Kedon Slovis
Kedon Slovis (born April 11, 2001) is the starting American football quarterback for the USC Trojans college football team.
Slovis in 2019 | |
USC Trojans – No. 9 | |
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Position | Quarterback |
Class | Freshman |
Major | Business Administration |
Career history | |
College |
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Bowl games | |
High school | Desert Mountain High School (Scottsdale, Arizona) |
Personal information | |
Born: | Scottsdale, Arizona | April 11, 2001
Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Weight | 201 lb (91 kg) |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Early years
Slovis attended Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. During his time playing high school football, he passed for 2,542 yards with 50 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions.[1] His high school quarterbacks coach was Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner.[2] In his senior year of high school, he received offers from 12 colleges, committing to USC in 2018.[2][3] USC had been one of the only teams from one of the Power Five conferences to show interest in Slovis, which happened shortly after USC quarterbacks coach Bryan Ellis visited the high school.[4] Arizona State offensive coordinator Rob Likens had also shown interest in Slovis, but was unable to recruit him before he committed to the Trojans.[5] Slovis graduated from his high school a semester early and enrolled at the University of Southern California in January 2019.[6]
College career
USC
Freshman season
Slovis entered the 2019 season as the second quarterback in the depth chart, behind then-starting quarterback JT Daniels. Slovis made his first collegiate appearance in the Trojans' season opener against Fresno State, after Daniels suffered a season-ending knee injury.[7][8] Slovis would go on to make his first start next week, where he set the school record for quarterback touchdowns in a 45–20 victory over the 23rd ranked Stanford Cardinal.[9][10] For his efforts, Slovis was named the PAC-12 Freshman of the Week.[11] The next week, Slovis started in an away game against BYU, where he would throw three interceptions in a 30–27 loss in overtime.[12] Slovis would next start in a home game against the 10th ranked Utah Utes, where he left the game early in the first quarter after suffering a possible head injury. Backup quarterback Matt Fink would proceed to lead the Trojans to a 30–23 upset victory.[13][14] Following the incident, Slovis was placed in the concussion protocol and ruled out for the next game, an away game at Washington, leaving Fink to start.[15][16] Slovis would return to the starting position for the next game, a narrow loss at 9th ranked Notre Dame.[17][18] Rebounding from that loss, Slovis would lead the Trojans to two straight wins, a blowout against Arizona and a come from behind victory in USC's first away game win of the season at Colorado.[4][19] For his performance in the Colorado victory, Slovis was awarded his second PAC-12 Freshman of the Week Award.[11] Following a 56–24 blowout loss to Oregon, where Slovis set the USC record for most pass attempts in a game, Slovis would return to his native Arizona where he set another school record with 292 passing yards and 4 touchdowns in the first quarter of a 31–26 victory against Arizona State.[20][21][22] For his performance, Slovis was awarded the PAC-12 Player of the Week Award, while freshman Kenan Christon was named the PAC-12 Freshman of the Week.[23] The following week, Slovis led the Trojans to a 41–17 blowout of Cal going 29/35 for 406 yards, 4 touchdowns and zero interceptions.[24] In the final game of the regular season, Slovis broke another USC record throwing for single game passing yards, throwing for 515 yards and 4 touchdowns (the previous record of 493 yards was set by Matt Barkley in 2012) in a 52–35 win over UCLA.[25][26] It was his fourth game of at least 400 yards passing, setting yet another school record. During the 2019 Holiday Bowl, with USC down 28–24 but making a comeback, Slovis suffered an elbow strain in the second quarter after getting sacked by A. J. Epenesa. He was replaced by Matt Fink and USC would lose to the Iowa Hawkeyes 49–24.[27]
Slovis finished the 2019 season with a freshman record 3,502 yards, 30 touchdowns to only 9 interceptions and an NCAA Freshman record 71.8 completion percentage, while leading USC to an 8-4 regular season record and a Holiday Bowl berth en route to being named the PAC-12 Freshman of the Year.[28]
Sophomore season
Following the 2019 season, multiple sources pegged Slovis as a possible contender for the Heisman Trophy in 2020.[29][30] On July 14, 2020 he was named to the Davey O'Brien Award Watch List alongside other notable quarterbacks, including 2020 Heisman Trophy favorites Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields.[31]
Statistics
Season | Games | Games started |
Record | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||||
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Comp | Att | Yards | Avg | Lng | Pct. | TD | Int | QB rating | Att | Yards | Avg | Lng | TD | ||||||
2019 | 12 | 11 | 7–4 | 282 | 392 | 3,502 | 8.9 | 95 | 71.9 | 30 | 9 | 167.6 | 45 | -57 | -1.3 | 9 | 0 | ||
Career | 12 | 11 | 7–4 | 282 | 392 | 3,502 | 8.9 | 95 | 71.9 | 30 | 9 | 167.6 | 45 | -57 | -1.3 | 9 | 0 |
Reference[32]
References
