USC QB Kedon Slovis knocked out of Utah game with possible head injury
USC has lost another quarterback to injury.
On just the second play of Friday night’s game against No. 10 Utah, Trojans quarterback Kedon Slovis was drilled by Utah defensive lineman Leki Fotu. Slovis faked a give to his running back on an RPO play and held on to the ball with Fotu in his face. Slovis, starting in place of the injured JT Daniels, delivered a pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown for an eight-yard gain, but he paid the price.
The 335-pound Fotu, one of the top defensive tackles in the Pac-12, delivered a monster hit and drove Slovis to the turf. The quarterback’s head hit the ground hard.
Slovis was briefly down on the turf, but tried to rise to his feet. But he could not stay up and went back down. It was a scary sight.
Not long after, Slovis was helped off the field and transported to the locker room to be examined. After the game, USC coach Clay Helton said Slovis was evaluated for a concussion and not cleared to return to the game.
Matt Fink, the team’s third-string quarterback, entered the game and impressively led the offense down the field for a score. The drive was capped off by a 29-yard touchdown pass from Fink to Tyler Vaughns, giving USC an early 7-0 lead. Fink went on to throw for 351 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-23 upset win.
Slovis, a true freshman, rose up the depth chart during preseason camp to earn the No. 2 spot entering the season. And when Daniels, a sophomore and former five-star recruit, went down with a serious knee injury in Week 1 against Fresno State, Slovis was forced into action.
He helped the Trojans beat Fresno State and, a week later, had an awesome performance in a 45-20 victory over Stanford, completing 28-of-33 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns. Slovis had his first road start against BYU last week, but tossed three interceptions in a 30-27 overtime loss.
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