The evolution of QB JT Daniels and how USC's new offense suits him

USC quarterback JT Daniels had organized the wide receivers for offseason throwing sessions plenty of times, as all QBs do, but senior wideout Michael Pittman said it was different this week when Daniels reached out to his offensive playmakers.

"Actually, he just called a meeting at 2 o'clock [Wednesday]," Pittman shared after practice Tuesday. "We're all going to go meet at 2 so that's kind of cool that he stepped up and kind of brought that [together]. … He identified a time and made it work and now we're all going to go up there at 2 and watch film together."

Pittman reiterated the aforementioned offseason get-togethers on the field, but it was also clear that Daniels arranging the extra film session in the middle of spring practice left an impression on the veteran.

"That's like the real time he's really grabbed everybody and said, 'Hey guys, this is what we're going to do,'" Pittman said.

That brings to mind a comment Daniels made after the Trojans' first practice of the spring. Asked what area he hoped to show the most improvement in heading into his sophomore campaign, he thought for a second and answered, "Leadership, being more vocal."

It could have been dismissed as a cliché, familiar refrain countless players make at this time of year about being more experienced and older -- if not for the way Daniels framed it.

"I'm going into my second year, I think I have the role to step up more," he said, intimating that he didn't necessarily feel that was as a true freshman.

A week later, a reporter circled back to that comment and asked Daniels if that was tougher to pull off as a rookie starter in a rather veteran offense.

"Coming in, yeah, I was really focused on being just a shut-up-and-work guy, just get in, do my thing," he said. "I think toward the end of the year when I started really developing chemistry and a good bond with everybody, I think I was able to step up a little more and more as time went on. But not as much as I'd like to."

Sophomore receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, of course, has known Daniels as long as any of his Trojans teammates as they turned themselves into top recruits together while starring at Mater Dei High School.

He also notices that new dimension in his QB that Pittman sees, like with the Wednesday film session.

"Last year he was just trying to get a feel of college and do everything right," St. Brown said. "I think now since he's been here for a year almost he's starting to feel more comfortable doing those type of things."

Again, those leadership anecdotes have their value, but ultimately what matters is how Daniels runs the offense on the field, if he is to retain the starting job heading into the fall.

To that end, the most telling observation Pittman made had to do not with Daniels' newfound comfort as a leader of the offense but with his effectiveness leading within it.

New offensive coordinator Graham Harrell's version of the Air Raid has emphasized quick decisions and getting the ball to the Trojans' playmakers in space, where they can create yards after the catch.

"It kind of plays to his strengths. He's always been like the guy that's going to pick apart a defense, and it just kind of suits his strengths because he's more of a passer, he's like more of a pocket guy, versus Matt [Fink] and Jack [Sears] who are kind of mobile, sprint-out guys," Pittman said. "All of them have different strengths, but I feel like JT feels comfortable because this is more like what he's used to -- sitting back there, getting it out quick, picking apart a defense. It just plays to his strengths, I guess."

So far, Daniels indeed looks to be ahead of his challengers in his command of the offense, and it's not hard to envision him taking a major step forward in this new scheme after an erratic first season in which he completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,672 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while starting all but one game.

Normally, switching a quarterback to a new system after he just spent the previous year trying to progress and find comfort in the old offense would be an added challenge. But that's not the way Harrell runs things.

Simple has been the go-to description of this new offense, and it's becoming abundantly clear that's indeed a fair characterization.

Harrell noted that the entire offensive install was completed in the first week of spring practice, over those initial three sessions, and that each subsequent week just repeats that process to build familiarity with his very streamlined playbook.

"When he says we're going to run the same stuff over and over and over again, he's going to run the stuff over and over and over again," Daniels said. "There was a period where we ran the same play five times in a row and we completed the same route five times in a row."

