Luca Evans (OC Register) —  LOS ANGELES — The whispers have swirled around his 6-foot-6 frame ever since Eric Gentry flew west from Arizona, the linebacker’s wiry build ever the subject of scrutiny, the sentiment persisting for years.

He needs to gain more weight.

He had packed on a few pounds of muscle since 2022. If there were a time to really do it, it would have been this offseason, as players devoured five-egg scrambles and grunted through missed-weight plate pushes under the direction of strength trainer Bennie Wylie and nutritionist Rachel Suba. But as an entire roster beefed up, senior Gentry entered 2024 listed at the exact same weight – 215 pounds – as he did in 2023.

It didn’t matter. Maybe the weight never mattered, at least to the degree it was made. Against arguably the most physical SEC-level threat USC had played during Gentry’s years with the program, he flew around the turf like a Slenderman in a china shop against LSU on Sunday, bursting off the edge for run-stuffs and making plays at the second level.

“I didn’t really, wasn’t paying attention, to me,” Gentry said Wednesday, when asked when he noticed the program’s offseason strength work paying off Sunday. “I’m just playing (ticked) off. So that’s how we gotta play.”

The emotion was present in Gentry’s every fiber on Sunday, popping up and roaring after hits, jawing at opposing Tigers every chance he got. This came after some not-so-subtle hints in the spring and fall as to how the new defensive staff’s scheme enabled him to play faster, defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn throwing him in a variety of different alignments to maximize his versatility.

“About time,” veteran defensive end Jamil Muhammad said Wednesday, “that the world is able to see what Eric Gentry is all about.”

The world will get another chance Saturday night against Utah State, in a slightly easier matchup still brimming with intrigue for USC’s new-look run defense. Mason Cobb, one of USC’s Week 1 starters at inside linebacker, wasn’t seen at practice Wednesday and was confirmed as questionable for Saturday by Lincoln Riley.

If Cobb can’t go – very possible, as Riley said he’d been limited throughout the week – it will mean more opportunity for Gentry in a traditional inside linebacker role, as he only received 29 snaps compared to Cobb’s 55 against LSU. The senior will play a crucial role in any event against Utah State, USC’s defense breaking into positional work during Wednesday’s practice and preparing for the return of the “pig farmer.”

Utah State starter Spencer Petras went down with an ankle sprain in the second quarter of the Aggies’ season-opening 36-14 win against Robert Morris last week, meaning USC could see a familiar face Saturday at the Coliseum: dual-threat transfer quarterback Bryson Barnes, a kid who grew up working on his parents’ pig farm in Milford, Utah and totaled four touchdowns (14 for 23/235) in leading Utah to a bone-crushing 34-32 victory over the Trojans last season. He added another 57 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The biggest play in the game was a Barnes’ rush for 20 yards putting the Utes in position for their game-winning field goal as time expired.

“We’re going to see him play well,” Riley said of Barnes on Thursday. “Have a lot of respect for him as a player. It’s helpful anytime you’ve been on the field with a guy like (Barnes) who is a very good player.”

Barnes is in a remarkably different scheme at Utah State, as Riley pointed out, than at Utah last season. Utah State has a couple of excellent receivers in star Jalen Royals and blooming senior Kyrese White, who will command more consistent touches through the air.

But USC still made a concerted effort Wednesday to prepare for Barnes’ dual-threat potential with Utah State, with defensive ends coach Shaun Nua’s group noticeably running through a drill that involved edge rushers reading run-pass-option looks.

And without Cobb, USC’s linebacker group will be key in containing Barnes on scrambles, as the Trojans missed 12 tackles against Utah’s run-heavy attack in 2023. USC is high on true freshman Desman Stephens II, a Michigan native who played a mix of cornerback and receiver in high school and could see some snaps against Utah State.

“He’s kind of felt like he’s belonged the entire time,” Riley said Thursday of Stephens. “He doesn’t look like a true freshman, in terms of the way he competes. He’s learned our defense fast, and we’ve got a lot of confidence in him.”

The key, though, is Gentry, ever the X-factor and looking to prove he’s truly taken a leap in a scheme ideal for his strengths.

“I know he’s going to have an amazing season,” Trojans linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold said of Gentry, after the win over LSU. “This is just, not even close to what he’s capable of.”

The Aggies find themselves as huge 28.5-point underdogs against the Trojans.

However, it’s college football, and the season is just beginning, so prepare to expect the unexpected. USC cannot afford to take their foot off the gas if they want to have a comfortable win to get themselves to 2-0.

Matchups to watch: USC’s running game versus Utah State’s defense. The Aggies fielded the fifth-worst unit against the run in 2023 by yards per game, and have seen wide turnover on the defensive side of the ball this offseason. Their co-leading tackler against Robert Morris was Division II transfer Jon Ross Maye, and the Aggies missed nine tackles against the run in Week 1, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Trojans’ secondary did a tremendous job of limiting explosive plays from a much more talented LSU offense last week, and even USC’s biggest position of question – offensive line – is more stout than Utah State’s front, a unit that allowed a boatload of pressures last season.

Prediction: USC 52, Utah State 21. Coming off a grueling battle in Vegas last week, it’s easy to see USC starting slow and pulling even with Utah State through a quarter or so before turning on the jets.

No. 13 USC vs. UTAH STATE

Saturday, 8 p.m. Coliseum, Big Ten Network/710 AM

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