Tuesday, September 27, 2011

USC?s Kennard heads home seeking sacks

The Phoenix product is fired up about playing at Arizona State. He hasn?t gotten to the quarterback yet this season, but it?s coming.

Since returning to the position he should have been playing all along, USC defensive end Devon Kennard has yet to record a sack. But to hear his coaches and teammates tell it, he could have half-a-dozen.

"He has been very close," Trojans coach Lane Kiffin said.

Article Tab: USC's Devon Kennard, who played high school football in Phoenix, returns home to face Arizona State Saturday.
USC's Devon Kennard, who played high school football in Phoenix, returns home to face Arizona State Saturday.
ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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"He's right there," defensive line coach Ed Orgeron said.

"I can't even tell you how many times he's gotten this close to the quarterback," fellow defensive end Wes Horton said.

All agree that Kennard is on the verge of a breakout performance, and it just might happen Saturday at Arizona State. Kennard is from Phoenix. To say he's fired up about playing there is to say it's a little toasty in the desert this time of year.

"I can't wait," Kennard said. "It's the last time I get to play in Phoenix. It's probably the most exciting game for me this season."

About 20 of Kennard's friends and family members are expected to attend the 7:15 p.m. game at Sun Devil Stadium. ("He's been asking for tickets," teammate Nick Perry said, "so I imagine there's a lot of people coming.") Kennard actually made his first career start there as a freshman in 2009. It was the last time he started at defensive end until the second week of this season.

In between, Kennard spent four games at strong-side linebacker and an entire season at middle linebacker. Injuries, a lack of depth and Kennard's attitude and aptitude prompted those moves. But the middle linebacker experiment ended up being a failed one. Kennard never looked comfortable at the position. He's a natural at defensive end, having made the transition as quickly as he shoots past offensive tackles.

"He's adjusted well," Orgeron said. "He's very smart, very coachable, very mature. He's never complained about anything. I don't think it's been difficult at all."

Kennard wouldn't go so far as to say those multiple position changes set him back. But he did concede this: "If I had stayed at one position, I might be a little further along right now. But I feel like, when you watch film, you'll still see me making a big difference on the field and see my athleticism. The bigger plays are going to come for me."

Kennard knows how to sack a quarterback. The son of former NFL offensive lineman Derek Kennard had 24 as a junior at Phoenix's Desert Vista High.

Despite missing most of his senior season because of a knee injury, Kennard came to USC as a five-star prospect. Three years into his Trojans career, he's finally in the perfect place: Playing both defensive end spots in a rotation with Horton and Perry (a la Clay Matthews, Kennard sometimes rushes from a stand-up position, a precursor to what the 6-3, 250-pounder will be in the NFL: a 3-4 outside linebacker).

The only things absent are those pesky sacks. Kennard literally has just missed at times. At others, he has been the victim of penalties (some called, some not), a loss of containment or the quarterback getting rid of the ball a split-second before Kennard arrives.

Orgeron has stressed patience. Teammates have seen the frustration on Kennard's face.

"It's happened so many times," Horton said. "We all just keep encouraging him and telling him his sacks are going to come."

Kennard believes it. Even when he was struggling at middle linebacker, he remained unrelentingly positive.

"I'm definitely frustrated," he said through a smile. "It's just one of those things. You've got to keep working. When you're getting closer and closer, you've just got to know it's coming."

Contact the writer: mlev@ocregister.com

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