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Jordan Addison previews matchup with Utah's Clark Phillips

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•10/12/22
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USC receiver Jordan Addison hauls in a pass on the sidelines in a win over Arizona State on Oct. 1, 2022. (Icon Sportwire / Getty Images)

No. 7 USC is set to travel to No. 20 Utah this weekend for a key conference matchup, one that will have NFL scouts drooling over one of the most intriguing head-to-head matchups in the country: USC receiver Jordan Addison vs. Utah cornerback Clark Phillips III.

Addison leads the Trojans in every major receiving category after transferring from Pittsburgh, while Phillips is widely regarded as one of the top NFL Draft prospects at cornerback.

“I feel like just watching him on tape these past couple days he a solid corner,” Addison said. “He got great feet, good speed.”

Addison has logged 32 catches for 479 yards and six touchdowns this season, a favorite target of Oklahoma quarterback transfer Caleb Williams. The duo has been deadly, especially in crunch time.

Phillips, meanwhile, is an excellent cornerback that many draft analysts have pegged as a first-rounder. Three of four ESPN NFL Draft analysts (Mel Kiper, Jordan Reid and Matt Miller) currently have Phillips among their top-5 cornerbacks.

“Challenges like this, this what I look up to and I rise the most,” Addison said.

Jordan Addison, USC offense looking to avoid lulls

The USC offense has been potent but hasn’t fired on all cylinders routinely just yet in conference play.

The Trojans had to pull out a late fourth quarter win over Oregon State on a night when Williams was flustered at quarterback. They also were out of sorts at times in last weekend’s 30-14 win over Washington State.

Williams had a 44.4% and 51.7% completion rate in those games, respectively.

“We missed a couple of throws and we dropped some balls,” Riley said, according to WeAreSC reporter Erik McKinney. “When you throw it 30 times. You take away 10 of those off the board that were either a missed throw or a dropped pass… I mean, we’re pretty good on the rest of them. There’s just not a whole lot left.”

Addison and company will be out for a sharper performance Saturday evening against the Utes.

The two Pac-12 programs are scheduled for an 8 p.m. ET kickoff on Fox.