USC defensive line coach Chad Kauha'aha'a had to catch himself Wednesday as he was reeling off adjectives to praise nose tackle Marlon Tuipulotu -- well, one recurring adjective.
"I keep using the word great, I don't use the word great often, but his effort is through the roof right now," Kauha'aha'a said after practice. "He does it in practice every single day and it's become contagious to the rest of the D-line. These guys are flying around."
There was one play in particular from Saturday night that Kauha'aha'a thought exemplified that tone-setting impact he feels the 6-foot-3, 305-pound redshirt sophomore making.
It was early in the second quarter of USC's 45-20 win over Stanford. The Trojans were mounting their surge and had just trimmed their early deficit to 17-10 when on the first play of the ensuing drive Cardinal running back Cameron Scarlett pounced on a gaping hole up the middle for a 44-yard gain to the USC 32-yard line.
Tuipulotu and fellow defensive tackle Jay Tufele had both taken on double teams to create the hole up the A-gap, which should have freed a linebacker to make the unobstructed tackle, but John Houston looked to be out of position crashing the B gap to the left instead.
The very next play, Tuipulotu took care of business himself, blasting past two layers of blockers to snuff out a screen pass to Dorian Maddox and bring him down for a 2-yard tackle for loss.
"If there's something that showed up, it's Marlon getting that TFL against Stanford when he read the screen, broke the stack and chased that running back down and got the TFL. That's big-time," Kauha'aha'a said.
And to be fair, he had done his job on previous play as well. Tuipulotu's position is not usually about the glamor plays -- it's about controlling the A gap, often eating up those double teams and freeing the linebackers to make the play, if they're in the right spot.
"It's an unselfish position, but if he doesn't do his job, that's when a lot of times things set up in the middle," Kauha'aha'a said. "Between him and the inside linebacker, those guys control the A gaps and it's his job to eat that double team so one of the linebackers can be free."
Among USC defensive players who played a majority of the snaps vs. Stanford, Tuipulotu received the second-highest grade from Pro Football Focus -- a 75.3. In Week 1 against Fresno State, he was USC's top-graded defensive player by PFF at 76.8.
Tuipulotu had 33 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss last season, and was creating further buzz back in the spring and through the preseason -- so this isn't a surprise. As Kauha'aha'a noted, it's an unselfish position that doesn't always reflect in the stat sheet even when done well, but Tuipulotu does have 9 tackles, a forced fumble and that tackle for loss through those first two games.
"Marlon's a stud," Kauha'aha'a said proudly after the win Saturday night. "... He is by far, I don't want to say the biggest surprise, but he is a guy I lean on a lot."
Said Tufele: "Man, he's just a dog. He's what you want to play next to."
Since he's been hyping him up since the spring, Kauha'aha'a -- in his first year with the Trojans -- was asked Wednesday what was the first moment he realized that Tuipulotu could have such an impact this fall.
The answer -- two jobs ago before he knew either of them would end up working together at USC.
"When I was recruiting him at Oregon State. I knew he had the potential to be a great one. I consider him a great player," Kauha'aha'a said, using that adjective of choice. "He's playing behind the line of scrimmage, playing with great fundamentals and technique, he doesn't make mistakes mentally and his numbers are showing it. After the game like I said, I absolutely love working with the guy because he's such a hard worker. His attention to detail is as good as I've been around.
"What's great about Marlon right now is he's playing with some violence. His physicality is pretty dang good right now where he's coming off of blocks with violence, and that's why he's getting his TFL, that's why he's making plays from his position."
No update on Christian Rector; Chase Williams out Wednesday
Defensive end Christian Rector wasn't active in practice again Wednesday as he rests an ankle injury sustained late in the win over Stanford. Coach Clay Helton indicated on Sunday that Rector's injury wasn't serious, and Rector has been on the stationary bike on the sideline this week. Helton was not asked about him Tuesday after practice and doesn't meet with the media on Wednesday, so the next update will come Thursday after practice.
Defensive back Chase Williams, who is working as USC's top reserve at both safety and nickel, also did not practice Wednesday.
As is usually the case with injured players, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast wasn't giving anything indications one way or the other when asked who would be in line to fill Rector's snaps if he were out or limited.
"We'll see. It's early yet and you can ask coach Helton about that," he said.
Kauha'aha'a, meanwhile, said redshirt juniors Connor Murphy and Caleb Tremblay would compete for any extra reps available.
Murphy played 26 snaps and Tremblay played 14 against Stanford, according to Pro Football Focus. Murphy notched his first sack in that game while Tremblay was credited for a half sack.