- "Kedon Slovis | Desert Mountain HS, Scottsdale, AZ". MaxPreps. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- Obert, Richard (May 16, 2018). "Desert Mountain QB Kedon Slovis' recruiting taking off with Kurt Warner's help". The Arizona Republic. Gannett. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- Spratling, Shotgun (December 19, 2018). "QB Kedon Slovis is headed from AZ to LA". 247Sports.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- Gold, Jon (October 18, 2019). "Scottsdale's Kedon Slovis overlooked by Arizona Wildcats, shines for USC Trojans". The Arizona Republic. Gannett. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- Gardner, Michelle (November 5, 2019). "True freshmen Jayden Daniels, Kedon Slovis leading the way for ASU and USC". The Arizona Republic. Gannett. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Grosbard, Adam (March 30, 2019). "How USC freshman QB Kedon Slovis has impressed at spring practice". Orange County Register. Digital First Media. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- Evans, Jace (September 1, 2019). "USC starting quarterback JT Daniels out for the season with knee injury". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- Obert, Richard (September 8, 2019). "USC QB Kedon Slovis' high school coaches not surprised by record starting debut". The Arizona Republic. Gannett. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- Grosbard, Adam (September 8, 2019). "Kedon Slovis sets two USC records in Trojans' win over No. 23 Stanford". Orange County Register. Digital First Media. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- "USC Football Roster—Kedon Slovis". USC Trojans. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- Trevino, Chris (October 28, 2019). "USC Football: QB Kedon Slovis named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week". 247Sports.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- Kartje, Ryan (September 14, 2019). "Kedon Slovis picked off in overtime as USC suffers stunning loss to BYU". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- Cooper, Sam (September 20, 2019). "USC QB Kedon Slovis knocked out of Utah game with possible head injury". Yahoo Sports. Verizon Media. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
- Lott, Thomas (September 20, 2019). "USC quarterback Kedon Slovis injured on second play of game vs. Utah". Sporting News. DAZN Group. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
- Kartje, Ryan (September 26, 2019). "Quarterback Kedon Slovis is ruled out for USC's game at Washington". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- Trevino, Chris (September 26, 2019). "USC Football: QB Kedon Slovis officially out vs. Washington". 247Sports.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- Grosbard, Adam (October 14, 2019). "Where USC saw improvement in Kedon Slovis' second road game". Orange County Register. Digital First Media. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- Kartje, Ryan (October 13, 2019). "Kedon Slovis comes alive late, but USC's rally comes up short against No. 9 Notre Dame". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- Grosbard, Adam (October 26, 2019). "How USC QB Kedon Slovis took a step forward in his evolution vs. Colorado". Orange County Register. Digital First Media. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- Kasabian, Paul (November 2, 2019). "Justin Herbert, No. 7 Oregon Dominate USC 56-24 as Kedon Slovis Struggles". Bleacher Report. WarnerMedia. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Associated Press (November 9, 2019). "Pac-12 football roundup: Kedon Slovis, USC hold off Arizona State". The Spokesman-Review. Cowles Company. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- "USC, Slovis win passing shootout vs. Arizona St". Reuters. November 9, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Grosbard, Adam (November 18, 2019). "USC notebook: RB Stephen Carr feels good after return from injury". Los Angeles Daily News. Digital First Media. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- Meagher, Sean (November 17, 2019). "USC routs Cal behind 4 TDs from Slovis: Recap, highlights". OregonLive.com. Advance. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- Bonagura, Kyle (November 23, 2019). "Kedon Slovis becomes first USC QB to surpass 500 yards". KABC-TV. ABC Owned Television Stations. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- City News Service (November 23, 2019). "USC football team beats UCLA, 52-35". KTTV. Fox Television Stations. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- Kartje, Ryan (December 28, 2019). "USC quarterback Kedon Slovis' elbow injury ruins his Holiday plans". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
- Grosbard, Adam (November 23, 2019). "USC QB Kedon Slovis has night for history books in win over UCLA". Orange County Register. Digital First Media. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- Schlager, Brandon (January 16, 2020). "Heisman Trophy odds 2020: Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Kedon Slovis & more early favorites". Sporting News. DAZN Group. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
- Cluff, Jeremy (January 28, 2020). "2020 Heisman Trophy: Spencer Rattler, Kedon Slovis, Brock Purdy among Arizona candidates". The Arizona Republic. Gannett. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
- Mellor, Cam (July 14, 2020). "Kedon Slovis named to the 2020 Davey O'Brien Watch List". MSN. Microsoft. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- "Kedon Slovis stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 12, 2020.