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Video: Allen Bradford and Damian Williams Bye Week Interview

Allen and Damian talk about Cal and their preparation for Notre Dame.

TNYC: Thoughts on Washington State Win

Here are some random thoughts on the win:

- It was a win, but a frustrating one.  The 1st quarter started smoothly with a quick 3-and-out from Wazzu followed by a quick TD from SC, but then 3 holding penalties, 1 offsides, 1 personal foul, and 1 roughing the kicker happened.  Let's not even talk about the 3rd quarter...

- Nice to see Brice Butler get his 1st career TD.  There was a overhead shot during the broadcast and you could see Brice start from the slot, move inside on the safety and then get nice separation off the break on the corner route; the defender really had no chance on the play.  You can watch Brice talk about the play here.

- Matt Barkley's throw to Damian Williams on the 3rd TD was a thing of beauty and the play of the day.  The anticipation and quick-decision showed why he is so highly-regarded.  If you look at the play, Matt drops back looking left, checks off, makes a split-second decision to throw to Damian, and then delivers a perfect touch pass (while getting hit) over the Wazzu linebackers' heads and between the safeties.

Credit also goes to Coach Bates/Morton for calling a great play.  In post-game interviews, the coaches/players talked about seeing large gaps in the middle of the field while studying game tapes last week.  If you watch the play closely, the formation is trips right and 1 receiver to the left; off the snap every receiver runs a streak up field, but the key to the play is the SC tackles let the ends run by them and Joe McKnight, rather than block, jumps forward to mimic a screen play which causes Wazzu's linebackers to bite and take a step forward allowing Damian to run right by them and split the safeties. Great play all-around.

- Want to talk about a player doing work?  Nick Perry has 6 sacks already playing limited minutes.  He is currently the Pac-10 leader in the category.  Nick just has that sixth sense for getting to the quarterback; he set a Michigan state record with 36 sacks in 2007 as a HS senior.

- Some prospects that showed up for Saturday's game:  Sharrif Floyd (official visit), Ronald Powell, Robert Woods, George Farmer, Marquis Lee, George Uko, Dietrich Riley, Dion Bailey, Joshua Shaw, Antwaun Woods, Demetrius Wright, and more.  The list of visitors could literally make up one side of a HS All-American game.

- Some big injuries from the game: Hebron Fangupo (broken fibula) and Marshall Jones (cracked vertebra) are out for the season.  Jordan Campbell also sprained his ankle and Garrett Green suffered a concussion.

- Have to give props to my man Allen Bradford for running pissed off all game. His stiff-arm on the run in the 2nd quarter was vicious.  Allen NEEDS MORE CARRIES.

Onto Cal, which should be an interesting game.  My head says this game should match up well for SC since we usually win against teams that rely heavily on the run, but considering how undisciplined and inconsistent our offense has looked, it's hard for me to feel confident.  Despite Cal's beatdown last week, this game still deserves a lot of hype, since it essentially makes or breaks both teams' seasons.  It should be a tough one.

Spring Practice - Day 1

Based on reports it looks like Allen Bradford was one of the stars of the day.  Dan Weber of PE.com says Allen looked noticeably quicker than he has in the past two years.  That's great news because I'm a big fan of Allen and hope he gets some PT this year.  I still would love to see him on the defensive side of the ball cause he hits like a MAC truck, but if the coaches feel offensive is where he'll succeed, then I'll trust their judgment. 

Another player that seems to be getting a lot of buzz is Damian Williams, the WR transfer from Arkansas.  As I've mentioned before, I've seen Damian several times and thought he was really impressive.  Mark Sanchez sums up why I think he's going to be a star in the making, "He can find windows in a defense and feel where the quarterback's eyes are," Sanchez said. "And he's got great spatial awareness, so he's going to be a great tool for us."  That's one of the most immediate things I noticed.  He looks very controlled on the field and knows where to find the empty spots on the field.  Last player, I saw excel at that was Mike Williams. 

Various reports say all 3 quarterbacks looked sharp today, so after day 1, the score is 2 points for Mark, 1 point for Mitch, and no points for Aaron.  On a bad note, it looks like Averell Spicer will be out for Spring with a knee injury.  I've heard lot of great things about Christian Tupou, so that should elevate the competition.  Overall seems like a pretty solid day for the team.

Damian Williams Interview

From SCPlaybook.com:

Q: USC has a lot of very talented receivers on the roster. How do you see yourself fitting into the rotation?

A: I am just going to try and be an all-around guy and try and fit in wherever they need me to play. I will learn the playbook and try and learn all three positions so hopefully wherever the gap is they will throw me in there. Eventually maybe I will make it to a starting spot. That’s what we are all out here for, to try and make that starting spot.

Q: How would you describe your style as a wide receiver and what would you say is the strength of your game?

A: I like to be pretty well-rounded. I am pretty intelligent so it's easier for me to pick up things like learning coverages and stuff like that. Basically if you can read the coverages and you know what to do you will make it on the field at some point and then my athleticism can take over from there. I just basically try to get on the field and produce. That’s all I ever try to do.

Every time I've seen Damian, I've walked away impressed.  He isn't as explosive as RoJo, tall as Patrick Turner, or physically built as David Ausberry, but he's just a solid all-around receiver.  Not sure if he'll be able to crack the starting line-up this year, but he'll definitely see some time on the field.  Worth reading the rest of the interview here.