While USC's cornerback situation remains rather unclear heading into the second scrimmage Saturday, this camp has also revealed there's a lot to like elsewhere in the Trojans' secondary.
Talanoa Hufanga, in particular, has tried to make that abundantly clear to anyone watching.
Near the end of practice Thursday, the sophomore safety punctuated his impressive preseason with yet another pick-6 -- his third of the week -- on yet another instinctive, impactful play that further teases his potential for a true breakout season.
It was the second to last series of the day for the Trojans, quarterback JT Daniels took the snap and fired into the right flat. Hufanga read it the whole way and darted into the passing lane to snatch the ball and take off untouched the other way.
"I don't ever want to play against that guy. I'm glad he's on our football team,'" coach Clay Helton said. "That's three this week. He's had a hat trick on pick-6s this week. He's so football instinctive and it goes back, I absolutely love two-way players … If you go back with him at Corvallis, he was as good an offensive player as he was a defensive player. I think he's got that dynamic of being able to read routes, knowing when the ball comes out, knowing spacing and understanding that if there's a flat route going out somebody's coming in and he does a great job."
Helton, for the second time this week, reiterated that he thinks Hufanga could be "one of the better safeties in the country" this fall.
But again, his mounting hype has been well told already this month. (We wrote about it just yesterday)
More to the point is the stark dichotomy that has developed within USC's secondary as a whole -- a group of talented yet unproven young corners whose most consistent trait might be inconsistency, and the contrasting safety/nickel spots that seem to inspire as much trust from the coaches as any on the defense.
Even if those players aren't actually all that experienced either.
Between Hufanga (who missed the final three games of his freshman season with a broken collarbone and the end of spring practice with another one) and redshirt sophomore Isaiah Pola-Mao (who had his season end after just two games last fall), the Trojans' starting safety spots have effectively been set since the spring. While Helton raves about Hufanga, DBs coach Greg Burns calls Pola-Mao "Mr. Consistent."
And then there's the potential X-factor.
Redshirt freshman Chase Williams wasn't much on anyone's radar this time last year. He became marginally relevant when an absurd rash of attrition at safety prompted the coaches to move him from cornerback to safety in mid-September. He'd end up getting into four games overall as a true freshman and starting at free safety in the finale against Notre Dame.
But since the spring he's been locked in as USC's primary nickel. Again, his college resume still lacks experience, but he's been a fixture with the first-team through camp (also doing some cross training at both safety spots) and to hear Burns describe him it becomes even more clear that Williams could be a true keystone for this defense.
"He's consistent, he's smart, he's getting to a point where he can play three positions, which is both safeties and the nickel. And that's going to be valuable to us. He's able to understand all of it, and he's just as polished mentally as Talanoa," Burns said.
"He has a confidence, very intelligent. He comes into it with the mindset of 'I'm going to be one of the sharpest minds out here,' and when you feel like you know what you're doing you carry yourself with a type of confidence, swagger so to speak. And that's kind of how he presents himself."
Burns considers that nickel spot "the most difficult position on the field" in USC's defensive scheme as it requires a lot of read and reaction against both the run and pass, the ability to cover in space and know where he's supposed to be within the structure of the defense at all times.
"The toughest thing really is playing the run and the pass at the same time because you have to be able to play both. You have to be able to be there and fit on time perfectly within the run, and then you also have to do the same thing when it comes to playing the pass," Williams said. "It's just being able to balance the two out and keeping my eyes right so I'm able to make a play."
"You have to be very intelligent to play that spot," Burns said.
But as much as anything, what Burns likes is Williams' attitude -- both that aforementioned confidence and swagger, but also the ability to accept he still has room to improve as a second-year player with limited meaningful experience.
"We had a situation where it came up on film where Chase did a real good job on a run fit, initially setting an edge, making a cut-back so to speak. And he did a real good job initially, but right after he set the edge he relaxed and it opened his hip and he got pushed out," Burns said. "Those little things where you can explain to him, 'Hey, you did a great job initially, but look what happened right after you did it.' Teach him that. What he does is he processes it and says 'That's never going to happen again.'"
Freshman Max Williams was projected as the likely backup at the nickel spot, but he's been sidelined by a hamstring injury for much of camp. Redshirt sophomore cornerback Greg Johnson has done some cross training at that spot in the event he might be needed in relief at some point, but it looks like Chase Williams enters his second season locked in as key cog.
"I would say I'm just a lot more evolved this year. Last year, I was kind of getting used to the game still a little bit," Williams said. "I was watching older players kind of take those roles. … I was constantly working for a spot to be higher on the depth chart, but I was really just watching, getting used to the game, the speed, how things work. So I feel that now during this camp I'm just a lot more evolved trying to just express my energy and my passion onto everybody else on the field."
News and Notes
Despite concluding practice with that pick-6 to Hufanga, Helton gave Daniels a positive review overall for his recent work.
