when Martin was on Clay Helton’s offensive staff.

As a three-star prospect on the 247 Sports Composite, Jones was rated the No. 79 wide receiver in his class, and held offers from schools such as Georgia, Michigan, Oklahoma and Florida.

Jones had a limited role in USC’s offense, catching just 36 passes for 347 yards and one touchdown through three seasons, as well as an eight-yard touchdown run against Arizona State. The Trojans often utilized his speed, however, particularly in the kick return game. He nearly reached 2,000 kick return yards with a 24-yard average and one kick return for a touchdown.

Jones comes to Tennessee in a week where the Vols welcome early enrollees on campus, bringing in offensive lineman Cade Mays as a transfer from Georgia and announce that offensive lineman Trey Smith will return for his senior season.

The new Volunteer also joins former Nebraska wideout Miles Jones as Tennessee transfers. Both players enter a wide receiver room that loses its top two players to the NFL Draft in Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway.

USC Dumped on by Iowa in Holiday Bowl

The part I think is as noteworthy as anything is that over the last two years where USC has especially hit the skids, their conference has for the most part been trash.

 

You hate to see it and I hate to say I told you so.

Actually, neither of those statements are true.

Watching USC lose in grand fashion on national television will never get old and I’ll never get tired of being right about things, the rare times I actually am.

Earlier this month I told all Notre Dame fans to get excited because Christmas came three weeks early in the form of USC retaining Clay Helton as their head football coach.

Since then they’ve recruited the 83rd ranked 2020 class per Rivals that consists of just one four or five-star player and now you can add getting sent to the moon by Iowa in the Holiday Bowl to that list.

Iowa dashed to a 28-17 halftime lead before the Trojans cut it to just a four point game early in the second half, but then the flood gates opened and Troy was swarmed by Hawkeyes instead of a wooden horse.

Iowa would score the final 21 points of the night, ending with a 49-24 victory over USC as the Trojans wrap up the season 8-5 and Iowa reaches the 10-win mark for the first time in four seasons.

USC will return a bunch of talent next year and because they’re USC, they’ll be in consideration for a top-20 spot in the pre-season rankings in all likelihood but here are some fast stats that should keep you from buying into this USC thing:

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New 2020 NFL mock draft has Bears addressing OL, CB in 2nd round

In Draft Wire’s latest mock draft, they have the Bears going offensive tackle and cornerback with their two selections in Round 2.

There’s just one game left for the Bears in what’s been a disappointing 2019 season, which means an early start to an offseason that will be pivotal for Chicago’s success in 2020.

General manager Ryan Pace has a lot of work to do, particularly on the offensive side of the football, and he’ll need to lean heavily on his six draft selections to find some future stars at a cheap price. Two of those picks come in the second round, where Pace needs to make them worth his while.

The Bears currently hold the 49th and 50th picks in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, as they got Oakland’s second-round pick (No. 50) in the Khalil Mack trade.

In Draft Wire’s latest mock draft, they have the Bears addressing two needs on offense and defense: Offensive line and cornerback.

With the 49th overall selection, they have the Bears targeting USC offensive tackle Austin Jackson. Jackson has started the past two seasons at left tackle for the Trojans. There are some mock drafts that have Jackson going in the first round, and his quickness and agility at 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds is impressive.

Then with the 50th pick, they have Chicago addressing the secondary with Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Johnson has been praised for his physicality and athletic build that allows him to stack up against bigger, physical receivers. He’s developed into a shutdown cornerback in his junior season with the Utes.

The Bears will once again be thin with draft selections this year, as they currently have just six following trades for Khalil Mack and David Montgomery in the past couple of seasons. Chicago has two picks in the second round, one in the fifth round, two in the sixth round and one in the seventh round.

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