USC Looks to Take on Arizona Without Multiple Significant Starters
The USC Trojans will be without several key starters when they kick off against the Arizona Wildcats at 4 pm today.
Wide receiver Jordan Addison, linebackers Eric Gentry and Ralen Goforth and offensive guard Andrew Vorhees will all miss the game against Arizona today.
USC head coach Lincoln Riley categorized both Addison and Gentry as day-to-day injuries following the game at Utah and this week said both would travel with the team and it would be “down to the wire” in terms of their ability to play. Addison came out early with the skill position players and went through warmups, but did not come back out with the skill players in uniform.
Gentry and Goforth were in sweats during early warmups.
Addison and Gentry suffered injuries two weeks ago during the Trojans’ loss at Utah. Addison was tackled awkwardly on the sideline and went down in pain. He eventually got up under his own power and made his way to the medical tent. He did not return to the field and finished the game on the sidelines using crutches.
Gentry suffered his injury when a teammate collided with him as both were attempting to tackle Utah quarterback Cameron Rising. It looked to be an ankle injury and Gentry also did not return to the game. Before leaving the field for good, he hopped back onto the field one final time to deliver an impassioned speech to his defensive teammates. Gentry went to the locker room and eventually returned to the USC sideline wearing a walking boot.
Riley also said linebacker Ralen Goforth was limited this week, like Addison and Gentry.
Riley made no mention of an injury status concerning Vorhees. But that’s a significant blow to the USC offense line, which loses arguably its best player at left guard. Earlier in the season, Gino Quinones came off the bench to replace Justin Dedich at right guard when Dedich was sidelined with an injury. During position warmups, it looks like USC will move Dedich to left guard to replace Vorhees, slide Monheim to right guard and insert Mason Murphy into the starting lineup at right tackle.
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Without Goforth and Gentry, plenty of pressure will rest on the shoulders of Shane Lee. He’s still dealing with an injury he suffered before the Washington State game. He missed that game but did play against Utah, though his hand was in a cast. Lee missed five tackles in that game. And while he said the cast didn’t affect him, it’s certainly something extra to deal with.
It’ll also be worth watching how much the Trojans rely on Tuasivi Nomura and Raesjon Davis at linebacker. Nomura has seen time when healthy this year. Davis has yet to play any meaningful snaps on defense.
In place of Addison, Michael Jackson III could potentially see more time. He caught a 20-yard score against Utah after Addison went out. The Trojans could also rely more heavily on Mario Williams, Brenden Rice and Tahj Washington at the top of the rotation.
Rush end Korey Foreman is also not dressed in uniform during early warmups and unlikely to play in this game.
