Clay Helton, Graham Harrell downplay questions on Kedon Slovis' mechanics
In what has become the most unexpected subplot of USC's already unusual football season, the questions continued Tuesday for coach Clay Helton and offensive coordinator Graham Harrell about quarterback Kedon Slovis' arm.
Slovis' stats are just fine -- the sophomore completed 30 of 43 passes for 325 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions Saturday at Arizona and is averaging 353 passing yards through two games with 3 TDs and 1 INT. Albeit in a smaller sample size than the other QBs, he ranks sixth nationally in passing yards per game.
But it's been hard not to notice that Slovis has thrown a significant number of wobbly, fluttering passes that were not characteristic to his breakout freshman season.
So after addressing it Saturday following the 34-30 win over Arizona as well as Sunday night, Helton was asked again Tuesday about Slovis' arm and whether there is a mechanical issue at play.
"Again, I addressed this on Sunday night, but I'll do it again. In visiting with Kedon postgame, it had to do more with just the tackiness of the ball. I don't know if you've ever thrown a ball that's really slick in dry air, in windy air, and just having the grip on it. Didn't feel confident with that," Helton said. "He had some new balls out there, some slick balls, and he was managing through that. Once you put your game balls in, those are there. But the balls were a little bit newer and didn't feel great in his hand and he managed to work through it.
"And typical him, 70% and 300 yards-plus. If that's our off day, so be it. We actually worked with him last night in getting a group of candidate footballs that he really likes and feels good in his hand. I think it is a one-time thing that you'll see. When you have that slick ball in your hand sometimes and you're not confident, it will change your mechanics a little bit. But he spun it as pretty as I've ever seen last night. ... So I don't think you'll ever hear about it ever again after this game. He spun it as good as I've seen last night."
The mechanics question comes from Slovis' own comments after the game Saturday when he said his arm feels "great" while adding "I think at times my mechanics get sloppy."
Harrell also dismissed any mechanical concerns with the QB on Tuesday.
"There's nothing wrong with Kedon's mechanics. I don't know where he pulled that out of. I watch him throw every day and it's not a mechanic thing, that's for certain," Harrell said. "And so I'm not concerned about mechanics at all, to be honest with you. Obviously, the ball didn't spin. I think the ball slipped out of his hand once and then it got in his head. And that's just something that quarterbacks and certain positions in certain sports can be headcases at times, get in their own head, like coach said, even like pitchers or certain positions in certain sports. ...
"So I think more than anything it kind of got in his head because I think early on a ball slipped out of his hand and then he thought about it too much. But there's nothing wrong with Kedon's mechanics."
For all the questions, the results are the results -- Slovis was 13-of-14 passing (with a Bru McCoy drop) for 143 yards and a score in USC’s final two touchdown drives to lead a late charge at Arizona, after leading another late rally in the opener vs. Arizona State and throwing the game-winning 21-yard touchdown pass to Drake London.
Nonetheless, it will remain a subplot Saturday as the Trojans head to Utah, but it's a luxury for the program if that's the biggest question concerning the quarterback position.