"It was good. He made one poor decision -- that was actually the one -- the ball needed to come out just a little bit quicker or get off that progression and go to the next. But he's been really consistent through 12 practices," Helton said. "He's been a stabilizing force each and every practice, and I look forward to seeing him in the Coliseum and see him around our fans and put him in that situation and see how our quarterbacks do."
It will be interesting in general to see how the quarterbacks perform Saturday in the Coliseum during the Trojans' Fall Showcase and whether the coaching staff sees enough to pare down the reps to one or two QBs thereafter.
The team will also practice under the lights Friday night in the Coliseum, as they did last Friday.
…
Helton provided a number of injury notes Thursday.
Freshman DE Drake Jackson did not practice, but there's no reason for concern.
"He's got a little bit of an eye infection that we dilated today and so he had eye glasses on. He should be back," Helton said.
Max Williams, the freshman nickel/CB, got some work in during individual drills, but he remains limited by a hamstring injury that has stretched through most of camp now.
"He's put a lot of great work in. He's right there on the edge, I would expect him back by next week," Helton said.
Redshirt sophomore OLB Hunter Echols has a case of turf toe but is nearing a return. Redshirt freshman OLB Eli'jah Winston also has turf toe, but "a little more significant, a little bit longer time [out]," Helton said.
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was also held out Thursday, but there's no concern there.
"Just a little bit of groin and hip tightness. The guy's running about four miles a day and every good horse needs a day off every once in a while," Helton said. "So we were precautionary today. We'll get some work tomorrow and see where we are Saturday."
DT Brandon Pili, RB Vavae Malepeai and DL Jacob Lichtenstein remained out as well. Helton clarified that Lichtenstein is six weeks into a calf injury and probably has another two to go.
…
Lastly, Helton gave an update on freshman WR Bru McCoy, who has not practiced this summer (including PRPs) due to lingering illness.
"He's actually getting a little bit better, which is great to see. He's actually attending our meetings has got a smile on his face. He did our special teams constitution in front of the team last night and got a standing ovation," Helton said. "So he's starting to feel a little bit better, he's not all the way there yet, but we're glad to have him around us and it was good to see a smile on his face."
Don't expect the 5-star freshman back in action anytime soon, though. And it might be moot anyway as he's still waiting word from the NCAA on his eligibility for this fall.
"I think anytime that you've been away from the game for an extended period of time … you know and understand that he's not going to just come right back out here and go," Helton added. "There's going to have to be strength and conditioning, there's going to have to be some change of direction movement. It's going to take time to build that back up. He's going through a process that I don't wish on anybody as far as getting healthy and getting better, and we hope to get him out here soon. But it will be at a slow pace, at his pace, where he feels comfortable."
Talanoa Hufanga, in particular, has tried to make that abundantly clear to anyone watching.
Near the end of practice Thursday, the sophomore safety punctuated his impressive preseason with yet another pick-6 -- his third of the week -- on yet another instinctive, impactful play that further teases his potential for a true breakout season.
It was the second to last series of the day for the Trojans, quarterback JT Daniels took the snap and fired into the right flat. Hufanga read it the whole way and darted into the passing lane to snatch the ball and take off untouched the other way.
"I don't ever want to play against that guy. I'm glad he's on our football team,'" coach Clay Helton said. "That's three this week. He's had a hat trick on pick-6s this week. He's so football instinctive and it goes back, I absolutely love two-way players … If you go back with him at Corvallis, he was as good an offensive player as he was a defensive player. I think he's got that dynamic of being able to read routes, knowing when the ball comes out, knowing spacing and understanding that if there's a flat route going out somebody's coming in and he does a great job."
Helton, for the second time this week, reiterated that he thinks Hufanga could be "one of the better safeties in the country" this fall.
But again, his mounting hype has been well told already this month. (We wrote about it just yesterday)
More to the point is the stark dichotomy that has developed within USC's secondary as a whole -- a group of talented yet unproven young corners whose most consistent trait might be inconsistency, and the contrasting safety/nickel spots that seem to inspire as much trust from the coaches as any on the defense.
Even if those players aren't actually all that experienced either.
Between Hufanga (who missed the final three games of his freshman season with a broken collarbone and the end of spring practice with another one) and redshirt sophomore Isaiah Pola-Mao (who had his season end after just two games last fall), the Trojans' starting safety spots have effectively been set since the spring. While Helton raves about Hufanga, DBs coach Greg Burns calls Pola-Mao "Mr. Consistent."
And then there's the potential X-factor.
Redshirt freshman Chase Williams wasn't much on anyone's radar this time last year. He became marginally relevant when an absurd rash of attrition at safety prompted the coaches to move him from cornerback to safety in mid-September. He'd end up getting into four games overall as a true freshman and starting at free safety in the finale against Notre Dame.
But since the spring he's been locked in as USC's primary nickel. Again, his college resume still lacks experience, but he's been a fixture with the first-team through camp (also doing some cross training at both safety spots) and to hear Burns describe him it becomes even more clear that Williams could be a true keystone for this defense.
