USC QB Jaxson Dart to be held out 'a little bit for precautionary reasons'

USC fans went from debating about an in-season quarterback competition over the weekend to on Monday night wondering if either of the Trojans' top two QBs will even be available this week.

Interim head coach Donte Williams delivered the update during his appearance on the Trojans Live radio show that freshman QB Jaxson Dart is going to be held out at the start of the week due to the knee injury he sustained during the second quarter of his breakout debut Saturday.

"Jaxson right now, he's day-to-day. We're going to save Jaxson from himself a little bit. He got a little dinged up, and you got a chance to see even though he was dinged up in that game he still battled and played the whole game. So the quarterback competition will continue, but right now we're going to hold him out a little bit for precautionary reasons and he'll be day-to-day," Williams said.

Williams had talked Sunday night about wanting to see a "quarterback battle" this week and that the Trojans could hold off on naming a starter until the end of the week.

Now, it remains to be seen how long Dart's day-to-day absence will extend, and it also remains to be seen what condition longtime starter Kedon Slovis is in after being knocked out of that game Saturday on the opening series.

Williams, who has not specified the nature of Slovis' injury (while the TV broadcast of the game called it a neck injury), had said Sunday he expected Slovis to be practicing this week.

On Monday, though, he was very vague when asked for updates on Slovis and wide receiver Drake London.

"Just like Jaxson, they're a little dinged up, but you know, other guys have to step up and they did in this past game," Williams said.

Reporters are allowed to watch USC's practices on Tuesdays, so look for some more clarity at that time.

Meanwhile, Williams and Dart both reflected on the freshman's impressive debut -- 391 passing yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs in a 45-14 win at Washington State -- while speaking on Trojans Live.

"To be honest, Jaxson's a warrior," Williams said. "That was the first time I actually got a chance to see somebody else hit him and see how he responds to that. It's a little different in practice because you don't get a chance to hit the quarterback. ... He just battled."

Dart, who took a hit to his right knee, was not asked by the Trojans Live hosts to discuss the injury, but he did talk further about his performance.

"I would say early on I think I had my emotions get the best of me a little bit. I was just super jacked up to be in there and the game was just a little fast for me at the start, and later on I was able to just hone in and find my comfortability each play that I could go through my reads," he said. "I had a couple successful plays, which helped me a lot, and then I think that fourth-down conversion (on the 38-yard touchdown to Gary Bryant Jr.) gave me a lot of confidence and I think that it was a huge boost for our team."

Dart was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week for his performance, which set a USC program record for most passing yards in a debut.

Dart has already garnered the "gunslinger" label for his fearless aggressiveness to push the ball downfield, even after throwing a couple early interceptions. He expounded on that mentality and said that offensive coordinator Graham Harrell encourages it.

"I would always say how my football career started, I was always a football player before I was a quarterback. So there was a lot of time where I'd just have to make football plays and watching guys like Brett Favre, Patrick Mahomes nowadays, watched a lot of Zach Wilson, who I'm really good friends with, and just guys like that who are able to extend plays. They make one mistake and the very next play they could score a touchdown just by being aggressive and being a gunslinger," he said. "Coach Graham, that's kind of the mindset he gives me and I love it, and that's why I love this offense."