USC is holding what the coaches have called a "young guy scrimmage" on Thursday, taking advantage of the bye week to evaluate whether any of the freshmen or other younger players deserve larger roles the rest of the way.

Especially on the defensive side, where the Trojans have been a sieve in two of the last three games while giving up 535 yards to Oregon State three games ago and 486 to Utah last weekend, it stands to reason that some change (any change) could be good for the unit.

"If they're deserving to play and they're better than the other guys then they're going to play," defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said Wednesday.

That echoed comments interim head coach Donte Williams had made in the moments after the Trojans' 42-26 loss to Utah.

"Just because you're a senior or a junior doesn't mean that you just play. The better player needs to play," he said.

With that in mind, here are the five freshman we could see expanding their role over the rest of the season.

Bullock has already played 188 defensive snaps and even started the season opener when Isaiah Pola-Mao was unavailable, so he’s not so much of an unknown at this point. He's played at least 25 snaps in four of the six games, so for the most part he's a fixture in the defensive rotation, but given the struggles of starters Pola-Mao and Chase Williams, many have wondered why Bullock hasn't played even more.

In that season-opening start, he led the Trojans with 8 tackles, including two big third-down stops (for a team that could use a lot more of those). He also has an interception this season and sure looks like the team's most talented safety. Whether or not he has the same command of the playbook as the veterans, Bullock's instincts are the best of the bunch and his elite range at free safety is an asset this defense needs to tap into more.

This one is the true mystery.

USC's linebacker play has been largely underwhelming -- again -- as Ralen Goforth and Raymond Scott are the team's two lowest-ranked defensive players, per PFF's season grades. Kana'i Mauga has been a little better with 15 tackles and 2 tackles for loss over the last two games.

But despite the struggles at that spot, Davis -- the top-100 national prospect and one of the jewels of the Trojans' recruiting class -- hasn't seen any defensive snaps since the season opener.

This is another case where his instincts and athleticism -- which both jumped off the field at Mater Dei HS -- would seem to outweigh whatever film room advantage Goforth or Scott may have.

Davis has played more on special teams, but at what point does the defense struggle enough up the middle that it's worth just rolling the dice?

"Well the biggest thing is is just consistency," Orlando said. "Coach Snyder's been really good with him, getting him on the football field, but to me it's the consistency that goes into assignment. But he's getting better. He's a guy that I look at him, I look at Jaylin [Smith], I look at those two guys and say, hey, let's get them on the field and see where they're at. And we thought that way coming into Week 5 or 6. It's not going to be early, because young guys in the heat of battle they're going to make mistakes. But they've been seasoned enough, they do a good job and you're going to see them the following Saturday."

Well, that's potentially encouraging -- now they just have to follow through, give Davis that chance and leave it up to him to determine if he deserves more and more opportunities as the season moves forward.

"I’m pretty good with the playbook now. When they throw me in, I feel like I’ll be able to make some fast plays," Davis said.

It's time to at least give him that opportunity.