Saturday Morning Practice Notes

The USC football team will conduct 4 days of two-a-day style practices during fall camp. On those days the team will have a morning practice at 9am and then return in the afternoon at 4pm. Saturday is the 1st two-a-day session of camp, and here are a few notes from the hour and a half long morning session, in which the players wore helmets and shorts...

• The team continued to work on special teams, and today the focus was on the punt coverage and field goal units. Junior kicker Dave Buehler had a solid workout, showing good accuracy and a strong leg. I didn't get a total count on his attempts, but his only miss came when he hit the right upright from at least 40 yards out. It is obvious that Buehler has the skill necessary to be an efficient kicker at this level, the only question is if that incredibly clutch 49 yard kick he made against UC-Berkeley last season was an aberration or a sign of things to come.
  

• The offensive star of the morning workout, again, was David Ausberry. This guy is a fucking "beast." I know the term "beast" has been overused lately, but Ausberry is very deserving of it. It's debatable whether he's the best WR on the team, but he's by far the most impressive. Just watching him play on the practice field makes you say "Wow!" He has soft hands and is a mismatch nightmare for whichever defensive back that lines up against him. With Travon Patterson and Jamere Holland sitting out, Ausberry often lined up at split end (X), with Ronald Johnson at flanker (Z), and Patrick Turner in the slot. That's a line-up that very few teams in college football can match-up against.
  

• Offensively, the first team offensive line and most of the running backs had a light session during the scrimmage type 11-on-11 team period. The focus during this period seemed to be on the passing game, as the offense went against the defense (which was rotating players regularly).
  

• There wasn't any contact, as the workout was brisk and smooth, but look for that to change in the afternoon session. We'll get a better look at the defense once the team comes out in full pads again.