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The very first move new defensive coordinator Todd Orlando made upon taking the job at USC was to ensure that he'd have Craig Naivar with him coaching the safeties.
Orlando and Naivar's paths intersected at Houston in 2015, and they quickly realized they were very much aligned in terms of mentality and coaching philosophy, so after two years there, Naivar followed Orlando to Texas where they spent the last three seasons. When Orlando was fired in December, Naiver served as the Longhorns' interim defensive coordinator for a dominant 38-10 Alamo Bowl win over Utah.
And now he's as integral as any Trojans addition this offseason, a key to helping Orlando install his defense and execute what he wants to do with the unit.
"We were very fortunate when we came together at the University of Houston. We did not know each other at all. We've got very similar philosophies of attacking style of defense, multiple styles of defense. We put a high premium like we talked about on being physical and those type of things. Some would say we're kind of off a little bit, which would make us bond a little bit tighter," Naiver joked. "But he's like a brother to me and I value his friendship. But more importantly he's a damn good ball coach and excited to be with him again."
Orlando had just as high of praise in return.
"This will be [his] sixth year in this package. Craig, I think when he got announced here, probably not a household name, but he’s as good as there is in the country, I can tell you that," Orlando said.
As he put it, Orlando worries about the front end of the defense and trusts Naivar to control the back end. USC had one defensive backs coach over the corners, safeties and nickels last year in Greg Burns, but the Trojans now have separated those roles with Williams handling the cornerbacks and he and Naivar overlapping on the nickels.
"I’m used to being the most energetic person, especially when it comes to the secondary and all that. … But Craig’s more energetic than me," Williams said. "I mean, he’s every day. You almost feel like he’s jacked up on Mountain Dews and he hasn’t even had one yet. So he’s been great.”
Naivar inherits a talented group of safeties, led by junior Talanoa Hufanga and redshirt junior Isaiah Pola-Mao.
The story with Hufanga will always be health. When he's on the field, he's dynamic, but issues with his right collarbone and shoulder have undermined him multiple times in the past two seasons. Nonetheless, he ranked second on the team last fall with 90 tackles in just 10 games, adding 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 3 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles. He closed the season with an 18-tackle performance against UCLA and 14 stops in the Holiday Bowl vs. Iowa.
