USC trying to rebuild safety Isaiah Pola-Mao’s confidence
Adam Grosbard (OC Register) — LOS ANGELES — To any observer of USC football the last two years, it’s clear that senior safety Isaiah Pola-Mao is not playing like himself much this season. The two-time captain had a strong fall training camp, looking to build off a junior season in which was third on the team with 40 tackles and led the Trojans with five deflections and three fumble recoveries.
With fellow safety Talanoa Hufanga off to the NFL, 2021 seemed like Pola-Mao’s year to truly lead the defense on and off the field.
But that hasn’t been the case. In seven games this year (one more than he played in the abridged COVID season), Pola-Mao has 35 tackles and just one pass breakup.
He has missed tackles and been beaten in coverage. Both happened on one play in Saturday’s game against Arizona, on the third play from scrimmage. Wildcats receiver Tayvian Cunningham went up and beat Pola-Mao for a jump ball downfield, then broke the tackle attempt to turn the big play into a 73-yard touchdown.
The coaching staff is trying to work with Pola-Mao. There’s strategic talk, like telling him to take a pass interference penalty on plays like that in the future.
But a lot of it comes down to trying to rebuild Pola-Mao’s confidence, including showing him highlight reels from 2020 to remind him of the caliber of player he’s capable of being.
“OK, this is you. Don’t over-process stuff. We’re all going to make mistakes,” defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said of the message to Pola-Mao. “Whether you’re a coach or whether you’re a player, do you have the mental toughness to go, ‘I don’t care what anybody else thinks. I messed it up and I’m going to let it go.’ And that’s kinda what we’re working on with him right now and just showing him tape of when he just pulled the trigger and cut it loose and stop over-processing. Go play free and loose. He’ll be fine.”
INJURY REPORT
Cornerback Chris Steele was back at practice on Wednesday after being absent from Monday’s proceedings. Steele said he was sick on Monday, and due to health and safety protocols was not allowed to join the team.
Defensive end Nick Figueroa (shoulder) was a non-participant on Wednesday, as he was on Monday. The redshirt senior did not dress for last weekend’s victory over Arizona as a precaution due to the AC sprain that has plagued him all season. Orlando said Figueroa is expected back at some point this season.
Defensive tackles Ishmael Sopsher and Jamar Sekona also did not dress for the Arizona game and have been limited in practice this week. Orlando said both players are banged up but expected to be available for the Trojans (4-4 overall, 3-3 Pac-12) on Saturday night against Arizona State (5-3, 3-2).
Running back Darwin Barlow and offensive tackle Courtland Ford were full participants on Wednesday after being limited on Monday. Kicker Parker Lewis was still confined to working out with his rehabbing teammates instead of practice with the full team after being disciplined for what interim head coach Donte Williams called “accountability” issues.
ocregister.com
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No wonder ALA always wins huge. In 2015, Saban had Kirby Smart (DC), Mario Cristobal (OL/RC) and Mel Tucker (AHC/DB) on his staff. I’d take any one of those guys to be USC’s HC right now without hesitation. Each is HC of a top five team, in the eyes of many. With Saban, they were all just stop overs.
Saban is an excellent judge of coaching talent AND knows how to coach up good coaches making them even better. But he doesn’t teach them all he knows. Once they leave him he can still out coach them (except one time). Amazing guy. Greatest coach in the history of college football.
Saban’s #1 for me too. It’s hard to fathom what he’s actually accomplished at ALA. And he’s not done. I feel very sorry for LSU and Ed O in Tuscaloosa this weekend.
You don’t think his mentoring Bill O”Brien as his OC doesn’t enhance O’Brien’s ability to mirror Saban’s system in organizing a college football program and with his previous knowledge being a HC at both the college & pro level makes him a prime candidate to competently lead a college program? He’s my #1 choice knowing Saban & Meyer are not in the mix for USC. In football knowledge, how can Fickell, Campbell or Aranda match what O’Brien knows?
Matt Weston (SB Nation) — “Bill O’Brien was a terrible head coach in Houston. The people who pined for him were wrong. The people who thought he shouldn’t have been fired were wrong. The people who thought Houston’s quarterback problems weren’t because of him were wrong. Everyone in his corner were wrong the entire time. O’Brien won a bad division with a talented team year after year and flailed spectacularly in the NFL Playoffs. “Houston had a positive offensive DVOA just one season with O’Brien as the head coach, a whopping 0.2%, despite having Deshaun Watson at quarterback. To make things exponentially worse, the decisions O’Brien made… Read more »
This isn’t about the NFL other than having a lot of experience coaching it. Is there a sportswriter with a possible axe to grind towards O’Brien while at PSU? I don’t remember Nick Saban winning in his short NFL career but he sure turned out to be an even better college HC.
Not everyone likes, or even remotely respects O’Brien, obviously. In fact, you can have him. I don’t think USC’s gonna pay any attention to the schmuck, so I’m not worried.
So what “smucks” do you favor as the next USC HC?
I obviously don’t favor any schmucks like your boy O’Brien coaching at USC.
Since you suggest these evil “sportswriters” have an axe to grind against him, maybe you can dig up some good press on the guy. I hear Nick Saban, whom you literally compared Schmuck O’Brien with (good luck with that, 😂), is helping out with his latest resumes as we speak. Watch out Urban!
Was your definition of O’Brien due to what you got from this one-lone sportswriter? I don’t remember you calling him a name before. I read your article and this writer had to throw a barb at O’Brien for coaching his team to winning their division a few times. In my opinion this writer did have a bias opinion. Oh well, we all know sportswriters are always fair completely fair. If experience counts at all, this is what I like to see. Seems USC in recent past has hired people who had to learn on the job. And that didn’t work… Read more »
Believe whatever you want about evil sportswriters (that’s right, at least two went after Schmuck O’Brien here), who I’ve also heard negatives about from other coaches who think he’d be a bad fit at USC. He prefers the pros anyway.
USC is looking at plenty of other very experienced coaches. Schmuck O’Brien isn’t the only one out there. Other schmucks you might like Jam include Sark, Helton and Choc Chip Kelly. Guess what? They’re all very experienced. ✌
This all laughingly reminds me of a great line from Jack Nicholson to Diane Keaton in Something’s Gotta Give:
“Schmucks are people too, you know!”
Fresno St/ Boise St game complete sellout. Place will be rockin. Go Bulldogs.
If USC could get Aranda, then he hires Orgeron to recruit and do D line. Bring in Scott Frost as OC. Keep Donte and let him learn some things from Aranda and recruit with Ed O. Get a good O line coach like Warinner or Huff. What a staff
Nice thought.
Had Clay remained, his answer to the lack of speed in the defensive backfield would be to hire a speed coach.
Clay would have to watch his own practice tape to see how fast someone is on the field he just exited.
These traits of The Cat drove us all crazy, like always telling Trojan fans he needed to evaluate the tape before commenting on what we already observed.
This 2021 Trojan season became a success for me when Clay was officially fired. Thank you David Shaw.
The entire defensive backfield has not impressed this season, and neither have the line backers or D line for that matter. Players have had moments of greatness then faded back into the pack. The only consistency about Orlando’s defense is missed tackles, undefended receivers, and slow containment.
Maybe he’s missing the group hugs his first college coach used to bring. I doubt NFL scouts will worry about player pouting over the loss of a coach, due to the volatile nature of pro football employment. If Helton had been a pro coach the past ten years he’d have the record for most dismissals in ten years. He’s what the Texans call, “all hat and no cattle.”