It’s hard to blame Arizona Wildcats’ coaches for missing on Kedon Slovis.
So many did.
You’d like to think that the Wildcats would attempt to wrangle in every single possible passable option in the state, but every so often — like in Slovis’ case — a kid slips through the crack.
It was only on a whim that former USC assistant coach Bryan Ellis found himself at Scottsdale’s Desert Mountain High School one day in May 2018. He wasn’t planning on stopping by the school, but he had time to kill, and the program had produced Kyle Allen, one of the top quarterback recruits in the state’s history, just a few years earlier.
At the time, Slovis was an unknown. USC didn’t just stand out on the list of interested schools, which included Hawaii, Oregon State, New Mexico State and San Jose State; it leapt off the page.
With starting quarterback J.T. Daniels shelved for the season with an ACL injury and meniscus tear, Slovis is the man in the saddle for the Trojans.
The Star talked to Slovis as the Trojans prepared for Saturday’s game against Arizona:
So is this how you expected your freshman season to unfold?
A: “I don’t know you could say I could expect it to work this way. But my expectation was to come and play, and play quickly.”
How do you handle being thrust into the role?
A: “Growing up, you see all these quarterbacks and the way they interact with their opportunities. So many great QBs weren’t the guys to begin with. Tom Brady, Kurt Warner, no one knew their names when the season began. At one point, they got their opportunity and they made the most of it. You never know how it’s going to work itself out. When it does come, you just want to take advantage.”
How did you adjust to being QB1 from week to week?
A: “It was different for me because of it happening due to injury. I didn’t get much time to prepare — last play of the half, J.T. got hurt. The end of that Fresno State game, I still didn’t know what the implications were. But going into the next week, knowing (Daniels would) be out, I didn’t try to think about it too much. You’re just in that role now and do your best.”
How did your teammates react to you being in this new gig?
A: “My teammates just have this guy who is thrust into this role, so they were trying to give me confidence, get me hyped up. The biggest change for me was preparation. You want to prepare to be a starter, and in a sense you do, but it’s different when you know you’re going to be playing. As much as you try to say it’s the same, it’s not the same.”
Emotionally, how did you go about telling yourself you’d be OK?
A: “I love to credit Coach (Clay) Helton and (quarterbacks coach Graham Harrell) for having that confidence in me. It’d be a lot different if they had that worried look in their eye. We just go about our business.
“I think that started with their confidence with me in the spring. For them to put me in the competition in general — I think they have to have trust in a freshman, or they wouldn’t want to thrust you into that role. To be named the backup, the no. 2 spot was confidence in itself.”
Knowing you were in the running, did that change how you prepared for your first season in college?
A: “We didn’t get the depth chart until a few weeks before the season, but not knowing where we were at is what made me work so hard in the summer. I don’t know if that changed my work ethic. We’re all competitors and all athletes.”
How did you end up at USC? Did Arizona show any interest?
A: “One of the offensive coaches came down to watch earlier when I got some attention, but they never gave me an offer and same with ASU. I had a little more interest from ASU then Arizona did, but when you’re young in the Southwest, you look at USC as that big football power.
“Both my parents are teachers, all my grandparents were involved in higher education. More important than football was the academic side for me.”
