Donte Williams says QB Jaxson Dart 'looks ready to go' but role is unclear

USC interim head coach Donte Williams was more direct about his intention for gamesmanship this week, when it came to questions about freshman quarterback Jaxson Dart's potential role behind starter Kedon Slovis.

Instead of playing coy about Dart's availability, as he has in past weeks, Williams simply made it clear he doesn't see fit to give Arizona any heads up as to his plans.

"We're going to do what we need to do to win this particular ball game, whether that's playing two quarterbacks, whether that's just one playing the whole game or whatever the case may be. It's more for Arizona to figure out, not for us," he said. "We know what's going on for this team, for us. We're not going to help our opponent in any shape, form or fashion."

Even if that gamesmanship is being deployed for an 0-7 Arizona team, the intent can be appreciated, especially as it came with more clarity than usual as to Dart's actual health status.

Speaking Thursday morning in his regular Zoom call with reporters, Williams said Dart "looks fine to me, he looks ready to go."

In response to a follow-up question related to his comment last week that Dart had been cleared but wasn't fully available against Notre Dame, Williams expounded on the QB's status.

"I believe he is [fully available], fully more prepared. Last week, like I said, he had one full day to practice and he was only cleared for emergency use," Williams said.

All that leaves is the question as to how the Trojans plan to involve the impressive freshman QB -- if at all -- as they host Arizona in the Coliseum on Saturday.

Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell didn't drop any hints either regarding those plans.

Both he and Williams talked in a more general sense about the value of getting Dart -- or possibly fellow freshman Miller Moss -- more work over the rest of the season.

"He's definitely one of our quarterbacks for the future. We have multiple. Kedon's now getting to the point where he's a little older, he's going to move on to the next step for him in football. Jaxson, I would like to continue to see him get development, whether it's in the offense, throwing the ball, making sure he has an understanding of the offense and just controlling this team," Williams said. "Because one day soon it'll probably be his team or he'll be battling for it to be his team."

Said Harrell: "You can't replace any experience, but I think game experience and game reps, there's definitely no replication for that. Getting those guys in there would be great for their development. And like I said, they both have the potential to be really good players here."

Dart, who captured fans' attention when he came off the bench at Washington State in Week 3 to pass for 391 yards, 4 TDs and 2 INTs in a lopsided win, is now more than five weeks removed from minor knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus sustained in the first half of that performance.

He continues to wear a brace during practice -- now a custom brace that's less bulky than the initial one -- but it doesn't seem to limit him. Dart not only took the second-team QB reps in practice this week, but he was rotated in here and there with the first unit (usually for just a play or two) during the Tuesday practice open to reporters.

He had also gone through an extended pregame warmup period Saturday at Notre Dame and looked natural throwing the ball.

Dart said he doesn't feel any hesitation as a result of the knee at this point.

"This weekend really helped me out, especially just when we were there, I tried to get as much treatment as I could before the game. I didn't really know what was going to happen with that, so I just really tried to stay on top of my therapy while I was there and all my swelling, all that has stayed really consistent and I'm feeling really good," he said Tuesday.

As for the limitations of the brace ...

"It took a little bit to get used to at the start. With the brace on it kind of restricts your motion a little bit. I really only felt it when I was like sprinting and that stuff. Throwing, it really hasn't changed too much," Dart said. "There's a couple things here and there, but I feel I've gotten used to it and I've thrown enough with it now that it kind of feels normal."

One reason the questions have persisted about whether Dart will have a role in this game or future games is because that was the plan heading into that Washington State game back in Week 3, even before Slovis sustained a neck injury on the opening series and was forced out.

Looking back on that Week 3 plan, though, Dart said he wasn't quite sure then what that role would have amounted to if Slovis had remained able to play the rest of the game.

"We didn't have too much discussion on how much I was going to play. I had a couple packages that I'd go in, and I had no idea when they were going to throw me in, so I had to just stay ready on the sideline, try to stay warm. Everything just came a lot sooner than I expected," he said.

Back then, it made sense to work Dart in as a red zone or short-yardage option given his true dual-threat abilities -- "It's just a different problem for a defense as far as a guy that can hand the ball off, can throw it, but he also can run it himself. That's just a problem when you have three options on every play," Williams said -- but it would be surprising if the coaching staff was eager to have him run the ball at this point and expose his knee to hits.

It will be interesting to see on Saturday what the coaches decide to do in that regard. It would also be interesting to know if they're all on the same page about what they should do.

Both Williams and Harrell were asked about the challenges of balancing the use of two QBs in a game.

"You know what, I don't think it's that hard. Because we've been a team that's actually played multiple offensive linemen whether it's in series or snaps, it's all positions that you switch up. It's actually maybe a little harder for other guys just because of the cadence or how guys do or handle the offense may be different than the other. Just when it comes to the read-zone game, the things that they might do with the particular offense," Williams said. "So once again I don't really think it's an issue for us, I think it's more of an issue for our opponent."

Said Harrell, meanwhile: "The toughest part is just keeping them both in a rhythm, and as a quarterback being in a rhythm is huge, so I think that would be the toughest part. It's just hard to keep both guys in a rhythm."