New USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell operated from a perch at the top of the adjacent baseball stadium Tuesday, wearing a headset and overlooking his first spring practice with the Trojans as if he was in the press box calling plays on a Saturday in the fall.

He had stated last week what he liked about each of the quarterbacks he was inheriting, but he also qualified those comments with a reminder that he had only spent a few weeks in a non-hands-on capacity with the group.

"Every position's open because I don't have any preconceived notions about any of them," Harrell said a week ago. "... I'm excited about getting to watch all of them play and see what they can do. And again, we're going to let their talents be free, go have fun with it and see which one fits us best."

Perhaps the main question for many followers of the program, though, was just how open that competition would truly be, after JT Daniels was fast-tracked into the starting role as true freshman while skipping his senior year of high school.

Daniels clearly won the job in fall camp and started all but one game -- which he sat out recovering from a concussion -- but he had his ups and downs, while Jack Sears showed enough in his lone start to create some debate as to whether he merited more opportunities.

Head coach Clay Helton has doubled down on his emphasis that every day will be a competition for this squad in 2019, and he said Tuesday that he instructed Harrell to give all the quarterbacks opportunities with the first team this spring so they can be properly evaluated.

"I'm going to provide clarity to those quarterbacks of where they stand at the end of spring ball. I think that's fair to them, but I don't want anybody comfortable," he said. "At the end of the day, there's a long time between the time that we get done with spring ball and the time that we start."

But how do the quarterbacks perceive the competition at the position?

Well, they got their first chance since Harrell's hiring to meet with reporters Tuesday after that initial spring practice, and of course they were careful to say the right things.

"It's a completely new system, completely new coaching style, it only makes sense that you have a whole other round of competition," said Daniels, who passed for 2,672 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last fall.

Meanwhile, Sears, who completed 20 of 28 passes for 235 yards and 2 TDs in his fill-in start against Arizona State, was asked if he believed the job was truly up for grabs.

"I sure hope so. We're going to see how that plays out, but I really hope it is," he said. "They sat down with everybody and they talked to us and they explained it to us, but that's a little bit above my pay grade."

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There wasn't much to be gleaned about USC's new offense by watching practice Tuesday, as the Trojans focused heavily on simple passing drills.

In the limited team portions it was notable to see some two-tight-end sets in use, as there had been questions as to how Harrell's particular version of the Air Raid would employ that position group. It also sounds from all indications that USC will get its running backs much more involved in catching passes out of the backfield.

But in general, the best insights came from the comments of the QBs, who have had several weeks to get to know the new OC.

"It's a very drastic difference going from Coach Tee [Martin's] pro-style [system] -- really detailed, really specific, a whole lot of plays, you know, we're going to really scheme up. It's a great system," Daniels said diplomatically. "And then you've got Coach Graham, who's all about [beating an opponent through] execution. We don't got the most plays in the playbook, but we're going to execute. That's his philosophy."

Said Sears: "It's our first day in it. I think each day everyone's going to get more comfortable with it. We're already playing at a faster pace than I've ever played at and I think it's just going to keep speeding up, keep speeding up so that's going to be exciting. ... The emphasis of the system is to make smart and fast decisions, get the ball out of your hand quick and get it to the right guy."

Sears, by far the more mobile QB between he and Daniels, had another interesting comment about Harrell's offense that got everyone's attention before he tempered his statement in a follow-up.

"I love his system. It's built to go fast, built for an athletic quarterback, built to spread the ball around," Sears said.

He was asked if he could expound on his comments about it being built for a mobile QB. Sears, who comes across as the last person on the roster who would ever intend to make headline-grabbing comment, quickly adjusted.

"It's built for everybody in a sense. It has benefits for a pocket passer, benefits for athletic quarterbacks and if you like to play fast it's a perfect offense for you," he said.

USC has four scholarship quarterbacks active this spring with redshirt junior Matt Fink and freshman early enrollee Kedon Slovis (who looked sharp in passing drills Tuesday) also getting evaluated by Harrell.

All eyes will be on Daniels and Sears, though, and both seem to genuinely like the change in offensive direction.

"I'm a big fan of it," Daniels said. "I feel like it's similar to how we schemed up against Notre Dame. I think we were very efficient moving the ball against Notre Dame. It think it's a great style for our offense to go in. I think it plays to strengths that I have, being timing and accuracy, excelling with the whole team we have and the quick game and being able to take our shots when we can."

Sears, meanwhile, reiterated his desire to show himself as improved and consistent -- more so than in the August QB competition that Daniels clearly won entering last season -- but he did reiterate that his mindset is aimed on winning the job and believing that he can.

"For me, I'm just focused on getting better each day. Since last year, my focus is still the same now -- be the starting quarterback for USC. That's all I can control," he said.

In his first comments last month after hiring Harrell away from North Texas to replace Kliff Kingsbury, Helton emphasized his new OC's captivating personality and ability to connect with people.

And when Harrell finally got the chance to sit down and meet the local media last Monday, he projected a laid-back confidence. He was candid and interesting in discussing his career evolution and his offense, emphasizing that his version of the Air Raid is less about Xs and Os and more about philosophy.

That philosophy being to keep things simple and not have his players overthinking on the field so that they can play fast and confidently. He doesn't believe in having a thick playbook or convoluted terminology and play calls.

In his third and final season as the OC at North Texas last fall, Harrell produced an offense that averaged 34.62 points and 460.5 yards per game, led by QB Mason Fine (10th in the country with 3,793 passing yards to go with 27 TDs and 5 INTs) and a rushing attack that totaled 1,999 yards.

"The philosophy of the Air Raid is to keep it simple, put your playmakers in space, get them the ball in space and let them do what they do," he said last week.

Harrell was not made available for interviews after his first spring practice Tuesday, but Helton expounded more on his early impressions of his big offseason OC acquisition (well, second big offseason OC hire, that is).

"I love his energy, I love his mindset when it comes to the passing game," he said. "You even saw him today, half that practice was unscripted. He's on a headset, he's up on top of the stands calling it, training himself. I've been so impressed as a guy that is going to be our coordinator, going to be our play-caller, how he is just taking over the offense immediately and you see the energy of the kids surrounding him right now."

Said Daniels: "The more you get to know him you see he's really, really true to his principles. He doesn't waver. He's strict to what he believes in and what he believes in works."

And, Daniels reiterated, he thinks it works for USC's personnel as well.

There remain questions about an offensive line that was inconsistent in 2018 and now replaces three starters, but there's also a case to be made that the quick decisions emphasized in Harrell's system could mitigate some of those issues.

As for the supporting playmakers, it's hard not to be excited at the potential of a WR corps led by proven playmakers Michael Pittman, Tyler Vaughns and Amon-Ra St. Brown and an intriguing running back group that would seem to have untapped potential still. In particular, junior Stephen Carr seemed especially excited about getting a chance to show what he can do as a pass-catcher in this system.

From whichever QB is throwing those passes ...

"I'm all for it," Daniels said of the offense. "I played in pro-style, I've played in more of an Air Raid type of scheme. They both work depending on who you have. I think our players fit the Air Raid really well. We have really high-talented receivers, a good O-line, a really good running back corps. We're good all around, so let's not have to think too much -- let's get to playing and let's just outpace everyone."