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A lot has changed for USC's cornerbacks this year.
First, they have a new position coach for the third time in as many seasons. They also have a cornerback-specific coach in Donte Williams, with Craig Naivar coaching the safeties, whereas the Trojans had been employing just one general DBs coach.
But the most significant change is that USC will be operating a field and boundary setup for the corners.
What that means is instead of having one guy locked on each side of the field for the game, the field corner will move around and always cover the widest side of the field based on where the ball is spotted, while the boundary corner will cover the shorter side of the field.
Williams explained why that's been his approach in his career and why it works with defensive coordinator Todd Orlando's scheme and the personnel he has now with the Trojans.
"That's what I prefer and it works good because with Todd, he feels the same way in the system. I just look at them as different people. The field to me is the guy that has to adjust after the ball is snapped, have to pretty much be a playmaker, because when the ball's in the air he becomes the receiver. Just the things I ask him to do are a little different," Williams said. "Where the boundary corner to me is going to be a little bit probably more press, playing a little tighter quarters, maybe going against a bigger receiver, have to be able to fit in the box, and a lot of his adjustments happen before the ball is snapped where almost the communication is like a safety.
"So it's two different body types, and it's two kind of different people mentally. And I'm fortunate enough where I stepped into a place that I feel has those type of guys and has those type of bodies to where we can still do that."
