Thursday practice report: USC coaches say focus not on Stanford's QB change

USC defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast wasn't too interested in revealing just how he and his staff were planning for the likelihood of facing Stanford backup quarterback Davis Mills this week.

"We had a lot of time this week so we spent a lot of time watching film," Pendergast said.

Just the limited film from Mills' relief appearance last week in place of injured starter K.J. Costello? Or older film from his days as a 5-star prospect ranked the No. 1 pro-style QB in the Class of 2017?

"Well, it's been a long week -- let's just leave it at that," Pendergast said, giving a slight smile to acknowledge the persistence of the questions.

That was on Wednesday after practice, when it was widely expected that Mills would make his first college start in place of Costello, who took a forearm to the chin after giving himself up on a slide late in the first half against Northwestern last weekend. On Thursday, Stanford coach David Shaw confirmed it.

Of course, USC is in the same boat but with a less experienced quarterback as true freshman Kedon Slovis takes over for JT Daniels after his season-ending knee injury.

Pendergast's intent in declining to indulge the Mills questions was clear -- he doesn't want his Trojans defense thinking anything has changed for this matchup. Head coach Clay Helton reiterated that in a broader sense Thursday after practice.

"It's really about us. That's the message -- it's about our standard of play and how we execute. No matter who the quarterback is for the other team, no matter who the quarterback is for us, it's about executing," Helton said.

Meanwhile, defensive backs coach Greg Burns was just as emphatic on that point in regard to his young secondary..

"Not necessarily worrying about the quarterback. Stanford's Stanford. It's a system. Obviously they may do things different, but we're going to study what we see on film and what they like to do and try to defend it," he said. "You've got a guy who we probably eye-balled for all of last year and a quarter and then [to] try to make an adjustment on a guy from a half, that's going to be a little unrealistic. So the biggest thing we're going to focus on is just in general, what is the makeup of Stanford, what do they do and then what we do, so it really comes back to us. …

"It's about us executing on defense. How well do we execute our run fits, our technique on this particular coverage? So it's not about them, it's about us."

Stanford will also be without its top offensive lineman, left tackle Walker Little, who will miss at least half the season with a knee injury.

But the storyline is the quarterbacks -- two guys from different recruiting backgrounds now in a similar situation preparing for their first collegiate starts. Mills was the 5-star, top of his class recruit who sat behind Costello the last two seasons. Slovis was an under-the-radar 3-star who quickly rose up the depth chart to secure the backup job and is now thrust into the starting role in just his second collegiate game.

Mills was 7-of-14 passing for 81 yards while protecting a lead in an eventual 17-7 win over Northwestern. Slovis was 6 of 8 for 57 yards and an interception in protecting a lead in an eventual 31-23 win over Fresno State.

The difference, of course, is that Slovis is ideally at the helm for the remainder of the season (barring injury or poor play), while Mills is filling in. But as it relates to this Saturday in the Coliseum, the situations mirror each other almost identically.

USC's offensive coaches have said the gameplan won't change for Slovis, and Shaw said the same thing about Mills.

“Whoever starts at quarterback, it’s not going to change our philosophy, it’s not going to change our scheme,” Shaw said earlier this week, according to the San Jose Mercury News. “All of our quarterbacks know our offense and now it’s just about getting ready to play.”

Said Burns: "They're going to throw the ball -- that's just what they do. They trust their receivers on 50-50 balls and we have to defend it."