Williams plays only 1 series in USC spring game
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Paolo UggettiESPN
USC quarterback Caleb Williams spent more time on the Los Angeles Coliseum field for his halftime Heisman Trophy ceremony than he did wearing a helmet and taking snaps during USC’s spring game Saturday.
In his sole drive of the day, Williams picked up right where he left off last season. He began the game under center for USC and only needed three plays to take the Trojans’ offense downfield for a score.
The first play was a 45-yard pass to wide receiver Brendan Rice to kick off the game. After handing the ball off to running back Austin Jones for the second play of the game, Williams found wideout Mario Williams in the corner of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass that capped off the three-play, 75-yard drive that took only 1 minute, 10 seconds.
As he came off the field after the scoring drive, Williams remained on the sideline for the remainder of the game while backup Miller Moss and true freshman five-star Malachi Nelson took the remaining snaps.
“Those snaps are way more valuable to those guys,” head coach Lincoln Riley said of giving the two backups most of the playing time Saturday. When asked what Williams specifically can improve upon after a Heisman-winning season, Riley said “situation mastery.”
“There’s learning the position, there’s learning the offense, there’s learning the routes, there’s learning how to execute,” Riley said. “And then you take it and the game situation can change a lot of that and you have to be able to process that so quickly. We’ve really worked hard on that. It was good last year, it needs to be great this year.”
There wasn’t too much else to take away from USC’s spring game beyond the similar strokes that defined last season: Under Williams, the USC offense is nearly unstoppable, and they made the USC defense look more or less helpless. Enter anyone else under center and the story changes. While Moss and Nelson had a few bright spots, they also allowed the USC defense to continue its strategy of bailing itself out with turnovers. The Trojans’ defense had three interceptions and a forced fumble.
Defense has been the name of the game for USC this spring after ending last year’s debut campaign for Riley with a devastating loss to Utah in the Pac-12 title game and a loss to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl. The additions of transfers, such as defensive lineman Anthony Lucas from Texas A&M and Kyon Barrs from Arizona, should give USC some more strength up front.
“The difference in the front seven is noticeable,” Riley said. “We all knew we had holes last year. We have a number of returners who are playing better ball this spring then they did at any point last year.”
Riley, for his part, was encouraged by the competitive aspect of the game, which came down the last drive — Jacobe Covington picked off Nelson to seal the 42-34 win in favor of the defense, which began the game up 24-0 and received points for stops and turnovers in the modified format. Even if Williams remains the constant that will drive USC’s success this season, there is much in Riley’s second season that is already different.
“There is less install, less teaching from day one,” Riley said. “We’ve done so much situational work, it’ll show up in the big games and big moments coming up.”
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Jesse Rogers
CHICAGO — Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino started pointing toward the locker of teammate Seth Lugo after their 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. Lugo, 35, had just pitched six solid innings in sweltering heat, leading Kansas City to its 50th win of the season.
“I’d like to see him pitch for us again,” Pasquantino said while pointing. “I’d really like to see him in a Royals jersey in his next start. We’re trying to make that happen. That’s up to us.”
The Royals are one of the bubble teams in the American League, having picked up some ground on the wild-card leaders after taking two of three from the Cubs. But they are still three games under .500 as the MLB trade deadline approaches next week. Lugo would be an attractive player for another team, as he is set to become a free agent, assuming he turns down his player option for next season.
Kansas City should do well in a trade if it chooses to move him. Lugo’s ERA sits at 2.95 after he gave up two runs in his six innings Wednesday.
“His name is prevalent, especially here [Chicago],” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said before the game. “I’m aware of that. We talked about it openly, understanding we like what we have here. We believe if we can string some good games together, we can get back in this thing.”
If they can’t get back in it, the Cubs are among the teams expected to be interested in Lugo’s services. Their starting pitching after top guys Shota Imanaga and All-Star Matthew Boyd is suspect. Righty Colin Rea gave up three home runs Wednesday, two to Pasquantino. Lugo easily outpitched him, giving up four hits and two walks while striking out six on an extremely hitter-friendly day at Wrigley Field. The wind was blowing out, but Lugo kept the ball in the park.
Afterward, he was asked how he keeps his mind focused considering the rumors swirling around him.
“You don’t think about it,” he said. “You worry about the start. That’s it.”
Lugo was pleased to hear Pasquantino go to bat for him. He said he’d rather stay and win with the Royals than be shipped out.
“I want to be here through the thick and thin,” he said. “It’s a good team. We just have to be more consistent and we’ll be all right.”
Kansas City has hovered around the .500 mark all season but hasn’t been able to get over the hump in the wild-card race. The win Wednesday drew the Royals within four games of the final wild-card spot but with four teams to overcome.
Quatraro waved off the trade talk, citing the unpredictability of the season after the deadline. No matter what his front office does, he wants his team to continue to push.
“You can add to your team and not play as well,” he said. “You can subtract from your team and play better. Or you can stay status quo and get hot.”
Pasquantino added: “It’s a business. Teams have to make business decisions, but as far as I’m concerned, I want [Lugo] in Royals blue for the rest of the season.”
After a day off Thursday, the Royals begin a homestand that will take them through the deadline on July 31. Lugo would be in line to start against the Atlanta Braves next week before the deadline, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll take the mound as scheduled.
“Start today,” he said. “Off day tomorrow, and it’s back to work after that. Control what I can control. Go about my routine. Go about my business.”
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