First-year USC defensive coordinator Todd Orlando has not only gotten the unit to show major progress from the first couple games to the last two performances, but he's shown his ability to adapt as needed.
There was no better example of that than the Trojans having star safety Talanoa Hufanga line up at middle linebacker in the 38-13 win over Washington State on Sunday night with starting linebacker Ralen Goforth out with a foot strain and Palaie Gaoteote also inactive (and now in the NCAA transfer portal).
"I thought TO did an amazing job," head coach Clay Helton said. "We walked in and we were really nervous. When you looked at them skill-wise, you looked at the two slot receivers and you looked at the running back and how much yardage and production they were putting up and they were attacking every inch of the field -- RPO game on the perimeter, vertical shots, in-between the tackles with the back, the quarterback creating. And we really felt that we needed to put the maximum number of athletes that we could on the field, so great package by TO, practiced it all week.
"All of a sudden Talanoa's Mike linebacker, there's times that even Drake [Jackson] in some of the fronts was the Mike backer. But really creative and I thought for a young quarterback, especially in the first half it was hard to get a hold of and figure out. Extremely creative by TO and credit to the kids because they really dove into this week, perfected it and then brought it to the park on game day."
That left junior Kana'i Mauga as the only true linebacker on the field most of the time, with safeties Max Williams and Chase Williams seeing larger roles as well.
But it worked largely because of Hufanga's ability to make it work. The junior standout led USC with 9 tackles, a sack and an interception, when he made a great read to identify the passing lane, tip the ball to himself, corral it, hurdle a Washington State player and return it 37 yards to the Cougars' 4-yard line.
Hufanga now has a team-leading 3 interceptions through four games while being the defensive tone-setter most expected him to be for this unit.
"Well, he’s one of the smarted players I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach. He’s so football instinctive. We ask him to do so much," Helton said. "He plays in the post. He plays in the box. He can play man. When he pressures, he can be a real detriment and a good matchup on a running back to beat him in protection at 215 pounds. He’s a complete player and such a great playmaker. I think that’s his third turnover, his third interception and man, what a special play. When he hurdled the guy, I was like, oh my goodness, we’re taking it to another level now. Just a special player that we’re so thankful to have and that’s what he said.
"He actually came over and he said, 'Coach, that’s why I’m here. I want to be able to help this team make big plays and I want to be able to help win a championship,' and he made some special plays tonight."
Helton was asked Tuesday if USC might need to use Hufanga at linebacker more the rest of the way, with Gaoteote now in the transfer portal leaving Mauga and Goforth as really the only experienced linebackers.
It sounds like that will be matchup-dependent.
"That package was put in in training camp for particularly spread offenses when you're truly a 10-personnel team and can pull it out at any point in time," Helton said. "A lot of your two-high coverages, one of the things that happens to you is people try to attack the middle of the field, especially vertically. I mean, you see us do it with Drake [London] all the time, right? We can get him matched up on a Mike linebacker, first thing that's happening is he's going through the middle of the field and gonna take that advantage.
"We came into the Washington State game very respectful of their receivers ... as well as the physicality of their runner. We had a special body in Talanoa because he has the athleticism of a defensive back but the physicality of a linebacker at 215 pounds. And he can run through the middle of the field and match up with anybody going through it. And in this game with elite speed on the inside and versus Washington State, we felt this was the time to pull that package out. Plus, it was a changeup that they had not seen with some pressures they had not seen and looks that we thought would be extremely hard on a young quarterback. Now, we always have the package. You may see it again this week versus spread sets. But it's a package that we entail a lot when people are trying to get in 10-personnel looks."
Overall, USC held Washington State to new seasons lows -- by a wide margin -- with just 263 yards and those 13 points.
For the season, USC now ranks 34th nationally in total defense (356.5 yards per game allowed) and 26th in scoring defense (21.8) -- major improvements from last season (408.5 YPG, 29.4 PPG), albeit in a smaller sample size.
For a closer look at the Trojans' defensive performance vs. Washington State, we take our weekly deep dive into the PFF grades, snap counts and advanced stats to see what we can uncover.
