Ask The Expert
Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome to another edition of our new series with Pac-12 Networks analyst Yogi Roth. Ask The Expert features questions from TrojanSports.com staff and subscribers.
Adam Maya: What do you think about Sam Darnold's pro prospects if he left after this season?
Yogi Roth: "You know what’s interesting is that I’ve been surprised by how many people are asking this question at this stage of the season. I don’t know if it’s because I’m so deep in college, but he was on (Colin) Cowherd this week, I listened to that. I heard he was on Dan Patrick and he asked him that as well. I’m intrigued that people are asking that right now when we’re not even in October. Sam’s got incredible tools that are going to thrive at the next level, when he takes it there and those tools mature.
“I think we have to remember that this weekend is Game 15 for him. For Luke Falk, it’s like 35. I don’t know that to be exact, but my point is he’s got a lot of football to play and a lot to learn from each game and each time out. So, what is his pro prospectus? It’s incredible. He’s going to be a really gifted player if he continues to lean into developing and growing and molding his game, which I have no reason to believe he wouldn’t. He’s a learner, he’s a seeker, and he’s got a crazy skill set and he’s just really scratching the surface in terms of honing it in. If you heard our podcast, I asked him about some of the unique throws that he’s made. He’s like, I really just got to make the easy ones, the boring ones. I don’t think he’s not making those."
Maya: Get his Luke Falk on.
Roth: "Yeah, exactly. But to that point, I just think there’s a lot of growth for him, but with the pool of quarterbacks that are eligible for the draft, he’s clearly in the top-10 percent of those, just based on his body of work. Now, does he play next year, the year after that, those are all things that each organization decides and I think that honestly dictates a lot of quarterbacks’ careers. But he’s big time."
Maya: We’re a year and a quarter in for him. Really, just a full calendar year. Where do you see the need to further develop at this point?
Roth: "I think just understanding of football. I think every quarterback has to develop. I develop every year as an analyst, I’m 36. I’ve been in this game for about 20 years now and every year I take one new thing I study like crazy. It’s the same thing there (with quarterback). I love listening to Aaron Rodgers and other quarterbacks in interviews, and how they go back and hone in on something every year. I think for him he’s still building his base. To think that he’s got the foundation necessary to go and thrive at the next level I think would be immature. He’s got the skill set to thrive at the next level, but he’s still building his foundation."
Maya: Would you draft Darnold or Josh Rosen right now or someone else?
Roth: "It would depend on which organization I was. If I’m the head coach, I’d probably take Sam. Just because of his second reaction game. I think Josh has really impressive second reaction game. But because Sam’s so unique for the frame that he is and he gets the ball out just as quick as Josh. Josh might be a better spot thrower. I’d have to really to study them in practice to know that."
Maya: Yeah, more arm talent (for Rosen).
Roth: "I try not to use that word. But I think that Josh can make really special throws. Sam can make really special throws while moving in the pocket, and his movement is just different. Anyone would say that that just watches him."
Maya: Please explain second reaction for all of us.
Roth: "So, you got a first-reaction throw, which the best way to (describe) it is a five-step drop. One, two, three, four, five, ball’s out, on rhythm. A second-reaction throw is one, two, three, four, five, one hitch, a D-lineman flashes in front of me, a second hitch, and now I get it out. And then a third reaction would be all those things happening, and then being flushed from the pocket., Just imagine having to react to one, two or three things."
Maya: Where did you get the idiom, "The way we do small things is the way we do all things"?
Roth: "It came from Elite 11, we use it all the time, with our psychologist, Dr. Michael Gervais, all of our staff., kind of a mantra. It’s a really cool way to put into context what Pete was saying to me when I was at SC, which was, Either you’re competing or you’re not. Whether you’re stapling practice scripts or calling plays or signaling in plays, all things that I was around in my career there, you got to do them all at the same standard. I have quarterbacks now that put it in their bio. Like Manny Wilkins, last year that was in his bio. It’s kind of cool."
Maya: Who came up with it?
Roth: "Was it me or Mike Gervais? It was at Elite 11. It might have been Mike. I don’t even remember. It was probably, yeah, give it to Mike."
Maya: How common is it for college programs to have someone dedicated to overall clock management?
Roth: "It better be really common. I hope it’s incredibly common. I think its ridiculous if its not common. In the NFL they have a guy up in the booth, a guy usually sitting up in the back row. My understanding is in college there’s always somebody there. That’s why everybody has on the call sheet — I even have it on my call sheet, when I’m calling games — alright, 1:20 left, how many timeouts? How many first downs do they need? Game’s over. Yeah, it’s crazy vital."
Maya: If you’re a head coach in the Pac-12 and personnel isn’t an issue, what defense would you run to build a national championship team?
