This was omitted from Tuesday’s season review
Wide receiver
Marqise Lee was never 100 percent until the Las Vegas Bowl and rarely looked like the Biletnikoff Award winner. This probably cost the Trojans a couple games, notably Notre Dame when he dropped a touchdown pass he usually caught. Nelson Agholor provided some big plays but dropped too many passes to overcome Lee’s injuries. Freshman Darreus Rogers provided a spark but like Lee was injured for parts of the season.
Tight end Xavier Grimble was a unique threat but was not a significant part of the offense until Kiffin was fired and Clay Helton could call more plays for him.
Our TE’s were highly underutilized as catching threats due to a mixture of poor play calling and the TE’s having to support the mostly terrible O line.
I did like the fact that we had our RB’s catch passes out of the backfield.
If grades were handed out, the receivers would get the proverbial Incomplete. Injuries really decimated this group; some even occurring before the season started (George Farmer, Steven Mitchell)
I thought Lee seemed to be pressing too hard early in the year to overcompensate for the team’s struggles. I was glad to see him reign it in and work within the system. 4th and 2 against Stanford will hopefully be remembered by the alumni for a long time. Also, I must say I’m highly relieved his knee injury wasn’t more serious. More than most guys, I want to see him make enough money so he and his family are set for life, assuming they manage their affairs wisely.
Tight Ends and Full Backs were not used enough..
Wow, glad Lee was able to fully recover in the three short weeks following the UCLA beat down. He must have been REALLY injured if it took him that long to get back to 100%.