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Published Oct 8, 2022
In-depth breakdown of USC's Week 5 offensive line performance
Jeff McCulloch  •  TrojanSports
Staff Writer
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@Rivals_Jeff

As we do each week, here was our assessment of the offensive line performance from our film review of the win over Arizona State last weekend:

(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.)

RT Jonah Monheim: This was another strong performance by Monheim even though his PFF ratings show otherwise. He had some trouble being overpowered at times and missed a few linebackers when pulling, but other than that he was an anchor on the right side of the offensive line. Monheim continues to get better with every rep. Even with Gino Quinones next to him instead of usual right guard Justin Dedich, he was able to help Quinones all day and seemed to be very comfortable with that job.

PFF grade vs. Arizona State: 59.8 overall, 59.2 run blocking/71.4 pass blocking

Stats: 1 Penalty (FALSE START), 4 QB hurries allowed

RG Gino Quinones: For this being the first start of his career, Quinones did a great job of holding his own. He had some trouble with being overpowered in the second half of the game, but in the first half he had no problem moving people around wherever he wanted them to go. Not sure why his pass-blocking grade is so significantly low. He was beaten a couple of times with a great swim move, but other than that he was just overpowered in the second half. With this being his first start, the Trojans have to be happy that they can count on him to play if Dedich has to sit out one more game because it was an adequate job by Quinones.

PFF grade vs. Arizona State: 56.4 overall, 64.6 run blocking/36.1 pass blocking

Stats: 1 Penalty (FALSE START), 4 QB hurries allowed

C Brett Neilon: This was a monster bounce-back game from a tough Oregon State performance for Neilon. After his worst performance last week (aside from the Neilon Nudge), he turns in his best outing of the season. Neilon’s biggest problem is he sometimes has a hard time driving defenders off the line. He does a great job of knowing his assignment and not getting beat by any moves the defenders throw at him. He just has a hard time with driving them off the line of scrimmage, causing running backs to bounce to the outside, where the help is for the defenders. That's sort of what Lincoln Riley hinted at in challenging Neilon to use his natural power better. He was better vs. the Sun Devils. Neilon also went to the second level once and completely missed his defender, who ended up making the play. Offensive linemen will never have a perfect game, it is just how few mistakes are they going to make.

PFF grade vs. Arizona State: 84.6 overall, 80.9 run blocking/83.7 pass blocking

Stats: No pressure allowed

LG Andrew Vorhees: Vorhees also had a good performance as he only had trouble with the run game. He was pretty much flawless when it came to pass pro. But oe often has a hard time keeping the defender blocked on run plays, as in the defenders often find a way to slip his block to make a play on the ball carrier. That is something that will need to be cleaned up in practice.

PFF grade vs. Arizona State: 68.9 overall, 70.3 run blocking/86.2 pass blocking

Stats: 1 penalty (HOLDING), no pressures allowed

LT Bobby Haskins: Haskins had another incredible game at left tackle. His true issue in this game was the speed rush. The way to beat the speed rush is to ride the rush past the quarterback because the speed rush will eventually have to slow down to make the cut towards the ball carrier. Haskins did that almost every single time. If the quarterback has to step up in the pocket, that is OK. It seems clear that he has taken full advantage of Courtland Ford having the injury as Haskins has had back-to-back good games. The Trojans will still likely rotate Ford in at left tackle, but it seems like it is Haskins' job to lose.

PFF grade vs. Arizona State: 72.6 overall, 64.8 run blocking/86.0 pass blocking

Stats: No pressures allowed

LT Courtland Ford: Ford only played 15 snaps this game and he didn’t come out due to his injury. He had that bad of a game. Ford had trouble moving his feet on pass protection, causing defenders to run right past him to have a free shot on Caleb Williams. He would have given up at least two sacks if it wasn’t for the miraculous ability of Williams to avoid being sacked. It is extremely rare to have such a low pass blocking rating even though he was pass blocking in 9 of his 15 snaps. This was his worst performance of the season, but it was an uncharacteristically bad game for him. He has had his fair share of struggles but nothing this bad. It will be interesting to see how much he improves versus Washington State and if his previous injury has caused him to lose a step.

PFF grade vs. Arizona State: 54.7 overall, 67.7 run blocking/7.6 pass blocking

Stats: 1 penalty (HOLDING), 2 QB hurries allowed

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