Roth: "I would run a three-man front in the Pac-12 . I think you have to. If I was at USC or Stanford or U-Dub, and I could get a dominant three technique, like Warren Sap, Vita Vea, then you can run a four-man front, but then you’d be constantly subbing a four-man front when you’re in these nickel packages facing 11 personnel, three-receiver personnel. So I would run a three-man front, very similar to what U-Dub, ‘SC does, I’m trying to think who even runs a four-man front. Utah does, because they’re so dominant there. But they do a great job playing man coverage on the outside. But I would run a three-man front and my outside backer, edge rusher, Uchenna Nwosu-type of guy would ideally be him."
Maya: Good call on that one. That guy is a star. You said in May he was your favorite for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.
Roth: "I’m just saying, everybody else is on the train and we talked about that in spring."
Maya: Yeah, I’ve liked him for a long time. I feel like he’s developing at that spot better than Su’a Cravens did.
Roth: "He’s a different player. He’s a bigger player, he’s a more physical player. He’s a different body."
Maya: He’s naturally bigger, right. They’re using him in similar spots, but he’s built for it better than Su’a Cravens was.
Roth: "Yeah, it's really fun to watch them use him and how they use him."
Maya: USC has yet to operate with Darnold under center. Do you see that lack of threat for a quarterback sneak or running back blast up the middle as a strategic weakness in the game plan, especially on fourth-and-short where they’ve had a lot of problems?
Roth: "No, I don’t think it’s a big deal. I know that they can."
Maya: Yeah, obviously they can. But they haven’t thus far.
Roth: "I’m not worried about it. I guess because you know that’s part of the deal. Sam’s at his best when he’s in the gun and their system is run from that. But it’s not like he can’t play under center. He’s trained under center. The short yardage stuff, I’d have to really go study that, of what are some of the things that happened. Overall in the Cal game, my takeaway was that there were times where they were beat at the line of scrimmage, handily, which is my biggest concern for this weekend."
Maya: You mentioned this week that the defensive fronts will be the story in the USC-Washington State game. How so specifically?
Roth: "Well, I think both sides. When you look at Wazzu on defense, where they’re really unique, and I was there last week calling their game (vs. Nevada), you’ll watch them, they move their front so late. That’s really hard on offensive liens, that’s really hard on quarterbacks, that’s really hard on just targeting running backs and pass pro, and where guys are coming from. USC will have a plan, like everybody does, whether you hold the cadence, whatever you do. But it’s still hard. And I think that’s an important thing to talk about. And I thought Justin Wilcox’s game plan last week is very similar to what (defensive coordinator) Alex Grinch will do, in terms of dropping in a variety of different looks. Sam saw a lot of different looks early in the ballgame. That’s what you have to do to a young offense. I thought the targeting on the offensive line was just OK. So I think for SC on the O-line, it’s going to be critical.
"And I think as much as we talk about Wazzu’s lack of running game, the thing that’s important to understand with their system, their system gives their quarterback freedom at the line of scrimmage. They call a run and a pass. A lot of times they call both play; he’s kind of deciding. With the wide splits that they have and the way Cal ran the ball on USC, form what Is aw at times, their running backs in the zone read game wouldn’t be touched for three or four yards. I honestly think that’s the game. The loss of Porter I think is big. As much as we want to talk about the quarterbacks in this game, I think the line of scrimmage is going to be big. I think for ‘SC, Clay says it every week, that’s not a shock, but they’ve got to dictate the terms, they’ve got to run the ball just to control the clock, keep that offense off the field and also just dominate the game, control the game where they’re better than the opponent. And where that should be should; be in the ruin game.
Maya: I think the lack of a run game has stifled USC’s offense the last two weeks. It’s completely changed it. We’re seeing a lot of scrutiny for Darnold right now and people are overlooking the fact that the chemistry obviously isn’t strong with his receivers yet and the offensive line is not playing up to par, so it’s going to fall on him. I think he’s kind of making lemonade out of lemons. If they can’t run the ball and they don’t have any vertical threats on the perimeter, they’re kind of easy to defend in the sense of, you know what they’re going to do. So it takes a physical beat by Deontay Burnett and Darnold making a special throw. There’s not a lot of explosion in that offense.
Roth: "All fair points, in terms of what we’ve seen. … I didn’t know if you were going to ask me about his interceptions but I went back and studied them and I didn’t have a problem with any of them. Because he’s completed the Stanford throws and the Texas throws. He airmails one, but at least he’s going to the right place. I really think people need to relax about that. I definitely was aggressive toward national guys. Don’t get on TV and tell me you’re worried about Sam Darnold’s interceptions when you haven’t broken them all down. I get, numbers-wise, it’s not ideal and he’s not a frontrunner for the Heisman. But that doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter."
Maya: Who or what would you say is an X factor for each team? What else might swing this game?
