USC was on the field for the Trojans\u2019 tenth practice of spring ball Thursday. Here are some key notes, takeaways and news from the practice.<\/p>\n
USC sophomore cornerback Domani Jackson<\/a><\/strong> spoke to the media for the first time since his arrival at USC. The former five-star prospect missed nearly his entire senior season of high school and dealt with the fallout from knee surgery throughout his true freshman season. It was evident in how he spoke today, just how difficult last year was for Jackson that he couldn\u2019t see the field regularly.<\/p>\n Jackson said he still doesn\u2019t quite feel all the way back to his peak speed yet. But he said he feels great and this spring has \u201cbeen real fun\u201d compared to last spring, when he couldn\u2019t participate.<\/p>\n Jackson said he had to completely rebuild trust in that repaired knee. He said the ability to have confidence in that \u201cplays a big role\u201d in an athlete\u2019s play on the field.<\/p>\n The biggest area of growth he\u2019s seen since arriving at USC is his understanding of defensive schemes. He said in high school he was able to be a dominant player simply by being more physical and faster than everybody else.<\/p>\n \u201cCollege is a different story,\u201d Jackson said, adding that he tries to stay after just about every practice to work with cornerbacks coach Donte Williams on cleaning up any issues he might have had during that practice.<\/p>\n Anthony Lucas<\/a><\/strong> is listed at 6-foot-5, 295 pounds on the USC roster this spring. That weight number seemed high based on the eye test. Lucas said Thursday that he\u2019s at 270 pounds right now. And not unexpectedly, he added that he\u2019s working right now at both defensive end and rush end. He and Solomon Tuliaupupu<\/a><\/strong> are both doing that.<\/p>\n Lucas said there isn\u2019t much difference for him doing those roles compared to what he was doing at Texas A&M last year. He said he played both defensive end and the Buck position with the Aggies.<\/p>\n Lucas continues to impress his teammates. Linebacker Raesjon Davis<\/a><\/strong> said Lucas is coming off the edge as \u201cthe biggest dude on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just wreaking havoc every day,\u201d Davis said of Lucas.<\/p>\n Anthony Lucas isn\u2019t the only guy moving around on the defensive line. Position coach Shaun Nua praised Jack Sullivan for his versatility. Sullivan has the ability to play on the end and the interior of the defensive line. Nua called him a \u201cgreat addition.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVery mature, very professional,\u201d Nua said. \u201cHe knows exactly the expectation and he\u2019s ready to embrace it,\u201d<\/p>\n Cornerback Ceyair Wright<\/a><\/strong> and nickel Jaylin Smith<\/a><\/strong> have both earned significant praise from Lincoln Riley this spring. On Thursday, they each echoed Riley\u2019s comments as to why they\u2019ve taken that step forward. Both credited playing time last year and the experience gained as why they\u2019re playing with an increased level of confidence this spring.<\/p>\n Wright and Latrell McCutchin<\/a><\/strong> are getting a majority of reps at the nickel spot now as Max Williams<\/a><\/strong> has shifted back to safety for the time being.<\/p>\n It\u2019s tough to tell who all has earned the Trojan logo on their helmets and \u201cGold Plated\u201d status this spring. So many of the Trojans are wearing the Guardian pads that cover their helmets. But on Thursday, quarterback Caleb Williams<\/a><\/strong>, wide receiver Tahj Washington<\/a><\/strong>, safety Bryson Shaw<\/a><\/strong>, cornerback Ceyair Wright and long snapper Jac Casasante<\/a><\/strong> were all sporting them. It appeared kicker Denis Lynch<\/a><\/strong> may have earned his after the practice.<\/p>\n They certainly aren\u2019t the only ones who have earned them.<\/p>\n Jaylin Smith offered praise for both of the Branch brothers after practice. He called fellow safety Zion Branch<\/a><\/strong> a \u201cgreat athlete\u201d and a \u201craw talent.\u201d He went a little bigger with wide receiver Zachariah Branch<\/a><\/strong>, calling him a \u201cone-of-a-kind\u201d athlete. Both are expected to make sizable impacts this season. And it\u2019s impossible not to notice how many players bring up Zachariah Branch when asked about offensive players standing out this spring.<\/p>\n The post Key Takeaways from USC Spring Ball Practice 10<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" USC was on the field for the Trojans\u2019 tenth practice of spring ball Thursday. Here…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Anthony Lucas Working at Rush End and Defensive End<\/h2>\n
Shaun Nua on Jack Sullivan<\/h2>\n
Confidence from the Defensive Backs<\/h2>\n
Gold Plated Trojans<\/h2>\n
Praise for the Branch Brothers<\/h2>\n