It probably was no coincidence that USC defensive coordinator Todd Orlando was one of the very first coaches to head out to the practice field Thursday.

It was the first day the Trojans were allowed to put on full pads and really ratchet up the intensity, and as Orlando has made clear in the past, that's really when practice gets real for him.

"That's when we play actual American football," he once said last year.

Reporters will get to talk to Orlando after practice Friday to get his thoughts on how the Trojans met the expectations in that first full-pad practice, after having to go through five practices of NCAA-mandated acclimatization (helmets only at first, then helmets and shoulder pads).

Meanwhile, running back Vavae Malepeai offered his assessment Thursday.

"I like the competition that we had and I like the juice that the defense brought," he said. "It's making us get better and it tells us to bring a better mindset [from] the start of practice to the end. They're getting us better, we're getting them better -- iron sharpens iron."

There was plenty to take away from USC's sixth practice of fall camp on both sides of the ball.

The play of the day for the defense wasn't a thundering tackle but rather an impressive interception by true freshman cornerback Ceyair Wright, who sandwiched that highlight with two others in what was an overall impressive day for the young DB.

On the offensive side, quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Kedon Slovis connected on long strikes downfield, running back Vavae Malepeai broke through for a 20-yard touchdown run, freshman wide receiver Joseph Manjack added another circus catch to his camp reel and the offensive line generated yet more discussion.

We break it down from every angle in our detailed practice report ...

RELATED: Watch video interviews with 10 USC coaches and players after practice Thursday

The inactive/injured guys were TE Josh Falo (injury unknown), RB Darwin Barlow (hamstring), RB Keaontay Ingram (ankle), WR Gary Bryant Jr. (hamstring), TE Malcolm Epps (turf toe), DE Colin Mobley (unkown) and recurring names LB Jordan Iosefa (knee) and LB Solomon Tuliaupupu (knee?).

There were also three players in particular we didn't spot out at practice -- LB Eli'jah Winston, OT Casey Collier or NT Jamar Sekona, and in conferring with other reporters, we don't think any of them were there Wednesday either. Clarity will have to wait until Clay Helton's next availability on Monday.

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Say this for "Solo", for a guy who has lost three seasons to injuries and remains out of action, he hasn't lost any of his drive or motivation. In addition to his normal jogging/cardio work, he was off by himself in a corner of the field knocking over the blocking sled, setting it back up and repeating over and over and over.

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OLB Drake Jackson was not able to go through the full-padded practice as this was just day 2 out of 5 of his required acclimatization. He would walk into the defensive huddle with the first unit during the live team period to listen to Orlando before remaining a spectator.

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No position group embraced the full-contact nature of this practice more than the safeties, who were doing collision drills. (See the video above). I've noted this before, but safeties coach Craig Naivar is very detailed and hands-on at all times. He's constantly coaching between reps during drills, his eyes are always fixed on each rep with tunnel focus, and it continued after practice as he had an extended talk with Xavion Alford.