Harrell has stated from his introductory press conference that he wants his guys playing fast and not overthinking. He wants to out-execute the defense -- not out-scheme it. He joked earlier in the spring that offensive line coach Tim Drevno was surprised to learn he only had four run plays to teach to his linemen.

And so every Tuesday this spring when the offensive players and coaches are made available to reporters, it's another opportunity to glean more context to this basic offensive approach. For instance, this week a new catchphrase emerged with "find the grass" -- which is Harrell's way of telling his receivers to just get open however they can.

That freedom given to the receivers adds a level of nuance to which the QBs have to adjust, and it's those facets of the scheme -- reading and reacting in unison, being on the same page on blitz adjustments, etc. -- that have become the paramount emphasis beyond the initial basic install.

"You have the basics. You have the plays, everything is installed like that. But you've got to make sure you know every single hot [read] and every single play," Daniels said. "You've just got to be able to run it over and over and over and over again at a really high level."

Outside of individual passing drills as the QBs and receivers warm up at the start of practice lobbing balls downfield, there has not been a lot of the deep passing game shown during team periods this spring.

With Harrell's emphasis on getting the ball out quick, it was fair to wonder if that would be a less pronounced part of the Trojans' aerial attack moving forward.

The players says that's not the case, though, and that they are simply giving extra attention this spring to mastering those aforementioned hot routes -- adjustments made against an oncoming blitz -- and learning to be on the same page in those read-and-react moments.

"We're not really concerned about going deep right now. We're just working different things, and that's one thing we're really struggling with is knowing when we're hot and like knowing hot routes, which way to go, which way to break. So that's really what our emphasis is," Pittman said. "And then [defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast] is bringing heat, so we've got to get it out quick. There's no time to beat a corner who's nine yards off and bailing deep, so we're throwing quick-game stuff."

Said St. Brown: "We still have the deep shots in our playbook, but we've got to learn the quick game first before we can get to the deep stuff. So we're still trying to learn all the ins and outs of the offense."

That makes sense, as does another point Pittman made -- with the abnormal lack of available, healthy scholarship defensive backs this spring there's not much to be learned by attacking a depleted secondary down the field.

"I mean, we could throw deep balls every single time and probably get it, but that's not helping us progress as a team," Pittman said. "But really, everything's there. It's just we're not doing it because we're working on other stuff."

Daniels also concurred that the downfield shots -- which may have been too much of a crutch at times for an otherwise stagnant USC offense last fall -- are still a key part of this offense.

While it's apparent that there is an emphasis to get rid of the ball quickly, Daniels said Harrell has not defined a preset shotclock -- for lack of a better term -- for the QBs to make a pass. And the progressions are different as per the play call, he said. There are "quick game" calls and other plays that will have the QB scanning through three or more reads.

So when the opportunity is there, yes, there is time to sit back and wait for a play to develop deep.

"It still absolutely is a part of the game. If you're not a threat to run by them then the whole offense doesn't work, and we've got guys who are threats to run by. I'm sure when we got the chance for it, we'll take advantage of it," Daniels said. "... We'll attack every area of the field."

USC scrimmaged for a portion of practice last Saturday, and Harrell said he still wants to see the operation run faster and with more tempo. He didn't single out Daniels at any point, instead talking about the quarterbacks as a collective.

But as of now, it's hard to draw any conclusion other than that Daniels has maintained his grip on the starting job through whatever competition there has been this spring.

Regardless, he was always going to approach it as if he was indeed the starter, and so it was Daniels setting up that players-only film session for Wednesday and trying to assert himself both on and off the field heading into his second year in the program.

"I think it always starts with leading by example. Nobody's going to follow a guy that talks about one thing but doesn't do it himself," he said. "I've got to push myself to be the hardest worker -- first one in, last one out kind of guy. And it's really just being an encourager, keeping the energy up because this offense is going to require a whole lot of energy and effort to keep going. It's a high-tempo offense -- not a lot of plays, but we run them real fast. So for me, doing it by example and keeping everyone going."