Saturday marked nearly one year to the day that JT Daniels appeared to have arrived at USC. He'd been through just one week of practice as a Trojan when he lit up the USC defense during a scrimmage at the Coliseum to the tune of four touchdown passes in just four series.
His performance this past weekend wasn't as celebrated or prolific, but it was just as pronounced in comparison to his peers. Daniels tossed three TDs in six drives while showing the firmest grasp of this new offense that we've seen from a USC quarterback during either spring or training camp.
When Clay Helton reviewed the film, it confirmed what he'd seen live -- namely, that Daniels is showing marked improvement in one key area since his rookie campaign last fall:
"Just getting the ball out even quicker," Helton said. "You can see him diagnosing things. It was evident on the tape that we saw of him seeing pressures and just not letting it get to him. Last year, sometimes, he could get fooled form time to time. Now he's seeing those pressures and he's really getting the ball out before kids can get anywhere near him."
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I counted 30 dropbacks for Daniels in the scrimmage and just four pressures. Two came from Drake Jackson, and they forced incomplete passes. Another led Daniels to scramble. The other was a sack that nullified a long TD pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
