Trojans trying to find right TE combo

One thing USC football has experimented with during spring practices is playing with two-tight end sets, or 12 personnel. It’s the product of being in the third year in the Air Raid offense, which allows you to install more packages.

USC has been playing down several receivers during camp, so tight ends are being asked to do more.

“Being able to go from a pass-game set to a rungame set and not change personnel,” tight ends coach Seth Doege said Tuesday, “if we can find two tight ends that we feel really good about, man, watch out. It’s going to be dangerous.”

Finding those reliable tight ends has often been the rub for USC. It’s a position frequently forgotten in the pass game in recent years.

But Doege, in his first spring camp since being promoted from quality control analyst to position coach, has a larger pool of tight ends to evaluate than in past seasons at USC.

The returning starter is Erik Krommenhoek, who in six games last year caught the first two touchdown catches of his career. Though he had just nine receptions for 59 yards in 2020, assuming he kept the same pace through a 13-game season, Krommenhoek would have broken his career highs (11 and 122).

Krommenhoek was one of the seniors who opted to stay for his extra season of eligibility.

“I think losing last year to Oregon at home in the Coliseum was a sick feeling,” he said. “You want to win that Pac-12 game, you want to get back to the College Football Playoff.”

Doege says he feels Krommenhoek is the most improved player this spring for USC. And the assistant coach was happy with the performance of Josh Falo before a bone bruise sidelined him last week.

But one standout to Doege this fall has been true freshman Lake McRee. An early enrollee out of Texas powerhouse Lake Travis High in Auston, McRee has shown his football instincts in spring ball and his ability to move to the slot.

“His only deal is we have to develop his body, let him mature physically,” Doege said of the 6-5, 220-pound McRee. “He doesn’t have a problem throwing his body around because he’s fearless, but we have to put a little more mass on him.”

USC will add another true freshman, Michael Trigg, during the fall. Doege has been happy with the adjustment Sean Mahoney is making to tight end and expects to see last fall’s rising star at the position, Jude Wolfe, back soon after foot surgery. And Ethan Rae is adjusting to football again after two injury-plagued seasons.

“The culture in the room has been established the last couple years, so I’m just continuing to build on that,” Doege said. “They’ve made the transition a lot easier than most would.”