Ryan Kartje (LA Times)  —  His physical transformation, spanning four years at USC, may not have been the stuff of Instagram thirst traps. His shirtless before-and-after shots weren’t shared by USC’s social team this summer, like some of his more trim teammates whose stunning body fat percentages lingered somewhere in the single digits.

But when Lincoln Riley looks at Kobe Pepe today, USC’s coach sees an entirely different defensive tackle than the one he first met back in 2021.

“He’s just totally changed his body,” Riley said of the 315-pound redshirt senior. “He’s one of the ones that I’m most proud of from where he was a couple of years ago till now.”

Those changes couldn’t come at a better time for USC, which has made a point to beef up its defensive interior heading into the Big Ten. Its new scheme under defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn also puts a premium on bigger defensive tackles, leaving USC desperate this fall for any capable — and sizable — defensive tackles who can plug holes up front.

Pepe, as one of just three players pushing 300 pounds on USC’s defense, is among the few hefty options able to naturally fill that void at nose tackle. All-conference stalwart Bear Alexander — at 315 pounds — is locked into one interior spot, while Carlon Jones, a 310-pound freshman, has turned heads early despite just being cleared this week for full contact. Sophomore Elijah Hughes (290), Wyoming graduate transfer Gavin Meyer (290), Vanderbilt transfer Nate Clifton (295) and freshman Jide Abisiri (290) should also rotate in on the interior.

None, in Riley’s estimation, have made changes as stark as Pepe. When Riley first took the USC job in 2021, he had serious doubts Pepe would stay on the team.

“I just didn’t know if he was going to be one of the ones that were here that were going to survive, or that were going to kinda just, float away,” Riley said. “I mean, he was easily the most out-of-shape player on this roster.”

Riley didn’t mince words with him at the time.

“He told me straight up, ‘If you don’t do these things, you’re not going to fit,’” Pepe recalled.

He promised Riley that he would make a change. But the switch didn’t just flip right away. Pepe appeared in two games as a freshman, then missed his redshirt freshman season due to injury. He suited up for just a single game as a redshirt sophomore in 2022, Riley’s first season.

That December, he decided to enter the transfer portal. Then-defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was trying to cut significant weight on the defensive front, for the purpose of speeding up the group. Pepe, who had been dealing with injuries, struggled to keep up. He wondered if there was a better fit elsewhere.

Another conversation with Riley convinced him to stay. Then, Pepe said, support from defensive line coach Shaun Nua helped get him finally get on the right track.

“Coach Nua was my rock, my guy giving me motivation, teaching me how to better myself,” Pepe said.

Bennie Wylie, USC’s strength and conditioning coach, got in Pepe’s ear, pushing him to work harder in practice and training.

The turning point, Pepe said, came this past offseason. Now another assistant, new defensive line coach Eric Henderson, was on his case, too. Henderson drilled into him how important his role could be on USC’s defense, if he could only rise to the occasion.

“Kobe, bring the friggin fire, bring the energy — that’s something he has to understand,” Nua said. “Sometimes he has great days, but I’m like, ‘You’ve got to have elite days every day.’ To take his game to the next level, you’re just not a big nose. We expect you to be extra.”

Size has never been the problem for Pepe. But now, after four years of finding his way, the redshirt senior is feeling much better than he ever has. He’s more comfortable in the playbook — and more comfortable in his own skin.

He thinks back to that first conversation he had with Riley and the changes the coach told him he needed to make to stay at USC.

Pepe smiles. “And that’s what I did,” he said. “I’m still here.”

latimes.com

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