"He's consistent, he's smart, he's getting to a point where he can play three positions, which is both safeties and the nickel. And that's going to be valuable to us. He's able to understand all of it, and he's just as polished mentally as Talanoa," Burns said.
"He has a confidence, very intelligent. He comes into it with the mindset of 'I'm going to be one of the sharpest minds out here,' and when you feel like you know what you're doing you carry yourself with a type of confidence, swagger so to speak. And that's kind of how he presents himself."
Burns considers that nickel spot "the most difficult position on the field" in USC's defensive scheme as it requires a lot of read and reaction against both the run and pass, the ability to cover in space and know where he's supposed to be within the structure of the defense at all times.
"The toughest thing really is playing the run and the pass at the same time because you have to be able to play both. You have to be able to be there and fit on time perfectly within the run, and then you also have to do the same thing when it comes to playing the pass," Williams said. "It's just being able to balance the two out and keeping my eyes right so I'm able to make a play."
"You have to be very intelligent to play that spot," Burns said.
But as much as anything, what Burns likes is Williams' attitude -- both that aforementioned confidence and swagger, but also the ability to accept he still has room to improve as a second-year player with limited meaningful experience.
"We had a situation where it came up on film where Chase did a real good job on a run fit, initially setting an edge, making a cut-back so to speak. And he did a real good job initially, but right after he set the edge he relaxed and it opened his hip and he got pushed out," Burns said. "Those little things where you can explain to him, 'Hey, you did a great job initially, but look what happened right after you did it.' Teach him that. What he does is he processes it and says 'That's never going to happen again.'"
Freshman Max Williams was projected as the likely backup at the nickel spot, but he's been sidelined by a hamstring injury for much of camp. Redshirt sophomore cornerback Greg Johnson has done some cross training at that spot in the event he might be needed in relief at some point, but it looks like Chase Williams enters his second season locked in as key cog.
"I would say I'm just a lot more evolved this year. Last year, I was kind of getting used to the game still a little bit," Williams said. "I was watching older players kind of take those roles. … I was constantly working for a spot to be higher on the depth chart, but I was really just watching, getting used to the game, the speed, how things work. So I feel that now during this camp I'm just a lot more evolved trying to just express my energy and my passion onto everybody else on the field."
News and Notes
Despite concluding practice with that pick-6 to Hufanga, Helton gave Daniels a positive review overall for his recent work.
"It was good. He made one poor decision -- that was actually the one -- the ball needed to come out just a little bit quicker or get off that progression and go to the next. But he's been really consistent through 12 practices," Helton said. "He's been a stabilizing force each and every practice, and I look forward to seeing him in the Coliseum and see him around our fans and put him in that situation and see how our quarterbacks do."
It will be interesting in general to see how the quarterbacks perform Saturday in the Coliseum during the Trojans' Fall Showcase and whether the coaching staff sees enough to pare down the reps to one or two QBs thereafter.
The team will also practice under the lights Friday night in the Coliseum, as they did last Friday.
…
Helton provided a number of injury notes Thursday.
Freshman DE Drake Jackson did not practice, but there's no reason for concern.
"He's got a little bit of an eye infection that we dilated today and so he had eye glasses on. He should be back," Helton said.
Max Williams, the freshman nickel/CB, got some work in during individual drills, but he remains limited by a hamstring injury that has stretched through most of camp now.
"He's put a lot of great work in. He's right there on the edge, I would expect him back by next week," Helton said.
Redshirt sophomore OLB Hunter Echols has a case of turf toe but is nearing a return. Redshirt freshman OLB Eli'jah Winston also has turf toe, but "a little more significant, a little bit longer time [out]," Helton said.
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was also held out Thursday, but there's no concern there.
"Just a little bit of groin and hip tightness. The guy's running about four miles a day and every good horse needs a day off every once in a while," Helton said. "So we were precautionary today. We'll get some work tomorrow and see where we are Saturday."
DT Brandon Pili, RB Vavae Malepeai and DL Jacob Lichtenstein remained out as well. Helton clarified that Lichtenstein is six weeks into a calf injury and probably has another two to go.
…
Lastly, Helton gave an update on freshman WR Bru McCoy, who has not practiced this summer (including PRPs) due to lingering illness.
"He's actually getting a little bit better, which is great to see. He's actually attending our meetings has got a smile on his face. He did our special teams constitution in front of the team last night and got a standing ovation," Helton said. "So he's starting to feel a little bit better, he's not all the way there yet, but we're glad to have him around us and it was good to see a smile on his face."
Don't expect the 5-star freshman back in action anytime soon, though. And it might be moot anyway as he's still waiting word from the NCAA on his eligibility for this fall.
"I think anytime that you've been away from the game for an extended period of time … you know and understand that he's not going to just come right back out here and go," Helton added. "There's going to have to be strength and conditioning, there's going to have to be some change of direction movement. It's going to take time to build that back up. He's going through a process that I don't wish on anybody as far as getting healthy and getting better, and we hope to get him out here soon. But it will be at a slow pace, at his pace, where he feels comfortable."
