Harrell: Kedon Slovis 'Overthinking' Like JT Daniels Was

Kedon Slovis is looking to rebound at Colorado after being out of rhythm versus Arizona. He, his offensive coordinator and head coach all have ideas about how he can do that.

USC QB Kedon Slovis is looking to rebound at Colorado after being out of rhythm versus Arizona. He, his offensive coordinator and head coach all have ideas about how he can do that.

The Gist

Kedon Slovis had an off night versus Arizona. It was perhaps his toughest game, in terms of executing the offense. He uncharacteristically missed some easy throws, he was sacked a couple times when he could have scrambled, and he didn’t see the field like he typically does. And yet he still completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns without an INT. A great line for most QBs. But for Slovis, it was a game in which he and his coaches say there was a lot to learn from.

Key Quote

“More than anything, I think Kedon was overthinking," offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said. "That’s something we fought with JT in the spring, not fought with but had to work with him quite a bit, he was overanalyzing everything. That’s what I tell him all the time. That’s what I tell all of them. It’s natural. Anytime you’ve been in the offense, Coach (Mike) Leach used to get on me about the same sort of deal. You try to do too much. You go, I can do this and this and that. Usually what we got called is going to work alright, and if you just see something you can attack, you go attack it. 

"But you don’t ever want to slow down and try to analyze every single person and figure out, how can I do this? If you’re doing that, you’re overthinking. You’re probably killing your own tempo. And then it costs you because you’re not seeing the field as clearly. I think that’s what he [Slovis] did more than anything. He’s had some success, he’s doing a lot of good things. He getting more and more comfortable in the offense and being the guy in the offense. Sometimes when that happens, you do have a tendency to overthink things and overanalyze things, and I think he did that. That’s what I’ve talked to him about.”

X Factor

Slovis has played all of four full games. The first one of those was nearly perfect, and a part of me wonders if he’s chasing that performance a bit. The true freshman hinted at an internal battle coming out of both this game and BYU, as he’s struggled to put bad plays behind him. He said when he makes a mistake he often dwells on it and it leads to two or three in a row. “I need to forget that last play and just keep playing,” he said. That could apply to a good play as well. 

The silver lining is despite his frustrations he didn’t force a lot of balls. (Only one stands out to me.) His ability to not compound his mistakes with turnovers shows real growth. He hasn’t thrown an interception in his last two starts and has also made good decisions in the RPO game, showing that he’s comfortable allowing the rushing attack to lead the way on offense. The next step is, as he succinctly put it, being disciplined on an every-down basis. He has all the tools to excel, save for experience. His most recent one could be his most valuable yet.

-- Adam Maya is a USC graduate and has been covering the Trojans since 2003. Follow him on Twitter @AdamJMaya.