USC QB Kedon Slovis clears concussion protocol, will start versus Notre Dame

USC's starting quarterback is back.

Kedon Slovis passed the concussion protocol and has been cleared to play Saturday at Notre Dame, SI learned Tuesday afternoon. Coach Clay Helton later confirmed Slovis will start against the Fighting Irish.

The true freshman practiced in full pads, reclaiming his position as QB1 as the Trojans continued preparing for their biggest road test of the season.

"I'm always confident in Kedon," offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said. "You know I like him. I think he's a heck of a player."

Slovis has been sidelined since the second play of USC's win over Utah on Sept. 20, his head hitting the Coliseum field hard after being taken down by Leki Fotu. The rookie is second in the nation in completion percentage (77.9) and has passed for 732 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions while playing about 10 quarters this season.

He's started three games, earning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors in his debut against Stanford but throwing three picks in a loss at BYU. The latter performance has remained a bigger talking point, in part because it's the last full game he played.

"I don't think the moment was too big for him at BYU," Harrell said. "I just think that he threw a pick early and kind of got in his own head. But I don't think it was the atmosphere or the moment or anything like that. That's what I've been impressed with him about. I've been impressed with a lot of things about him. But since the day he's been here, I don't think it's ever been too big of a moment for him.

"He never had the big eyes or the deer in the headlights look. He always carried himself with confidence and expects good things to happen."

The Trojans will need as much as they try to snap a three-game losing streak in South Bend and a three-game losing streak on the road overall. The return of Slovis was a critical development for those initiatives, with Harrell revealing his intentions to start Slovis at the beginning of last week before he was cleared. The spring enrollee came out of training camp No. 2 on the depth chart before taking over for JT Daniels, who tore his ACL in the season opener.

In that time, Harrell has effusively praised Slovis’ talent and composure. That didn't change after a rough go in his lone road start, nearly four weeks ago.

"I just think he had an off day," Harrell reiterated. "As a quarterback, that happens sometimes, especially as a true freshman. You're going to have off days. Hopefully that was his one for the year. But we'll see. Again, I expect him to play well, and I don't think the moment or the stage will be too big for him."

Slovis was a limited participant during USC's bye-week practices, noting all his concussion symptoms had subsided by last Monday. He said his timing wasn't affected by his absence but it's taken a bit of time to rebuild some strength in his lower half.

"I think the biggest thing is getting my legs back," Slovis said. "As a quarterback, it seems pretty easy taking a three-step drop. But I think a big part of it is getting your feet in position to throw. When you're not practicing for a week, you lose that a little bit. So I think just getting my feet back under me and getting back to where I want to be."