USC Athletics

The banged up Trojans held several players out in an attempt to get healthy for undefeated Cal.

• USC head coach Clay Helton broke his injury list into three categories: significant work, limited and held. Significant work: DL Liam Jimmons, DL Marlon Tuipulotu, LB Juliano Falaniko, RT Chuma Edoga, and WR Michael Pittman Jr. Limited: LB John Houston Jr., RB Ronald Jones II, and WR Keyshawn Young. Held: DL Rasheem Green, CB Ajene Harris, OLB Porter Gustin, WR Joseph Lewis IV, and WR Steven Mitchell.


• Helton on the lengthy injury list: "If it was a year ago, I'd be really worried right now. We stayed healthy with our ones last year. I look at our depth right now and I see guys like Christian Rector going in, and [Oluwole Betiku] going in and Connor Murphy going in making plays. Even Tyler Vaughns is starting to show life, making four big catches for us in the game the other day. Our twos are stepping up."


• Vaughns had an opportunity to be the hero in the second overtime, but the game-winning TD was jarred loose as he hit the ground. "I always want it. I thought I made the play, but it is what it is," Vaughns said about the play. "I always have the fire in me. I'm waiting for my opportunity. And that was my opportunity right there, so I just took it and tried to run with it."


• While Deontay Burnett has been as good as any receiver in the country, there are plenty of opportunities for other receivers to step up in this offense. "We just had a little off day, that's it," Vaughns said about the units performance against Texas. "That's the most drops we've had in a minute. Each of us receivers that played, we all had one drop I believe. That was just a fluke, it won't happen again."


• In the biggest moment of the game, the offensive coaches dialed up a pass to freshman RB Stephen Carr. "I've always believed in trust, trust your kids and they'll get the job done for you," Helton said about going to the freshman in a big spot. "You're the coach. You've trained them. You better trust them."


• QB Sam Darnold was at his improvisational best on the jump pass. "On that play, I knew I was hot from the left and I wanted to move up so I could have a chance to get it to him and as I moved up I realized Nico [Falah] was getting pushed back and I didn't have that much room and if I kind of stood on the ground, I would have to lob it over a huge defender with his hands up so I thought I would jump and when I jumped, I noticed Stephen wasn't looking at me and so I tried to lob it over and thank god he turned around in time and caught the pass. Right when I let go of it, he turned around," Darnold explained.


• Darnold has become the undisputed leader of this offense. "I would say it's been more vocal," he said about his leadership style this year. "I am still trying to lead by example and all that, but [I'm] definitely more comfortable talking to the guys. It was funny because last year when we had a bunch of seniors who were here four years prior to me, I was super nervous trying to talk to them all at once. So now that I am in my third year here, it's easier to just talk to everyone. I think I have the respect of everyone on this team and it's nice to just be able to talk to them whenever I need to."


• The USC QB took some big hits on Saturday as the offensive line struggled to deal with a talented Texas front. Freshman RT Andrew Vorhees was thrown right into the fire after Chuma Edoga left with an injury. "I felt comfortable, especially getting a couple reps in the Western Michigan and the Stanford game," Vorhees said. "Not any nerves on my part. Just kept my poise and went out there and did what I've been doing for the past nine months."


• While Vorhees is a true freshman, he has benefited from getting to campus a semester early. "Especially the background I'm from -- a smaller high school program and then coming into a huge program like USC -- coming in early definitely helped me out. It helped me progress as a football player and academically as well."


• Former USC RB Hershel Dennis attended practice today.