Can the USC defense make the 2021 season a distant memory?
Adam Grosbard (OC Register) — Through spring camp and the preseason, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has tried to instill a new sense of urgency in the USC defense, tried to better prepare them for the realities of college football.
“The fog of war … we’re trying to create an intense environment,” Grinch said. “You earn the right to have confidence walking into the stadium on Saturday. Your logo’s not going to get it done, it’s going to be how you prepare on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.”
On Saturday, USC will get the first chance to prove that the off-season work on the defense was fruitful. And after the 2021 that the USC defense had, there is a lot to prove.
Last season, the Trojans gave up 408.9 yards per game and 31.8 points. Opponents converted 42.8% of third-down opportunities and scored 34 touchdowns in 47 trips into the red zone.
And to be honest, the pure numbers hardly do justice to the spectacle of watching the 2021 USC defense, from missed tackles to blown assignments to mind-numbing penalties.
But USC is hopeful that the tide is turning. Throughout stretches of fall camp, the defense has been the dominant unit at practice, according to both coaches and players on the offensive side of the ball.
Depth issues were a concern in the spring, but USC has filled the gaps through the transfer portal. And head coach Lincoln Riley believes that the thin spring roster provided a hidden benefit: Players had to work at multiple positions, and wound up giving the defense the type of versatility that Grinch craves.
“It’s great what everybody’s done, but you gotta go prove it on Saturdays,” Riley said.
But after last season, questions will remain about the USC defense until they are dispelled in a game.
Defensive Line
This is the position group with arguably the most returning talent from last season. Junior Tuli Tuipulotu is the clear standout of the group after recording 48 tackles and a team-high 5.5 sacks as a sophomore. Once again, Tuipulotu is expected to be moved around the line, inside and out, as his versatile combination of strength and agility make him the perfect lineman for what Grinch wants to do.
The rest of the line is full of question marks, if intriguing ones. Transfers Earl Barquet and Tyrone Taleni have to prove themselves. Nick Figueroa is a long-time Trojan but has been working with the second-team defense at practice. Stanley Ta’ufo’ou is still waiting on his breakout.
The same can be said for the rush edge position, which either rushes the quarterback or drops into coverage. Auburn transfer Romello Height has earned the starting job, but has to prove his practice play can translate to a game. And sophomore Korey Foreman is hoping he can overcome the loss of practice time to be an impact player this season.
Linebacker
This group has been reduced to two on-field roles at a time. Alabama transfer Shane Lee seems to have a grip on one of them given both his play on the field and his leadership. The question then becomes who joins him on the first team.
The two leaders are senior Ralen Goforth and sophomore transfer Eric Gentry. Goforth started eight games last season and recorded 61 tackles. Gentry played with Arizona State last season and brings a unique length and athleticism to the inside backer position. Sophomore Raesjon Davis and junior Tuasivi Nomura could also compete for playing time.
Defensive Backs
USC lost every starter in the secondary from last season and this year will utilize a five-man backfield. Colorado transfer Mekhi Blackmon brings some experience to the group, but by and large there are a lot of young players trying to make their marks.
Safety Calen Bullock is expected to be the breakout performer for the defense. He played all over the field last season, starting six games at three different positions. But he is settling in as a free safety as a sophomore after adding some weight to his frame.
Max Williams is back after missing last season with an ACL tear and has worked at both safety and nickle. Xavion Alford and Jaylin Smith are in the mix for safety and nickle, respectively. And Prophet Brown, Joshua Jackson and Ceyair Wright are competing for the final cornerback job.
ocregister.com
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The Walk Is Back! WeAreSC.com — “The highly popular “Trojans Walk”, the former traditional pregame event that welcomes the USC team as they depart their team buses off of Figueroa Blvd. and then proceed to walk to the Coliseum through a large spirit line of USC fans to the peristyle end of the Coli, is returning for the 2022 season. “The Trojans Walk, one of USC’s great pregame home football traditions, which will be led by new HC Lincoln Riley, will happen 2 hours and 45 minutes prior to home kickoffs. This Saturday’s Trojans Walk for the RICE home opener… Read more »
Why was the Trojans Walk discontinued in the first place?
So fired up for the real start of college football starting tonight through Monday!!!
Combination of Covid plus lack of enthusiasm for Clay Helton
The Cat had the reverse-Midas touch.
Jordan Addison on USC’s two offensive captains (selected by team vote), Caleb Williams and Justin Dedich:
“They know how to get the room goin’. When we’re down, they know how to pick us up. When they were called out as the two leaders, nobody was surprised.
“If we come out here and are just going through the motions, they’ll make sure they say something to pick us up before we actually get rollin’.”
I respect how this staff is not letting anyone off the hook. You practice well, you play. It is such a new concept at USC, players are not going into the game because the coach “loves” you the most. Ya, I’m thinking Toa. Anyone know where he went when the cat got fired?
