New cooperation at USC Marshall research lab provides the Trojan football team with a strategic advantage

Conor McQuiston observes football somewhat differently than the typical enthusiast. This is because he — as he openly acknowledges — possesses more knowledge than the average supporter. As the head of football analytics for the USC Trojans football team, McQuiston gathers and evaluates information from the team’s on-field execution. His efforts assist coaches in making tactical choices and furnish athletes with understanding about their gameplay. Essentially, if it is quantifiable, McQuiston is monitoring it.

While most enthusiasts celebrate when they see a long pass, an extensive rush, or a forceful tackle, McQuiston is inquiring: Why?

“When you become so immersed in something, you start to recognize how the intricacies operate,” McQuiston stated. “My role encompasses everything within the boundaries: How is the offense executing? How is our defense performing? What actions is the opposing team taking in these circumstances?”

This past summer, McQuiston contacted Lorena Martin, assistant professor of clinical data sciences and operations at the USC Marshall School of Business, to assist him in gathering a team of interns to compile and assess all the data from contests and practices. Martin’s Trojans Sports Research Lab is committed to enhancing human performance and health through innovative research, technology, and collaboration. Through the lab, Martin appointed seven students to intern with McQuiston and the USC football team, establishing an essential asset for USC head football coach Lincoln Riley’s analytics-centered approach.

“I’m incredibly fortunate to collaborate with such diligent students,” McQuiston remarked. “It’s logical — being at a school like this — that there would be numerous industrious, intelligent students, but they’ve been an enormous support, alleviating some of my burdens and significantly contributing to our success in games.”

A rising acceptance of analytics in athletics

To secure a role like McQuiston’s, one must be more than just a casual football admirer. McQuiston is a football enthusiast. Raised in a large family on the East Coast that adores the Philadelphia Eagles, encompassing six siblings, his passion for the game is longstanding. His father, grandfather, and three brothers played football at the collegiate level. Although McQuiston did not follow in this lineage, humorously attributing that to his stature, he attended the University of Michigan — a school that cherishes the sport as he does.

Originally majoring in physics, McQuiston soon discovered that he was not particularly interested in physics research. Instead, he embraced his passion for data and joined the university’s football analytics club while still enrolled in school,
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ultimately becoming an undergraduate analytics supervisor with the Michigan Wolverines football squad. Following his graduation in 2021, he leveraged that experience and his personal side research endeavors into an internship at Pro Football Focus, before transitioning into the professional sphere as an intern with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals and ultimately securing his position at USC earlier this year.

“I adore football, but I’ve always been a STEM enthusiast, and I’m 5’8”, so this was likely my most viable route ahead,” McQuiston stated with a chuckle.

Although he is merely four years past his college graduation, he has witnessed the rising fascination and acceptance of analytics in football. Once deemed to be exclusive to baseball, McQuiston remarked that the football sector has begun to acknowledge the worth of data while he refrains from using the term “trend.”

“It’s not exactly like Moneyball, where everyone’s just gazing at the numbers expert as if to say, ‘What in the world are you doing here?’ Coaches have an understanding of what it entails,” McQuiston explained. “Analytics is merely the collection of information, discerning what functions, what doesn’t function, in a structured manner, and executing tasks at scale.”

Leveraging USC’s scholarly excellence

Shortly after his arrival at USC, McQuiston recognized that to perform his role effectively and provide the utmost insight he could to the Trojan football squad, he would require assistance. Therefore, he reached out to USC football general manager Chad Bowden about forming a team of interns.

“We’re situated at one of the premier academic establishments in America,” McQuiston noted. “Surely, there’s at least a few students who are interested in numbers and football and genuinely want to contribute.”

In fact, there were significantly more than “a few.” According to Martin, the challenge was not in sourcing interns but in refining the pool of candidates.

“We devised a form where students could indicate their interests — baseball, football, basketball, etc. — so that we could gain a clearer picture of who is genuinely passionate about football,” Martin stated. “We aim to engage individuals who aspire to work in football and truly wish to be in that milieu.”

The Trojans Sports Research Lab is an initiative approximately 15 years in the making. Long before Martin came to USC, she envisioned creating a space for sports research. With support from USC Provost Andrew T. Guzman, along with USC Marshall Dean Geoffrey Garrett and USC Marshall Chief Financial Officer and Vice Dean of Finance & Administration Janet Horan, the lab was inaugurated this January with 25 members. Fast forward eight months, and the group has expanded to around 180 members and has joined forces with one of the most legendary programs in all of college athletics.

“It’s a partnership crafted in paradise,” Martin said with amusement. “One of the aspects that contributes to our partnership’s success is the trust we have developed together and the openness between our two organizations. Also, Conor is a superstar.”

Student experience

For USC graduate student Alejandro Pacheco, the chance to collaborate with the USC football team was too valuable to forgo.

“It’s been an incredibly fulfilling experience as I’ve been able to observe the effects of my projects on a weekly basis,” Pacheco articulated. “Through various reports and engineering tasks, I’ve been able to use the skills I’ve acquired and apply them to a sport I’ve been following for almost my entire life.”

Pacheco, who is pursuing his master’s degree in computer science from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, began interning with the team over the summer prior to his arrival at USC. He mentioned that aside from being a football enthusiast, the chance to work with Martin and other data scientists at the lab was a significant incentive.

“It’s fantastic to collaborate with like-minded individuals who are enthusiastic about sports and receive constant feedback on my work from those around me,” Pacheco mentioned.

As data analytics in athletics — particularly in football — continues to expand, students like USC senior Emily Mojica feel that their experience interning at the lab equips them for a future in this ever-evolving domain.

“Collaborating with the Trojans Sports Research Lab and USC football has been a remarkable way to merge my passions for football and engineering,” stated Mojica, a computer science and business administration student at USC Viterbi. “With the DSO [Data Sciences and Operations] Sports Data Science and Management class and the mentorship of Professor Lorena Martin and Conor McQuiston, I feel ready to keep progressing and thriving in this field.”