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Published Sep 9, 2023
In-depth film review of USC's offensive line play vs. Nevada
Jeff McCulloch  •  TrojanSports
Staff Writer
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@Rivals_Jeff

USC's offensive line may be receiving more scrutiny that it really deserves after two games in which it helped the offense score 115 points, average 6.9 yards per rush and allow only 3 sacks.

But with a Heisman winner at quarterback, one of the deepest receiving corps in the country and a loaded stable of running backs, there isn't much else to worry about with this Trojans offense.

The loss of guard Gino Quinones to a season-ending lower leg injury further puts the spotlight on the offensive line this week as the Trojans enter conference play with thinner depth and still plenty of questions at the guard spots.

"We're kind of starting to zero in on probably kind of the six or seven top guys that we think are there, which would be [Jonah] Monheim, [Justin] Dedich, [Emmanuel] Pregnon, [Mason] Murphy and [Jarrett] Kingston and [Michae] Tarquin and Alani [Noa]. Those are probably the top 7," coach Lincoln Riley said. "We have a few others that certainly very comfortable putting them in the game and feel they would do very well, but yeah, it's starting to tighten up and a few of those guys are starting to separate themselves so that will be less rotations."

Less rotations and hopefully less questions if the Trojans are able to find stability at those guard spots.

With the OL set to remain a pivotal storyline moving forward, we will continue to break down their weekly performance in-depth.

After watching the film, here were the takeaways from the win over Nevada.

(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 (41 snaps): Monheim had a phenomenal game once again. This time, he was almost perfect. The only thing to mention would be he got beat to the inside on one play, but it didn’t affect that specific play. He has played much better competition so we should expect him to perform this well against lower-level teams.

PFF grade vs Nevada: 74.0 overall, 65.4 run blocking / 86.9 pass blocking

Stats: 0 pressures allowed, 0 penalties

LG Emmanuel Pregnon (32 snaps): This was a much better performance from Pregnon. He made his fair share of errors for sure, but there was a reason why he started this game and played majority of the snaps. It was a surprise to see how well he performed when he was pulling. He was quick enough to pull around at the right time and make impactful blocks almost every time. There would be sometimes where he would miss a blocker or an assignment, but overall, it was a good game for him and a game to build off momentum.

PFF grade vs Nevada: 60.2 overall, 62.9 run blocking / 83.2 pass blocking

Stats: 0 pressures allowed, 1 penalty (holding)

C Justin Dedich (41 snaps): This was an uncharacteristic game for Dedich. He had three penalties against him and had a horrific snap that caused a turnover. The penalties were bad enough, but the bad snap could have been a difference-maker in the game if Nevada was a better team. If this happens during a conference game, it could have been a different story. Multiple times throughout the game, he didn’t get any push off the line and even got pushed back a couple times. A game to learn from and then completely forget. Those mistakes didn’t affect the outcome, but they certainly can in the future. Dedich talked about the miscues this week ...

"I had some penalties, I'm going to just get that out of the way now. A little too antsy, you know. Sometimes you've got to settle down," Dedich said. "And then holding calls, we've all had them -- just kind of come from playing, you've got to feel where the ball-carrier is, letting go of guys. All those kinds of penalties come with experience. ... You've got to learn to practice game play in practice."

PFF grade vs Nevada: 44.7 overall, 57.1 run blocking / 72.5 pass blocking

Stats: 1 QB hurry allowed, 3 penalties (1 snap infraction, 1 false start and 1 holding)

RG Jarrett Kingston (46 snaps): Kingston might have a stamina issue. In the first half of the game, he was really good. He would drive people off the ball with ease and would dominate in pass pro. That’s the player USC was expecting to come over from Washington State. But the second half was a different story. He struggled to drive defenders off the line of scrimmage. Kingston got driven back into Williams and he had some mental lapses toward the end of the game. It was certainly a disappointing end to the game for Kingston as USC needs more from him, especially with Quinones out for the season.

PFF grade vs Nevada: 55.3 overall, 54.3 run blocking / 49.4 pass blocking

Stats: 1 QB hurry allowed, 0 penalties

RT Michael Tarquin (36 snaps): This was another great performance by Tarquin. He wasn’t the flashiest player, but he got his job done time and time again. The only knock against him was that he was beat early in the game on a screen play and was driven back into Williams at the end of the game, but other than that he was solid. He can be a reliable lineman for USC. All they need him to do is just continue to be consistent.

PFF grade vs Nevada: 75.8 overall, 72.3 run blocking / 78.6 pass blocking

Stats: 0 pressures and 0 penalties allowed

RT/LT Mason Murphy (23 snaps): USC needs to find a way to play Murphy more. He played another great game despite his limited snaps. The best play from Murphy was when Nevada deployed a twist stunt against him and Kingston. The way he was able to communicate with Kingston to make the switch is something a veteran player does with ease. Not sure where Murphy can get more playing time but keeping a valuable lineman on the bench, especially with the issues USC has on the inside, is something they won’t be able to afford when they start playing tougher teams in their conference.

PFF grade vs Nevada: 64.8 overall, 68.9 run blocking / 81.4 pass blocking

Stats: 0 pressures, 1 penalty

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