Strong start, poor finish define session
Behind sharp play from under center, the unit put together four straight long scoring drives to start the session. From there, the quarterbacks struggled and the offense followed suit, only managing one more score.
The USC defense, in the words of coach Steve Spurrier, "completely stymied" the offense late in the day.
"It was typical of some of our guys," Spurrier said. "Have a little early success, and then they can't handle success. It's disappointing, but it's history. Hopefully we can learn from it and move on."
Spurrier praised the early play of his quarterbacks but was critical of the way they finished the scrimmage, expressing displeasure with hesitancy to throw and what he called "flea-flarting" in the pocket.
"Until we teach these quarterbacks to get back there and make a decision, we're always going to struggle," Spurrier said.
Incumbent starter Stephen Garcia threw for 170 yards and two touchdowns, while backup Connor Shaw passed for a touchdown and 83 yards. Both were singled out for poor throws at the end, however.
"Stephen did well early, didn't do well late," Spurrier said, "Connor, I think, struggled a little bit late there too. It was disappointing but not surprising — put it that way."
When asked if he was planning on naming a starting quarterback at the completion of spring practice, Spurrier said he was not.
"We're not putting them in categories this spring," he said. "We're just letting them all play and we'll go from there."
Spurrier went on to say he expects the starting position to be decided based on which quarterback works the hardest during the summer and is most prepared once summer camp rolls around.
"I really think whoever has the best summer, the guy than can train through the summer, could come back the best," Spurrier said. "The summer is very important for guys to work on their fundamentals and what we ask them to try and improve upon. Some work harder than others. You can see it when they report in August if they're fundamentally sound and know what to do."
Spurrier and the USC staff held their annual coaching clinic over the weekend, with the highlight being a Friday night dinner inside Williams-Brice Stadium featuring former Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen as keynote speaker. Spurrier, who in his last game as Florida's head coach defeated Friedgen and the Terps 56-23 in the 2002 Orange Bowl, said Friedgen spoke at length about how behind every great team he coached in his career was a great quarterback.
That message, Spurrier said, is one he hopes gets through to his quarterbacks, Garcia in particular.
"We've got to have a great quarterback around here if we're going to have a real big year," Spurrier said. "So hopefully Stephen will develop into one, and maybe the other guys."
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Passing:Rushing: Lattimore 1/44; Hinch 7/18; Clifford 3/16; Miles 4/13, TD; Garcia 3/1; Shaw 4/-8; Blue 4/-4
Receiving: D. Smith 3/80, TD; Miles 2/76, TD; A. Sanders 2/53, TD; Scruggs 4/34; Jones 3/33; Moore 1/17; Barnes 2/12; Lattimore 1/7; Cunningham 1/7
Scoring Summary
Kenny Miles 72 yard pass from Stephen Garcia (Adam Yates kick)
Ace Sanders 43 yard pass from Garcia (Josh Newton kick)
DeAngelo Smith 61 yard pass from Connor Shaw (Joey Scribner-Howard kick)
Miles 4 yard run (Jay Wooten kick)
Josh Hinch 8 yard run (Yates Kick)