USC Fall Camp Practice Notes: Trojans First Session In Shoulder Pads

Three practices in the books and the Trojans are beginning to feel the aches and pains that come with engaging in a three week grind called Fall Camp. Multiple players ended practice cramping, or held out for precautionary reasons as USC rests up for the first practice at the Coliseum on Thursday.

QUICK NOTES

• Su'a Cravens (strep throat) was held out of any physical activities during practice while Kevon Seymour (stomach virus) was allowed to run and jog around, but kept things very light during position drills.
• Bryce Dixon, Jordan Simmons and Devian Shelton all left practice early.
• Dixon snatched a nice touchdown grab in team red zone drills ending his day after some slight cramping in his right leg. Sarkisian said Simmons (knee) probably gave more in the first two days than he expected, so he was a little gassed resulting in his shorter contributions on the offensive line. Shelton got banged up on Tuesday (ankle) and tried to work through the pain but ended up leaving practice early.
• After practice coach Tee Martin compared wideout Ajene Harris (recruited as a local QB prospect) to current Green Bay Packers wideout Randall Cobb, whom Martin converted over to WR at Kentucky.
• 2015 four-star linebacker commit Cameron Smith (Granite Bay, Calif.) was in attendance. He spent much of the afternoon listening to coach Peter Sirmon instruct USC's linebacking corp in a variety of position-related drills.
• NFL Scouts from both the New York Jets and the Seattle Seahawks were on hand to evaluate USC prospects. While these teams may not have the opportunity, junior DE Leonard Williams impressed Sarkisian by dominating the first series of team scrimmage by getting great penetration to disrupt his offense.
• Andre Heidari missed multiple field goals and Sarkisian warned that the emergence of Matt Boermeester at that position will challenge the incoming senior to step up his game mentally in order to ensure more consistency when he boots the ball.
• Talented freshmen JuJu Smith (WR) and Adoree' Jackson (CB) went head-to-head three separate times during team drills and Jackson emerged victorious. Smith did not catch a pass running against Jackson, one of which was aided by a poor throw, but Jackson played the ball quite nicely in the air to dislodge it free. Either way, both these players should be fun to watch this season.
• The defense forced three turnovers in team-related drills and another two or three came on fumbled snaps, which did not overly please coach Sarkisian. Freshman Lamont Simmons made the best interception of the afternoon snagging a tip drill pass then taking it back to the house for the score.
• Sarkisian said USC will hold its first full scrimmage next Wednesday night, the second session during the two-a-day practice plan at the Coliseum.
• George Farmer continued his strong start to Fall Camp finishing off another session with a diving touchdown catch. He along with Steve Mitchell both looked strong during Wednesday's practice.
• Delvon Simmons was back in full action and his disruptive pass-rushing techniques gave almost every lineman he faced major problems. Whether it was Viane Talamaivao, Max Tuerk or Damien Mama, Simmons and Antwaun Woods for that matter were doing a great job of creating pressure.
• And also this happened:

Shout out to my boy J.R. Tavai for laying me out in practice today lol

— Toa Lobendahn #SVO (@T_Lo55) August 7, 2014