USC football: Observations from Trojans' 10th spring practice of 2023

Two more high profile high school recruits were at USC's practice on Thursday

LOS ANGELES — USC football had its tenth spring practice of 2023 on Tuesday. Below are some observations.

WHAT WE SAW

- Long snapper Nathan Weneta was the first player out of the locker room. Defensive lineman Jack Sullivan was the first non-specialist scholarship player to come out.

- On the way out of the locker room, cornerbacks coach Donte Williams and Domani Jackson were speaking. The two worked for about 20 minutes after practice ended prior to Jackson addressing the media (more on that later).

- There was a large group of high school players and coaches at practice today. The two most high profile recruits I saw were 2024 Serra (Gardena, Calif.) cornerback Dakoda Fields and 2024 Clearwater Academy International (Fla.) offensive lineman Jason Zandamela.

- Part of the reason there were so many high school players at practice was because a large group of athletes from McClymonds High School in Oakland were there. McClymonds head football coach is Michael Peters, the father of veteran NFL cornerback Marcus Peters.

- Coaches from Gardena Serra, El Toro and St. John Bosco attended practice today. The group included Serra head coach Scott Altenberg. 

- During warmups, Brenden Rice, Josiah Zamora, Matt Colombo, MarShawn Lloyd, Keegan Patterson, Lake McCree, Miller Moss, Caleb Williams, Justin Dedich, Jarrett Kingston, Solomon Tuliaupupu, Kyon Barrs, De’jon Benton, Shane Lee, Mason Cobb, Jamil Muhammad, Jack Sullivan, Max Williams, Bryson Shaw, Jacobe Covington and Korey Foreman all led lines of stretches/warmup exercises.

- In USC's next warmup drill, where defensive players run from their formation to the back corner of the end zone, the 11 players in the first unit were: De’jon Benton, Kyon Barrs, Jamil Muhammad, Solomon Tuliaupupu, Mason Cobb, Shane Lee, Bryson Shaw, Ceyair Wright, Max Williams, Jaylin Smith and Domani Jackson. 

- Dorian Singer, Tahj Washington and Quinten Joyner were fielding kicks at the beginning of practice. Zachariah Branch and Michael Jackson III were fielding punts.

- When USC's offense was on the field, Caleb Williams quarterbacked the first group. Miller Moss ran with the two's and Malachi Nelson ran with the three's.

- On the defensive side of the field, Jamil Muhammad continued to work with a small group that consisted of two other players for the portion of practice the media could watch. On Tuesday, Solomon Tuliaupupu worked with that small group, but today he was in a large group with the defensive lineman instead. 

- After practice, defensive lineman Anthony Lucas gave USC's defense a C/C+ grade for tackling so far this spring. "We ain't been tackling how we're supposed to," Lucas said. "We're going to clean it up though." Lucas also said that he's 270 pounds, which is the same as when he arrived to campus after transferring from Texas A&M. On USC's official roster, Lucas is listed at 295 pounds. 

- After practice cornerback Domani Jackson, a former five-star recruit, said: "I'm feeling great. My knee is coming along. I can't complain." A knee injury ended Jackson's senior season of high school in 2021 and he dealt with injury issues throughout his freshman season a year ago.

- Jackson added: "I'm real confident in my knee this year...I started to feel like myself with my knee after last season...It's been a long path. But I'm getting over it. I'll be good."