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Even though Kedon Slovis ranked sixth in the country last year in passing yards per game, even though he delivered in the clutch in three wild comeback wins, and even though he's offered practical assessments for why he wasn't always at peak form last fall and why he feels different now ... the questions still persist.

Some doubt whether he will be the same quarterback he was as a breakout freshman two years ago, let alone whether he can elevate his game further and drive his NFL draft stock into the high first round.

Wide receiver Drake London cautioned people before camp against doubting the third-year USC starting QB.

"I have no question that he's going to hush the doubters this year and he's going to do better than any of his previous years," London had said back at Pac-12 Media Day. "He finally got his arm dialed up, dialed in, got it healthy and he's throwing that thing with some oomph now."

USC's third practice of fall camp Monday was a nice showcase for Slovis ... and London, for that matter.

On the second play of the first team period, London somehow got way behind the Trojans defense as Slovis lofted a perfect downfield lob to him for a 60-ish-yard touchdown.

The next series for the USC offense, Slovis went deep again, this time dropping in a dime to Tahj Washington over the receiver's shoulder as he pulled it in despite having top Trojans cornerback Chris Steele practically on his back in great coverage.

One more connection from Slovis to London came late in practice as his trusted target adjusted to the ball to let Steele slide past him so he could haul it in for a long completion down the left sideline.

No, the Trojans aren't yet in practicing in full pads -- per NCAA preseason acclimatization rules -- and it won't truly matter until peak Slovis shows up on Saturdays in the fall. But camp is all about projections and extrapolations, so it's at least a good sign that the QB's performance so far is backing up everything we heard over the last month.

With all that said, Monday was the USC defensive coaches' and players' turn with the media, so there wasn't going to be a lot of discussion about Slovis' big day, but there was plenty else covered along with a bunch of other observations and takeaways from the Trojans' third practice.

RELATED: Watch video interviews with nine USC defensive coaches and players

Freshman wide receiver Joseph Manjack’s stock keeps climbing. During the opening one-on-ones period, he had two what looked to be one-handed catches downfield. (It was on the far side of the field away from the media.) He pulled the first one in with his extended left hand deep down the sideline and then again on a lob from Slovis to the left corner of the end zone. He also had a great catch during the third-down period when he was tightly contested and initially bobbled the pass from Miller Moss before pulling it in on his way to the ground in the end zone. The kid is a player and he’s getting a lot of opportunity. We even spotted him out with the first-team briefly as one of the outside receivers opposite Gary Bryant.

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Two other highlights from one-on-ones … Kyle Ford used a quick stop to send Prophet Brown flying past him and hauled in the easy catch and then used a stiff-arm on Brown after the catch (not that there was any tackling allowed on the play regardless).

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And freshman tight end Lake McRee pulled in a red zone touchdown catch over Jaylin Smith in tight coverage in the right corner.

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During team periods, redshirt sophomore tight end Jude Wolfe also had a great catch on the move from Miller Moss and used his blockers perfectly for some nice yards after the catch. It's hard to quantify, but Wolfe just looks like he’s going to be a factor this season — he’s really chiseled his physique and moves well for his size.

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The USC defense had two interceptions during the third-down period, both against freshman QB Jaxson Dart. The first one was his fault, but he probably deserves a pass on the second one as it likely wouldn’t have been forced downfield if they weren’t working specific situations.

The first was a pick by veteran safety Isaiah Pola-Mao as he tried to throw it over the defender to London cutting across the middle. Pola-Mao was shallow as the nickel, read the pass and leapt up to bring it in. The second pick was by redshirt freshman Xavion Alford deep intended for John Jackson. The play earlier Dart had dropped in a perfect pass toward Jackson down the sideline that was broken up.