Quoting Huskies OC Jonathan Smith on bye week, offensive inconsistencies and USC
Huskies offensive coordinator Jonathan Smith met with reporters earlier this morning to talk about a few things. Here’s what he said:
(On how they’re using the bye week) “We did try to just cram a typical bye week out of this thing. We worked pretty hard on Monday looking at ourselves, and then getting ready for SC the next couple of days. Practice, early introduction to SC here, and then also some fundamental work that we found we needed to do on Monday, after looking at ourselves for four games on Monday, we’ve worked on that as well as SC these last two practices.”
(On the problems they need to clean up) “Just general inconsistencies. Some stuff that’s good out there, and then we just can’t continue to sustain it. It’s like a group effort. I look at the Cal game as a group effort, too. We’ve got a lot of guys on the right page, and then one guy or two are off, and that causes problems offensively. We went and looked at it, our inconsistency was glaring. Run game, had some production there (against) Cal. That’s something we’ve got to continue to work on. Pass protection. And protection along with the QB trusting protection at times. Those went hand in hand as we looked at it. So there’s a lot of stuff there.”
(On playcalling through first four games) “We’ve found when we stay on schedule, we’re pretty good. What I mean by that is staying ahead of the sticks has been pretty good. I think at times we could have been a little bit more stubborn in the run game as I look at it, but it is what it is and we’ve got to go.”
(By being stubborn, you mean…) “Sticking to it.”
(Does that mean players, too, not just calls?) “It’s all hand in hand. I can sit here and make arguments on some of these calls – we’ve got guys open. We had some missed opportunities against Cal, just the last game and whatnot. But it’s a group effort.”
(On Jake Browning’s relationship with outside receivers) “I think it’s good. Those guys work hard together. I think they’re on the same page. They’re very supportive. There’s some times when we’re running routes, and a receiver might feel like, hey, I should have got the ball there, but he doesn’t see the whole page, protection, the coverage and whatnot. But I think it’s pretty good.”
(On USC’s defense) “There’s some team speed there, no question. An aggressive group. They’ve got some talent, especially in the secondary, linebacker in, that they can run sideline to sideline. They’ve done a good job of that. They did a good job getting some turnovers early in the Arizona State game. So it’s a good challenge.”
(On players being excited to face former coaching staff) “I think that’s the only thing that kind of stands out is that we’ve got a decent amount of kids from Southern California, and then playing down there is probably a little special for them.”
(On emphasizing ball control) “We’ve been emphasizing it for a while. We keep on looking at it, that we’ve got to be able to hold onto the ball. And then in the pass game, the interception issues – decision-making, protection, consistency, precision on where I’m around the ball or running routes. And we’ll keep working it.”
(On just having to accept some youthful mistakes) “We’re not going to accept it, but it’s not a shock that you’ve got some young guys out there that have some inconsistencies.”
(How hard is it for a young QB to trust protection at this level?) “It’s hard. There’s no question. But that’s what we’re asking him to do. There are times when that protection’s good – I want you to stay in there. when the protection’s not good, I want you to find a way to create, get outside, maybe throw the ball away, whatever. That’s quarterback play.”
(Did Browning have to scramble much in high school?) “He got the ball out pretty quick in high school. We felt like that wasn’t going to be a strong suit of getting outside the pocket. Earlier this year he’s done it and gotten away with it pretty well. Cal caught him a couple times. And then there’s some times he needs to throw it.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2015 at 11:51 AM with the headline "Quoting Huskies OC Jonathan Smith on bye week, offensive inconsistencies and USC."