According to LinkedIn he is currently an Assistant Estimator at US Pacific Inc. in Hawaii.
The top recruits at every ranking position in the modern era — from Vince Young to Robert Meachem The Athletic College Football Staff — So, who are the best of the best recruits? We thought it would be fun to look at the top players at every ranking position, Nos. 1 through 25, of the modern recruiting era (dating back to 2002). The panel: Matt Brown, Christian Caple, Sam Khan Jr., Mitch Light, Stewart Mandel, Antonio Morales, Joe Rexrode, Daniel Shirley, G. Allan Taylor, Ari Wasserman Note: Rankings are from the 247Sports database. Players from 2002 through 2021 were eligible. Voters were asked… Read more »
The Legend of Reggie Bush I found this statement from Stewart Mandel to be a great synopsis of our very own Reggie Bush, especially where he says that Bush’s “mythical status has only grown as the years have gone by.” I hadn’t really processed Reggie Bush from that angle, but I agree totally. The legend of Reggie Bush, who totally deserted USC for the NFL and left the program in tatters, waiting for evil big buddy NCAA to try to cripple USC, has only grown, grown, grown as USC’s best #5 ever shows up on Fox now every Saturday, plus… Read more »
Don’t know if he will get his Heisman back. He’s never publicly apologized to the coaches, players or fans for his and his family’s actions. Accordingly, I boycott the FOX pre and post game TV broadcasts. OJ may have been a murderer, but Reggie Bush murdered USC’s football program.
I doubt you will ever hear an apology from Reggie, rleeholder1. I believe he maintains his innocence in the affair(somewhat like O.J.) The problem is there is ample evidence that the whole thing was bogus from the start.The NCAA couldn’t get Reggie to talk, so the manufactured evidence. They manufactured penalties and doubled down by denying any appeal. Certainly Reggie did what he did, but he says he played by the rules. I don’t know if he was stretching the rules, but he still was with the rules.
Not watching FOX is your choice.
Amazing, today we wouldn’t think twice about it.
rlee, I do not share your views. We are now learning that the SEC was paying benefits during this time and I think I read most of the elite players were being paid during this era. Remember, it has been well established that UCLA was paying benefits during the Wooden era to the UCLA BB players. I blame three groups for the level of sanctions: (a) The NCAA. I do not know who decided to take down SC, but someone did. Maybe it was Paul Dees (remember, we now know that Miami was engaging in benefit payments that were far… Read more »
The mere fact that 87-year-old legend and funny guy Lee Corso’s opinions are still being mentioned after his 2009 stroke (“I couldn’t talk for about a month or so.”) is an amazing occurrence. Lee had kind of a bad outing last week and the old guy was forced to work remotely which was hard on him, to say the least. This week, GameDay reverts to its normal setup with the whole broadcast team live from Columbus ahead of the OHIO ST/ND standoff. Corso predicts OHIO ST will beat ALA for the NC this year and also that UTAH makes the… Read more »
The “legend” of Reggie Bush is both sweet & sour to die hard Trojan fans. You try to find every reason or excuse to not blame him. Hoping sooner than later his ultimate response of, “in time it will come out what really happened and I will be exonerated”. We try to put it behind us and glory in watching him on film during his years as a Trojan. He was a vital part in winning games including the thought, would Leinart have crossed the goal line without Reggie’s push in the ’05 ND game? To me what hurts the… Read more »
In the end, Reggie was, as they say, too good to be true.
But he still may be SC’s most famous player 30 years from now. Or does OJ permanently own that title?
For those of us who were fortunate to see both of them play, I think OJ permanently owns the title. Both were so dynamic on the field, but off the field actions diminished their reputations. I saw OJ run the 4×100 YARD relay with fellow footballer Earl McColloch and tracksters Lennox Miller and Fred Kuller. That group still holds the world record for the “yard relay” at 38.6 set in the NCAA Championships in Provo, Utah on a dirt track. I’ve never seen a guy with OJ’s size run as fast as he did. He broke off his winning 64… Read more »
There truly is something about OJ’s 64-yder that stands out among the hundreds of fantastic CFB runs we have all witnessed, both in person and on TV. It’s even crazier when you consider that not all of his O-line even heard Toby Page’s audible and his left guard was actually pass-blocking when OJ shot past him and into the history books. I think much of the 64-yders’ fame had to do with cross-town rival and #1 UCLA led by Gary Beban (aka “The Great One”) being the loser, 21-20. UCLA seemed to be handling USC IMO until OJ got loose,… Read more »
LR has announced the 2022 USC captains
QB Caleb Williams
OG Justin Dedich (57)
LB Shane Lee
DL Tuli Tuipulotu