USC tackle Ishmael Sopsher expected to make debut against Notre Dame
Ryan Kartje (LA Times) — When Ishmael Sopsher first left Alabama for USC nearly a year ago, the big-bodied nose tackle was expected to add depth to a thinning Trojan interior.
But compartment syndrome surgery complicated those plans before he’d even taken the field. And while Sopsher sat out for the last six months recovering, the limited depth USC once had was decimated, leaving its defense desperate for big-bodied reinforcements on the interior.
That wait, for USC and its touted transfer nose tackle, may finally be over. After weeks of being brought along slowly, Sopsher is expected to make his debut Saturday against Notre Dame, assuming all goes well the rest of this week.
“Ish has done a really good job,” defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said. “We’ll see his conditioning moving forward, but we want to play him.”
How much he’ll play depends on a number of factors, including how often USC plays its base defense and how he responds in the coming days of practice. But after a 275-pound converted linebacker started at nose tackle for the season’s first six weeks, 60 extra pounds of interior presence could make a major difference for a defense that has struggled at times to stop the run.
Those issues didn’t seem nearly as pressing until the spring. Senior Brandon Pili was expected to man the middle, until an Achilles tear ended his season in April. Freshman Jay Toia stepped up in his place, only to transfer soon after the spring ended.
That left only redshirt freshman Jamar Sekona and sophomore Stanley Tau’ufo’u on the interior. Combined, the two young tackles had just a single tackle to their name heading into the season.
Sekona appeared to be on the fast track to becoming the starter at nose tackle. But a bout on the COVID-19 list left him on the outside looking in. He has tallied only 71 snaps in six games, while Tau’ufo’u has stepped into the full-time role, in spite of his size disadvantage.
Size shouldn’t be a problem once Sopsher returns. The 6-foot-4, 330-pound nose tackle is among the largest players on USC’s roster. And now, after a long wait, USC might finally be able to put that size to good use.
“Patience is key,” Sopsher said Wednesday. “My parents, they always tell me take it one day at a time and my time gonna come.”
latimes.com
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As they stated Sopsher will get used in straight defense schemes, he probably doesn’t know all the assignments in Orlando’s mysterious defensive sets. Glad he is here though, perhaps he can plug a hole seeing as our linebackers have trouble doing it.
CBS Sports Networks (Inside College Football) on which job each of their talking heads would prefer, USC or LSU:
1. Aaron Taylor LSU
2. Rick Neuheisel USC
3. Brian Jones USC
4. Randy Cross USC
OC Register — USC interim head coach Donte Williams and several staff members spent the bye week on the road attending high school games.
“The message hasn’t changed at all,” Williams said Tuesday of his interactions with recruits during this interim period. “USC’s a great place and I plan on being here for a very long time.”
He is a great salesman. But, from what I can see, not much of a coach. They really need to create a position for head of recruiting (which will include the NILs). The skill set for that position is totally different than those needed to be a position coach, a co-ordinator, or a HC. Donte would be a sensational head of recruiting.
It’ll be very interesting to see if Donte is retained by the new USC coach in an asst/rec coord capacity. Of course, USC finally just has to get this “coaching mix” thing right. Who knows if the new coach will mesh well with Donte and if he doesn’t have someone else in mind for Donte’s role. I hope Donte stays, but after observing the Trojan post-Carroll coaching circus/extravaganza, I’m placing all my marbles in the hands of the new guy and whatever he wants. Carroll kept Ed O from the Paul Hackett staff, and it was one of his very… Read more »
The new coach will have a tool that PC lacked, the transfer portal and immediate eligibility. I think the talent issue can be resolved in 2 years. Assuming the right hire, of course.
Allen, I’ve never heard that story before. Thanks for sharing. What a crazy good class that was. Those guys now all have NC rings.
USC’s quick and stupendous recovery after the demoralizing LV Bowl loss to UTAH was all about Pete and Ed O, 100%. They took on the task of rebuilding USC talent as a genuine two-man team. That’s how they saw themselves, and they intentionally exercised their clout as a dynamic duo. Carroll was incredibly involved in recruiting and he loved to use the phone for those purposes. Both Pete and Ed were responsible for final prospect evaluations and setting the tone to lure them in. USC really caught lightning in a bottle with those two, each a workaholic with tremendous football… Read more »
Absolutely correct. When I stopped being a maintenance supervisor and began teaching, Pete Carroll came to Kaiser High School in Fontana. Because I wore USC gear almost everyday, everybody was trying to find me so I could meet him. I was subbing in a SPED class and missed him. But I hadn’t seen or heard of a head coach coming to a high school before that.
PC came to Chino High and recruited Cedric Ellis.
