“That was one of the best decisions I made,” Fitzgerald told reporters after practice on Wednesday.

He was one of the most dynamic defensive players in the season opener against Missouri State on Saturday, coming up with four total tackles, a pass breakup and an interception returned for 39 yards and a touchdown.

The safeties were in a friendly competition throughout fall training camp to see who would get the first interception of the season, and no one expected it to be Fitzgerald.

“I dropped every (potential) pick in fall camp,” he said. “So nobody thought it was going to be me. I showed them I got the jitters out of me.”

Bishop Fitzgerald returns a pick for a first half score against MO ST on Saturday at the Coliseum. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Fitzgerald switched to defense when he got to Coffeyville (Kansas) Community College, where he also rose to become the No. 10 JUCO prospect and No. 1 overall JUCO safety by 247sports.com.

“Both my years in JUCO, it was just a whole switch of mentality and culture and footwork,” he said. “JUCO is a whole different mentality and kind of like a dog-eat-dog world, so I think that kind of heightened everything and the sense of urgency to learn it. I think that helped me, too.”

The Trojans’ secondary locked down the defensive backfield against Missouri State. Safety Christian Pierce had three tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup and cornerback Marcelles Williams recorded three tackles.

Redshirt freshman safety Marquis Gallegos had even gotten into the game and had three tackles in addition to two tackles for loss.

“Marquis is my dog,” Fitzgerald said. “When you come in, you have to drop all your pride. So I’m asking some of the young guys who have been here for stuff and where’s stuff at and how do you adjust and he was one of the main guys who I bonded with.”

USC rotated in multiple cornerbacks, including Braylon Conley, DJ Harvey, Kevin Longstreet and Decarlos Nicholson. Defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn mentioned Nicholson as someone who particularly stood out.

“I thought all of them did good things,” Lynn told reporters on Wednesday. “It’s still a very tight competition. I think the more reps we can get all those guys in actual games, the better.”

Ryon Sayeri thrives in spotlight

USC never punted in Saturday’s game, but redshirt freshman punter/kicker Ryon Sayeri put in plenty of work on kickoffs and PATs.

The Chaminade College Preparatory product completed 11 kickoffs for 698 yards and nine touchbacks with an average of 63.5 yards per kick. He also made a 32-yard field goal with 10:51 left in the game.

“Eleven kickoffs was a good amount, but I’ll do it every game if I have to if we’re winning like that,” Sayeri told reporters after practice on Wednesday.

Sayeri took over kicking duties after sophomore kicker and UNLV transfer Caden Chittenden was ruled out due to an undisclosed injury. The only game he played in last season was the Las Vegas Bowl against Texas A&M, when he punted just once for 57 yards.

Head coach Lincoln Riley has attended nearly every special teams meeting this season, which is appreciated by Sayeri and others.

“Anytime someone needs coaching, he’s the first one to go up to them and coach them on it,” Sayeri said. “Having the head coach in meetings like that, he’s taking so much account for special teams this year. As he did last year, too, but this year he’s in there every meeting coaching people up. It’s really great to see.”

ocregister.com

___________