Pendergast talked about the progress Murphy has made to earn a role in USC's defensive line rotation. He redshirted last season while playing in four games following his move from outside linebacker to the defensive line.
"Connor's gained himself more reps by how he's practiced. You saw him play a little more in the second game than the first game, and really a lot of that's attributed to how he's practiced in fall camp. He's deserves an opportunity," he said. "... I like his length, it's one of the reasons we recruited him, we like his physicality and he is a big body out there that gets in throwing lanes that the quarterback's got to throw over."
Hunter Echols reacts to Devon Williams entering the transfer portal
Redshirt-sophomore outside linebacker Hunter Echols was tempted by the NCAA transfer porter last winter, so he understands what sophomore wide receiver Devon Williams is feeling right now.
Williams entered the transfer portal, TrojanSports.com confirmed Wednesday morning, after catching just 1 pass and playing only 10 snaps through the first two games. He had just 4 catches as a true freshman last fall, with 3 coming in a 77-yard receiving effort at Oregon State.
"Devon's my guy so I have love for Dev. He's got to make the best decision for him," Echols said. "It's hard when you leave the team, especially because I know he loves us, I know he loves the players here at USC, he loves the coaches. But he's got to do the best thing for him, and if being at USC is not the best thing for him I support him 100 percent. ...
"I talked to him. That's my guy so I talked to him. Obviously, I encouraged him to stay, but if USC's not the place for him then I want to support him whatever he wants to do."
Echols changed his mind about pursuing an exit in the offseason and has found himself a major part of the Trojans' pass rush rotation, often subbing in for the right defensive end. Defensive back Greg Johnson spent a matter of days in the transfer portal in the spring before returning to the team, and wide receiver Velus Jones and quarterback Matt Fink rejoined the Trojans this summer after longer periods in the portal.
"I'm pretty sure Dev could come back," Echols said. "Like, I made an emotional decision earlier this year and I wanted to hit the portal and leave, but this is my family, it's where I want to be. Hopefully he realizes this is his family and this is where he wants to be. He's a young kid, he's only a sophomore, he'll be all right, he'll be fine. If he does stay here, I'll be, 'Let's go, let's do it.' But if he decides to go somewhere else, I'm going to always support him -- that's my friend.
"If he leaves I wouldn't be surprised, if he stays I wouldn't be surprised. I know he loves USC, I know that he knows he can ball here, so it's just up to him to make his decision."
"I keep using the word great, I don't use the word great often, but his effort is through the roof right now," Kauha'aha'a said after practice. "He does it in practice every single day and it's become contagious to the rest of the D-line. These guys are flying around."
There was one play in particular from Saturday night that Kauha'aha'a thought exemplified that tone-setting impact he feels the 6-foot-3, 305-pound redshirt sophomore making.
It was early in the second quarter of USC's 45-20 win over Stanford. The Trojans were mounting their surge and had just trimmed their early deficit to 17-10 when on the first play of the ensuing drive Cardinal running back Cameron Scarlett pounced on a gaping hole up the middle for a 44-yard gain to the USC 32-yard line.
Tuipulotu and fellow defensive tackle Jay Tufele had both taken on double teams to create the hole up the A-gap, which should have freed a linebacker to make the unobstructed tackle, but John Houston looked to be out of position crashing the B gap to the left instead.
The very next play, Tuipulotu took care of business himself, blasting past two layers of blockers to snuff out a screen pass to Dorian Maddox and bring him down for a 2-yard tackle for loss.
"If there's something that showed up, it's Marlon getting that TFL against Stanford when he read the screen, broke the stack and chased that running back down and got the TFL. That's big-time," Kauha'aha'a said.
And to be fair, he had done his job on previous play as well. Tuipulotu's position is not usually about the glamor plays -- it's about controlling the A gap, often eating up those double teams and freeing the linebackers to make the play, if they're in the right spot.
"It's an unselfish position, but if he doesn't do his job, that's when a lot of times things set up in the middle," Kauha'aha'a said. "Between him and the inside linebacker, those guys control the A gaps and it's his job to eat that double team so one of the linebackers can be free."
Among USC defensive players who played a majority of the snaps vs. Stanford, Tuipulotu received the second-highest grade from Pro Football Focus -- a 75.3. In Week 1 against Fresno State, he was USC's top-graded defensive player by PFF at 76.8.
Tuipulotu had 33 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss last season, and was creating further buzz back in the spring and through the preseason -- so this isn't a surprise. As Kauha'aha'a noted, it's an unselfish position that doesn't always reflect in the stat sheet even when done well, but Tuipulotu does have 9 tackles, a forced fumble and that tackle for loss through those first two games.