As the season closes, John needs to add a Donte bet to the TDB gambling board
If remember reading that one of the first things Pete did was to have Ed bring him to meet as many high school coaches as soon as possible to develop relationships with each one. He said that was key to hit the ground running, and have early recruiting success. I think keeping Donte on staff can help the new coach in the same way, especially if it’s a Midwest guy like Franklin or Fickell
Are you in favor of Donte staying on staff at the insistence of Bohn/USC even if the new HC wants a different coach? That could get sticky, and I’m sure is a common-type issue that these powerful (as well as not so powerful) coaches have to deal with. Look at how many coaches The Cat was forced to fire. A lot of really good coaches don’t like to be told what to do with their staff. This brings to mind Carroll’s problems with Chow, Sark and Kiffin all on the staff. Carroll just blew that up and got Chow to… Read more »
No, I wouldn’t want any assistant forced on a new coach. I’m sure if it’s the right hire, he’ll be smart enough to hire a guy or two with local connections
I think we all just assume Donte Williams would be desired by the new HC who comes in for obvious reasons. Super recruiter! I’m just trying to stir up an interesting scenario where things didn’t fall into place like that. I’m actually assuming Donte stays on. But that’s just a guess. For all we know, Dontre won’t like USC’s choice that much. Maybe Donte will actually have input for all I know. He’s flying all over the country recruiting for USC now. Of course, if Donte pulls off a semi-miracle and beats ND in South Bend, his value would take… Read more »
There’s also a potential “defensive” scenario at play with retaining Donte. If his goal is to stay in LA because of his parents, if we cut him loose, he could give UCLA a call. If he then siphoned off a few recruits each year, that could be a thorn in our side. Lots of ifs, but not too far-fetched.
I was going to post the same thing Vol, to keep him would be better than letting ucla have him which would be a strong possibility. I remember PC recruiting players not because he wanted them but because he didn’t want them going to our competition. Donte can be an asset in anyone’s staff. A smart new HC will realize that along with Bohns help.
A new HC would have no problem handing Donte the recruiting director position, telling Donte these are the players we need and letting him go to work on recruiting them. A possible issue
might be Donte’s work as D backfield coach may be another matter the HC may not like. So it depends on what both men agree to?
I wonder how many downs he can actually play? I would think not many. Any help is needed. I did not think SC D could be worse than it was under Clancy. But this year it is. It is 106 in the nation. I realize a lot of that is simply lack of talent due to Clancy being a lousy recruiter and Clay being an incompetent HC, but boy this D stinks. If Sopher can give any meaningful minutes, he has to be an improvement.
Ya, it seems we’ve been aptly warned that Sopsher won’t be sprinting anywhere. I too doubt he’ll have the gas to make much of an impact, but hey, we Trojan fans take what we can get nowadays, At least he’s anxious to play and can’t wait to get back out there. Fight On Sopsher!
“Slowly but surely I’ll be back,” Sopsher said.
I must be more careful on my spelling! Forgot to tell you that I went to Mt. Rushmore for the first time about 3 weeks ago. I was quite an experience. My wife,I and friends had a great time in western South Dakota, even went to see Devil’s Tower in eastern Wyoming.
It seems Orlando is a one year wonder, and downhill from there. He had the same performance at Texas. Harrell has topped out as an OC, I haven’t seen anything that looks like a new wrinkle. The two back set apparently went out the window and the two TE set is used rarely. Usually for a run play that the defense can see coming. Coastal Carolina has an offense that baffle everyone, to bad they lost yesterday in the last seconds.
Of he stops a run up the middle or harasses the quarterback he’ll be worth the wait. Maybe a needed boost will come from his involvement.
I’m gonna watch anyway hopefully it will be fun.
USC v Notre Dame is an event. I always think of photos of AD taped all over the sidewalks of the ND campus when I was back there one year. They really get behind the game back there. While Gentleman Clay was coaching I actually gave up hoping Helton’s Warriors would beat the Irish with him in charge. With The Cat’s footprints stuck in mud throughout the program, I still give USC only a 5-10% chance. But with any luck, USC will keep us interested for a while. ND is no great shakes this year, but beating USC doesn’t require… Read more »
Allen I do agree with you, ND is mediocre this season. This game always has its surprises, and wouldn’t we all be delighted if USC actually came to play to win and made a real game of it, perhaps squeaking out a win. If that happened I would be jumping out of my chair like I used to. Oh, the good old days.
Got to love the football mentality of big is good. And bigger is better. What a “sport.”
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“It’s really strong,” Ishmael Sopsher said of the itch to play again. “I’ve been out for over a year now so I’m just ready to get back out there and put on a great performance…” — OC Register