What Kevin Sumlin said at his pre-USC press conference

After thrashing Oregon State, the Arizona Wildcats return home this Saturday where they will host the USC Trojans in a key Pac-12 South divisional game.

Both teams enter at 2-2, though USC is a slight road favorite. Monday, UA head coach Kevin Sumlin held his weekly press conference and here is what he had to say about the Trojans and many other assorted topics.

On if he envisioned J.J. Taylor ever getting 27 carries like he did against Oregon State...

“It depends on the situation. Obviously he played a lot last year. We want to rotate our running backs, but like anything else he had a pretty hot hand going and I think the rotation was still pretty good because he was able to rip off some long runs and, quite honestly, because of the tempo and not changing personnel, that was a factor going into the game — to keep the same personnel on the field to limit substitutions by the defense. So in those situations you’re going to have back-to-back runs or back-to-back plays.”

On the play of Khalil Tate, who continues to throw much more than he runs...

“I think because of some things that have happened with him physically … I think he’s handling things very well. ... We’ve had to make some adjustments. That’s obvious. Based on where he is and what we’re doing offensively, I think he’s adjusted very, very well.”

On the most impressive part of the offensive line’s performance vs. OSU...

“We’re just getting better. I think that’s where we are, just trying to take a step (forward). Really, I think this team has done better with the approach of (focusing) not so much the opponent, but about us and putting together schemes that give us a chance with players that are in those positions to make plays instead of a cookie-cutter style and worrying about who we’re playing, and our think our team has responded the last couple weeks to that approach.

“I like it, and we’ll see this week because USC is a very talented team, they’ve had their struggles, but they still have a lot of talent across the board, got a young quarterback (JT Daniels) but he’s talented, a veteran offensive line in front of him, explosive on the perimeter.”

On if USC looks like an SEC team on film...

“Video is different. You can look at video, but … it’s when you’re on the field that you get a really good feel for what the stature of the team looks like and things like that. They’ve got plenty of speed. Always have, always will. The combination and big and fast is what they’ve always had and I don’t think that’s gone away.”

On if there’s one thing that defenses can do to rattle a true freshman QB...

“No, all quarterbacks are different. Some guys handle things a little bit differently. Obviously last week, JT was a guy in the second half that really came alive and got them back in the game. So that’s concerning for us that he’s coming off the last half of the last game in a pressure situation, but young guys grow at different rates. Obviously the type of competition he’s played, he’s seen a variety of defenses in the first four weeks of the season.”

On linebacker Colin Schooler, who leads UA in tackles, tackles for loss and quarterback hits...

“He makes a lot of plays. He’s a tenacious player, he’s faster than you think he is, faster than a lot of people think he is. Based on our GPS utilization here, he can get up to the 20 MPH range consistently. Doesn’t look like it, but that’s pretty fast. Some of the fastest people on the field are at 22 MPH, so he is 240 pounds and he’s knowledgeable guy, he’s a great communicator on the sideline with his teammates and loves to play the game. Football is in his blood obviously and his kind of energy and play is contagious.

“His relationship with (linebacker) Tony (Fields) is more than just on Saturday. These guys are walking around together all the time and I think they push each other. Colin is the quarterback of the defense, knows what to do, knows how to do it now that he’s in his second year and does it at a high level every week.”

On the GPS tool, which Sumlin said he started using this year...

“It’s a tool that’s able measure speeds, measure player load and what it does is it gives us an idea exactly of what a guy is doing in practice, what his distance is in practice, gives us an opportunity to keep track of our players and have them be able to practice at a high level but know when things can get a little iffy with pushing them too much.

“It gives us an opportunity to limit soft tissue injuries based on the distance and the speeds that the guy has during the week and then during game days, it allows us to see how much a guy is actually playing. When you say he played 70 snaps, 70 snaps for an o-lineman may be different for a defensive lineman because of the amount that defensive lineman is running during the game.”

On where the team is after four games...

“I thought we played extremely hard last Saturday. With that, we’ve gotta be a smarter football team. The penalties, a couple of them in particular, are not acceptable. Things like that we have to continue to work on.

“They (fumbled) the ball four times, which we didn’t get any of them. If we force something like that, we’ve got to get on the ball. And then the ball was out way too much for us. Turnover margin and penalties will come back to haunt you if you don’t get that fixed, and that’s something we’re working on right now.”

On Lucas Havrisik missing two field goals against Oregon State and being 4-of-8 on the season...

“Everybody’s got a job to do and that’s certainly an area we need to get better. That’s something we’re working with him on. He’s done an excellent job with kickoffs, which this is his first year starting as a placekicker.

“I’ve said this before, you can go to a driving range and hit it a mile. But that fairway gets tight and you have to play Hole 1, it’s a different swing. That’s a mindset, so that’s something we’re talking about right now.”

On holder Jake Glatting’s fake field goal run that resulted in a first down...

“We carry fakes every week. Coach (Jeremy) Springer and I sit down on Sunday night and watch all the special teams video. We review our video on Sunday in the afternoon and then in the evening we start working the opponent. We’re always looking for something that if we’ve got something to use, we’ve got to use it if it’s the right time and right situation.

“We’ll carry a couple different exotics every week. Just because we don’t run them doesn’t mean we don’t have them.”

On when the decision is made to run a fake...

“Actually, it’s a little bit anticipatory based on the situation, just a lot of different things. Not one fake works for all fronts. You’re looking for certain things and it’s a feel for the game and where you are.

“…We’ve had other opportunities where we tried, we were getting ready to do some things earlier in the season, but this situation came up and obviously we were able to execute it. I felt like we could get at least eight yards and we did. I was a little upset that (Oregon State) did something a little bit different. I thought we were going to score, but obviously that didn’t happen, but we did get a first down.”

On the status of senior cornerback Jace Whittaker, who has only appeared in one game this season...

“I’m not going to comment on any injury information.”