LOS ANGELES – USC receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was tired of all the trash talk from Utah cornerback Dominique Hatfield.
Smith-Schuster got his chance early in the third quarter when, on a short pass to the left side of the field, Hatfield had the angle to force him to the sideline. Instead of going out of bounds or cutting upfield, Smith-Schuster slowed down, waited for Hatfield to pursue him, then sent the Utah cornerback, a Los Angeles native, airborne with a stiff-arm that will be replayed on YouTube for years.
Smith-Schuster, the Pac-12’s leading receiver, finished with eight catches for 143 yards and a touchdown in USC’s 42-24 victory.
Asked what Hatfield’s trash talk consisted of, Smith-Schuster wouldn’t go into specifics.
“I’m not going to say,” he said. “It was pretty bad.”
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This is hands down one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen on a football field. So badass that I gave it its own blog spot outside of the Roundup. Catching a ball on a crossing route, singling a guy out who was talking shit to you all game, calling him over, then throwing his ass off the field with a savage stiff arm. Calling his shot and everything.
“[Hatfield is] probably the kid who talks the most trash in one game. Probably in one series,” Smith-Schuster said Saturday night. “I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m not even about that.’ And it got to the point where I was like, ‘OK, I’m about to embarrass you.’“
“What he said to me was, ‘Don’t put me on ESPN. Why are you trying to put me on ESPN?’” Smith-Schuster said of Hatfield. “I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m just doing my job, trying to have fun.’ On the one play and I’m like, ‘OK, I’m just going to give you the stiff-arm and throw you out of bounds and then turn up.’”
Grown man move. Also didn’t hurt that they were in the process of dismantling the #3 team in the country…insult to injury.
Personal view count: 100+