"Marlon's a stud," Kauha'aha'a said proudly after the win Saturday night. "... He is by far, I don't want to say the biggest surprise, but he is a guy I lean on a lot."
Said Tufele: "Man, he's just a dog. He's what you want to play next to."
Since he's been hyping him up since the spring, Kauha'aha'a -- in his first year with the Trojans -- was asked Wednesday what was the first moment he realized that Tuipulotu could have such an impact this fall.
The answer -- two jobs ago before he knew either of them would end up working together at USC.
"When I was recruiting him at Oregon State. I knew he had the potential to be a great one. I consider him a great player," Kauha'aha'a said, using that adjective of choice. "He's playing behind the line of scrimmage, playing with great fundamentals and technique, he doesn't make mistakes mentally and his numbers are showing it. After the game like I said, I absolutely love working with the guy because he's such a hard worker. His attention to detail is as good as I've been around.
"What's great about Marlon right now is he's playing with some violence. His physicality is pretty dang good right now where he's coming off of blocks with violence, and that's why he's getting his TFL, that's why he's making plays from his position."
No update on Christian Rector; Chase Williams out Wednesday
Defensive end Christian Rector wasn't active in practice again Wednesday as he rests an ankle injury sustained late in the win over Stanford. Coach Clay Helton indicated on Sunday that Rector's injury wasn't serious, and Rector has been on the stationary bike on the sideline this week. Helton was not asked about him Tuesday after practice and doesn't meet with the media on Wednesday, so the next update will come Thursday after practice.
Defensive back Chase Williams, who is working as USC's top reserve at both safety and nickel, also did not practice Wednesday.
As is usually the case with injured players, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast wasn't giving anything indications one way or the other when asked who would be in line to fill Rector's snaps if he were out or limited.
"We'll see. It's early yet and you can ask coach Helton about that," he said.
Kauha'aha'a, meanwhile, said redshirt juniors Connor Murphy and Caleb Tremblay would compete for any extra reps available.
Murphy played 26 snaps and Tremblay played 14 against Stanford, according to Pro Football Focus. Murphy notched his first sack in that game while Tremblay was credited for a half sack.
Pendergast talked about the progress Murphy has made to earn a role in USC's defensive line rotation. He redshirted last season while playing in four games following his move from outside linebacker to the defensive line.
"Connor's gained himself more reps by how he's practiced. You saw him play a little more in the second game than the first game, and really a lot of that's attributed to how he's practiced in fall camp. He's deserves an opportunity," he said. "... I like his length, it's one of the reasons we recruited him, we like his physicality and he is a big body out there that gets in throwing lanes that the quarterback's got to throw over."
Hunter Echols reacts to Devon Williams entering the transfer portal
Redshirt-sophomore outside linebacker Hunter Echols was tempted by the NCAA transfer porter last winter, so he understands what sophomore wide receiver Devon Williams is feeling right now.
Williams entered the transfer portal, TrojanSports.com confirmed Wednesday morning, after catching just 1 pass and playing only 10 snaps through the first two games. He had just 4 catches as a true freshman last fall, with 3 coming in a 77-yard receiving effort at Oregon State.
"Devon's my guy so I have love for Dev. He's got to make the best decision for him," Echols said. "It's hard when you leave the team, especially because I know he loves us, I know he loves the players here at USC, he loves the coaches. But he's got to do the best thing for him, and if being at USC is not the best thing for him I support him 100 percent. ...
"I talked to him. That's my guy so I talked to him. Obviously, I encouraged him to stay, but if USC's not the place for him then I want to support him whatever he wants to do."
Echols changed his mind about pursuing an exit in the offseason and has found himself a major part of the Trojans' pass rush rotation, often subbing in for the right defensive end. Defensive back Greg Johnson spent a matter of days in the transfer portal in the spring before returning to the team, and wide receiver Velus Jones and quarterback Matt Fink rejoined the Trojans this summer after longer periods in the portal.
"I'm pretty sure Dev could come back," Echols said. "Like, I made an emotional decision earlier this year and I wanted to hit the portal and leave, but this is my family, it's where I want to be. Hopefully he realizes this is his family and this is where he wants to be. He's a young kid, he's only a sophomore, he'll be all right, he'll be fine. If he does stay here, I'll be, 'Let's go, let's do it.' But if he decides to go somewhere else, I'm going to always support him -- that's my friend.
"If he leaves I wouldn't be surprised, if he stays I wouldn't be surprised. I know he loves USC, I know that he knows he can ball here, so it's just up to him to make his decision."
