Film Review: Can USC build on its OL progress from last week?

With USC getting diminishing returns from its offensive line in previous weeks, OL coach Josh Henson decided it was time for change last weekend and flipped Mason Murphy inside to right guard with Jarrett Kingston moving out to right tackle.

The result? The Trojans' running backs averaged 9.75 yards per carry (albeit on only 12 attempts) and quarterback Caleb Williams had noticeably better protection despite still taking 3 sacks.

"I thought it worked well. I think you look at the results and it kind of showed," Henson said. "I just thought Mason probably of all the guys that could have moved inside, with the experience level of what we need, had the best ability to lower his hips and play with power on the interior. We kind of made the decision we were going to move him inside because we needed more power, and then the decision was between who to start outside. That was a tough decision -- at the end of the day we went with Jarrett and that's what we'll go with until something changes."

Why USC abandoned the run game after early success -- especially with MarShawn Lloyd getting just 2 carries after the first quarter despite rushing for 86 yards on 7 attempts for the game -- is a question that never got a great answer this week.

But the production in the run game in that limited sample size was encouraging.

"I felt like, No. 1, we just got some better push up front," Henson said. "I thought we did a good job of holding our own physically against Utah, who is a physical football team -- they've got mass and size and play well with their hands. And No. 2, once we got going I just felt like there was a certain level of confidence that developed from us playing better."

Murphy said there was some adjustment to playing inside but also some positives to the change.

"Everything just happens faster. Everything's right in front of your face, and at tackle you have a little bit more time to react to certain things, but at guard everything just happens right in front of you. That was probably the biggest adjustment," Murphy said. "I like pass blocking at guard a lot more because it's just easier because it's right in front of you, but I like run blocking at tackle a lot more."

So does he see this as a permanent position change?

"I'm just here to play my role -- whatever the coach needs from me, I'm going to do it," he said.

Kingston, meanwhile, was one of the PFF's highest-graded offensive linemen last season at Washington State while playing left tackle (although he played left guard in previous years for the Cougars).

"I told coach, 'It was like a breath of fresh air.' I played tackle for most of the season last year," Kingston said. "... I have the power side too, but I feel like I'm more athletic so I can work in the space that tackle has because it's more space than guard."

Said Henson: "I think it's kind of like back to old hat for him. ... You kind of instinctively know what to do when different things happen when you've been doing that [in the past], so yeah, I think there's a high level of comfort for him there."

The question is can USC sustain its improvements up front?

First, we look back at the offensive line performance against Utah in more detail ...

(Note, PFF grades on a scale of 0-100 with the mid-70s reflecting above average performance, the 80s very good performance and grades in the 90s are rare and elite.)

LT Jonah Monheim (64 snaps): This was the performance we expect from Monheim. He had his struggles against the speed rush, but most of the time he was able to drive the defenders past the quarterback. This was a promising performance, especially against one of the better defensive fronts they will see.

PFF grade vs. Utah: 69.8 overall, 68.1 run blocking / 81.9 pass blocking

Stats: 2 pressures (including 1 sack) and 1 penalty

LG Emmanuel Pregnon (64 snaps): Even though nothing changed over on his side of the offensive line, this was one of his better performances of the year. He continues to get better at driving his defenders off the line of scrimmage to the point where he is almost doing it consistently. That is something USC was missing last year. He had some trouble not being able to continue the block when the ball-carrier was around him, but when he's driving defenders down the field, it’s a minimum of a 5-yard gain.

PFF grade vs. Utah: 68.4 overall, 73.2 run blocking / 79.2 pass blocking

Stats: 1 pressure and 1 penalty

C Justin Dedich (64 snaps): Dedich didn’t do a lot to really shine, but he didn’t do anything to be very detrimental to this team. That what the Trojans want him to do. He isn’t the biggest lineman in the group but he can be a great leader. That what USC needs Dedich to be -- don’t do anything too bad and they will be all right.

PFF grade vs. Utah: 67.5 overall, 58.7 run blocking / 86.6 pass blocking

Stats: 0 pressures or penalties

RG Mason Murphy (63 snaps): The big switch was moving Murphy from right tackle to right guard and it worked. It did indeed seem like there was more push off the line of scrimmage and not a lot of defenders leaking into the backfield. The Trojans didn’t run a ton toward his side of the ball, but the pass protection was so much cleaner this week. Most of the time, the offensive line kept the defenders at the line of scrimmage, which is really impressive. It seems like they knew who the best five offensive linemen were -- they just didn’t know where to play them.

PFF grade vs. Utah: 58.0 overall, 52.9 run blocking / 85.1 pass blocking

Stats: 1 pressure and 1 penalty

RT Jarrett Kingston (64 snaps): This is the Jarrett Kingston USC expected when he transferred to the school. He certainly looked more at home at the tackle position. He had some trouble with the speed rush, but that’s a pass rush skill he hasn’t had to deal with at guard. He looked really natural at pulling to the other side of the line and making crucial blocks. Kingston was just a better lineman at the tackle position and that’s something to be hopeful for down the road for this group. I just wish they would have made this move after the Arizona State game, when the group struggled against a defensive line that wasn’t very good.

PFF grade vs. Utah: 73.3 overall, 67.8 run blocking / 79.1 pass blocking