This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Hollywood, Calif.
Kyle Whittingham knows what a great quarterback looks like.
After the USC Trojans walked off the Rice-Eccles Stadium field as 31-27 losers to his Utah team last September, Whittingham observed how the Trojans had discovered their QB in defeat. Good call. Sam Darnold lost that night, but he may never lose again.
That may sound like an exaggeration, but it is true at the moment. The Trojans won their last nine games of the season, including a Rose Bowl rally vs. Penn State, and they're positioned for big things this year. Darnold is among the Heisman Trophy favorites as a third-year sophomore who will be eligible for the NFL draft.
If he fulfills everything that's expected of him, his 2017 season will include a win over Utah in Los Angeles in October. Regardless of what Darnold goes on to do, Utah fans will be able to say they witnessed his first collegiate start — the night when he played well enough for USC to win, only to have Troy Williams and the Utes top him.
Whittingham can claim to have given Darnold his first scholarship offer. The Utes liked him at San Clemente (Calif.) High School, where he followed Utah alumnus Travis Wilson as the Tritons' quarterback. But he chose the Trojans and became USC's starter as a redshirt freshman in the fourth game last season.
Darnold completed 18 of 26 passes for 253 yards and USC took a 24-10 lead before Williams led three consecutive touchdown drives — topped by his 18-yard pass to Tim Patrick with 16 seconds remaining. It could be said that Williams has not played nearly that well since then. What's clear is Darnold kept getting better.
That game "helped immensely, just to know I could go out there and play," Darnold said during the Pac-12 Media Days. "After the first couple drives, kind of a lightbulb went [on], like, 'OK, I can play with these guys. I know what's going on in the playbook. I know what the defense is throwing at me.' "
Darnold also learned some discretion. He lost a fumble at the Utah 13 after scrambling for 14 yards in the first quarter. USC coach Clay Helton points to that play as a pivotal moment in the QB's development.
"Where I thought he improved from his first start to the Rose Bowl was his ability to choose when to get down and when to run," Helton said. "His competitiveness tells him to run every time, and what he really got better at was keeping his eyes downfield, finding the open man. But also when he broke contain and started to run, he was not acting like a linebacker every time. … You don't want to handcuff his creativity because it extends plays. But you try to teach him when to pick and choose the physicality at the end of the play."
The Trojans turned around their season after a 1-3 start, thanks partly to a players-only meeting that followed the visit to Utah. Darnold cited "honest conversations" that created trust and belief in each other and the coaching staff, and USC responded well. The trouble was the Trojans couldn't catch Colorado in the Pac-12 South, even though they beat the Buffaloes the next week.
So they have more to do this season, even after being invited to the Rose Bowl (as a replacement for Pac-12 champion Washington, a College Football Playoff contestant) and beating Penn State 52-49. Darnold passed for 453 yards and five touchdowns and led the drive to the winning field goal.
That made for a nice ending to Darnold's first season of college football, with more to come. Whittingham knows the version of the QB the Utes will face in October is an upgrade of the player they met last September. "The guy is incredible, as far as his skill set to play the position," Whittingham said. "He's got everything — the size, the arm strength, the mobility, the pocket presence. He seems to be a great decision-maker."
The Utes could use somebody like that. Then again, Williams looked even better than Darnold the last time they were on the same field.
Twitter: @tribkurt