Sophomore free safety Talanoa Hufanga, one of USC's top defensive players, re-fractured his collarbone Saturday and will be out for the remainder of spring practice, sources tell TrojanSports. There is optimism among the staff that he'll be ready by training camp, which is about four months out.
Hufanga, who had been limited to non-contact drills while still in the process of rehabbing the broken collarbone he suffered in late October, landed hard on his right shoulder late in Saturday's practice. He remained down for several minutes before walking off in obvious discomfort and favoring his right side.
"He just fell and something tweaked," Coach Clay Helton said following Saturday's practice. "We'll have to see exactly what it is. The good news is, we are in spring. It is March. Like I told him, he'll be 100 percent by the time we get to fall camp. ... It looks like a tweak. We'll see where it's at."
The injury leaves USC with just two scholarship safeties for spring -- redshirt sophomore Isaiah Pola-Mao, who's on the mend from a shoulder injury and limited to non-contact periods, and sophomore Raymond Scott, who just moved to the position after playing inside linebacker in 2018. C.J. Pollard is out for spring with a broken foot.
USC was already heavily reliant on walk-ons throughout the secondary. Saturday's 40-play scrimmage featured live periods interspersed with competitive but brief stretches void of tackling that included some players in yellow jerseys. Hufanga's injury came on the final rep of the last of these non-contact periods.
Hufanga was hopeful at the beginning of spring practice that he would be cleared for contact before the six-week term ended. Helton would later say Hufanga would be limited to non-contact regardless. But it spoke to how close the safety was to making a full return. The initial injury occurred five months ago, which is how far USC is from its 2019 season opener.
Hufanga, who had been limited to non-contact drills while still in the process of rehabbing the broken collarbone he suffered in late October, landed hard on his right shoulder late in Saturday's practice. He remained down for several minutes before walking off in obvious discomfort and favoring his right side.
"He just fell and something tweaked," Coach Clay Helton said following Saturday's practice. "We'll have to see exactly what it is. The good news is, we are in spring. It is March. Like I told him, he'll be 100 percent by the time we get to fall camp. ... It looks like a tweak. We'll see where it's at."
The injury leaves USC with just two scholarship safeties for spring -- redshirt sophomore Isaiah Pola-Mao, who's on the mend from a shoulder injury and limited to non-contact periods, and sophomore Raymond Scott, who just moved to the position after playing inside linebacker in 2018. C.J. Pollard is out for spring with a broken foot.
USC was already heavily reliant on walk-ons throughout the secondary. Saturday's 40-play scrimmage featured live periods interspersed with competitive but brief stretches void of tackling that included some players in yellow jerseys. Hufanga's injury came on the final rep of the last of these non-contact periods.
Hufanga was hopeful at the beginning of spring practice that he would be cleared for contact before the six-week term ended. Helton would later say Hufanga would be limited to non-contact regardless. But it spoke to how close the safety was to making a full return. The initial injury occurred five months ago, which is how far USC is from its 2019 season opener.