Roth: “I think the linebacker play for Washington State is going to be big. They lost Peyton Pelluer and Isaac Dotson and Jahad Woods. How do they play against the RPO game of USC? That’s a real thing. They can run the football, the RPO game and the impact with some of those slot receivers. I think that’s a big element to me. I think the DBs of Wazzu were challenged last week by their coach, Alex Grinch to make plays. He was rotating guys at corner and they did. Granted, it was against Nevada but it was against a passer for the most part, for at least three quarters of that game with David Cornwell in the game and David can spin it. I think they have to make plays on the ball. And I’ll be excited, Deontay Burnett is one of my favorite overall players in the Pac-12 conference, just his story, performance, personality. I hope he’s good and if he’s not, I’m so intrigued to see who becomes an answer for this offense and plays with the confidence that he plays with.”
Maya: In your view, is there a receiver on this roster aside from Burnett that you think has that "It factor"? Where maybe it doesn’t pop up in this game, but you see it long-term among the group.”
Roth: “Tyler Vaughns to me, he’s so long, he looks the part, has the skill set. These guys would start everywhere in the conference, it’s not like they’re not talented. So I guess it would have to be Tyler Vaughns. Because Steven (Mitchell) is hurt, (Joseph) Lewis is hurt. And I think Jalen Greene is a very consistent player. They’re going to need somebody to make plays on third down, at the end of the day. Sam spreads the wealth as well as anybody, as does Luke Falk, but you have to find guys you can trust on those downs. Especially early on in those games on the road. So I’m interested to see who becomes that person right there.”
Maya: “You made a comment about Falk that I thought was really smart about what makes him so good is that he takes what the defense gives him. What do you think USC will give him? How do you think they’ll defend him.”
Roth: “I think that’s where he’s played his best, but it’s also been an area of struggle for him when you talk to their staff about it. It’s like coordinators. You keep calling the plays that work, you’re the coordinator, you spend all this time preparing, you want to call all the great calls in football and sometimes you can’t. And I think for him, he’s been in this offense for five years now. He’s the best story no one is talking about in college football. He’s a walk-on that earned a scholarship and is potentially the all-time leading passer in the Pac-12. So my point is that, I think the biggest point for him in this game, and to answer your question, to what USC should do, if I were them, I would play a lot of press coverage and press bail. I really would. Because I think the press coverage early, try to get his eyes going somewhere else early, and plus you’re going up against receivers that are close to proving themselves, but they haven’t yet, and this will be their best test by far in terms of a secondary. They’re better than Boise (State's) secondary, so now you have your biggest test, how do they perform when they mix the coverages up? And they do so much stuff with crossing routes, that’s why I would bail. Press bail and all of a sudden, they can bleed you out. Make them bleed you out and put together their 12-play drive. That’s what Cal did to USC, right? They would not give up an explosive play. I don’t think they had a play over 20 yards against Cal. So that’s what I would do. Clancy (Pendergast) is obviously smarter than I am, so I imagine he’ll have a plan. But they’re going to have to do something like that because you can’t just let Luke pick you apart down the field. You have to change things up, you have to disguise late, you have to change up coverages, you just have to without sacrificing playing fast. And I think the 'SC corners, to me, I think there’s still a lot to prove there."
Maya: Yes. Can they play press consistently? I don't know.
Roth: "I don't know either. They’re obviously dynamic athletes and corner is so hard in this conference because you have to move on. And to me, it’s interesting, you see guys making plays, not that impressive of plays and they’re crazy hyped about it. And this receiving corps, they’re real. It’s also the best receiving corps USC has seen all season long. So I’m really intrigued to watch that competition. I think it’ll be really fun. If I was calling the game, I would iso all day long. I would say give me the iso and I would pick a receiver and a corner and say this is what I want every time it's a critical down and distance.”
Maya: Finally, prediction, throw one my way.
Roth: “I go 'SC on the road. I think they’ll win game. I think at the end of the day, their elite and top end players are better than Wazzu’s top end players. I’m a firm believer in this is the ultimate team game and I think in game like this, you have to ask a couple of guys to make plays. And I think Sam will be able to make some heartbreaking throws to that fanbase, like he did against U-Dub last year, like he’s done this season multiple times. When you look at the defense, it’s easy to look at what they do have and what they don’t have but they have a few guys coming into their own. Like the linebacking corps. They got some younger guys that have gotten some playing time and are clearly going to have to continue to play. If they can stay healthy, if they can just slow down the drives of Wazzu and if they can run the football and dictate terms, I think they win. l I think it’s really close. If I give you a score I'd probably pick it to be, I want to say, 37-33.
Maya: So you think we're going to get a back-and-forth game?
Roth: Yeah. I think a key that I didn’t mention that will be interesting will be inside the 10-yard line. So I’m all over this stat this year, I got all these NFL studies that I do every week, because if you look at spread, spread-out tempo teams struggle inside the 10 yard line, at quarterback, historically. Marcus (Mariota) was like 40-percent completion percentage his final year. But Luke is really good there, Luke is an anticipatory passer. That why I think he’s an NFL player. But my point is that I think this is going to be a big part of this game. The execution down there in the passing game, from both teams but Wazzu specifically.”
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