Per the initial schedule USC sent out, Wednesday would have been the Trojans' fourth practice, while coach Lincoln Riley said afterward his team was five practices into fall camp.

Whatever the number, Wednesday was the first chance reporters had to attend practice and talk to coaches and players since the first one last Friday.

Riley spoke after practice, as did select defensive coaches and players, and we round up all the news and notes here -- from Christian Roland-Wallace's versatile role in the secondary to linebacker Raesjon Davis' hand injury, hype for freshman rush end Braylan Shelby and observations on the offensive line and defense.

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One of the most notable developments so far in fall camp has been the coaches' plans for Arizona cornerback transfer Christian Roland-Wallace.

A four-year starter for the Wildcats, it was initially presumed that he was coming in to fill the Mekhi Blackmon void at corner. He was sidelined and limited by injury during the spring, so there wasn't much to learn about his role then.

Through the start of camp, though, it's been revealed that Roland-Wallace is working a lot at nickel in practice, while Ceyair Wright, Jacobe Covington and Domani Jackson have been the top cornerbacks.

"You can leave here today saying all three of those guys will play a lot," Riley said.

It sounds like Roland-Wallace will too -- it's just a matter of where.

"Christian Roland-Wallace is a fun piece for us because his experience and how smart he is, his skill set, he can play anywhere," Riley said. "I could foresee him playing corner, you could see him playing nickel, you could see him playing safety, he can play any of the five, which is a great thing. He's certainly been impressive in camp. We didn't get to see him much in spring -- he got injured early -- and so it's been nice to watch him, and he's been as advertised."

DBs coach Donte Williams added his perspective on the matter as well Wednesday.

"As a secondary as a whole, overall numbers-wise we're thin, and you've got a particular player that is smart, he learns fast, he grasps new ideas. Like we always said, we're trying to get the best five DBs on the field. So whether that's him at safety, corner, nickel, whatever the case may be, we're going to make sure we have the best five," Williams said. "And then if somebody goes down, we're going to make sure you put the sixth-best DB in -- not all of a sudden the next guy at that particular position. So you got somebody that can learn multiple things, carry it over to practice and learn those things, you've got to take advantage of that."

Roland-Wallace, who made 37 starts over four years at Arizona, said he had no objection to the coaches' plan to move him to nickel, safety or wherever. He noted he had played in the slot some with the Wildcats, so it's not totally foreign to him.

"No-brainer, whatever you all need me to do, I'm here to do it," he said of his response to the coaches.

The nickel role does come with some extra challenges and responsibilities, though.

"Ultimately, I feel like I'm a football player. You put me out there, I'm going to make it happen. But I feel like me playing multiple positions is helping the team and me individually as well," Roland-Wallace said. "At the nickel spot, you've got to be a little bit more vocal, be making the calls, the checks and different things like that. At corner, you don't have to worry about those things. ... I feel I'm capable of doing it, so I'm fine with doing it."

Said Williams: "It's a lot, to be honest, but it's mainly learning, making sure he understands the checks and everything else. At corner, a lot of it is you kind of sometimes wait for somebody to tell you what to do. At nickel, it's more you're telling other people what to do. So somebody with a little older mindset and matured, the leadership role that he's taken on is great and helps us."

How the secondary ultimately shakes out is perhaps the most compelling position battle of fall camp for USC.

Wright, Covington and Jackson are battling for those two cornerback jobs. If Roland-Wallace ends up at nickel, what does that mean for incumbents Max Williams and Jaylin Smith? Redshirt freshman Zion Branch and true freshman Christian Pierce are looking to play their way into roles at safety, where Calen Bullock and Bryson Shaw return as starters.

"The competition is high," Donte Williams said. "It was already high and now you get somebody who you know has already produced in games and big-time moments in this particular conference [in Roland-Wallace]. It helps because it brings up not only the energy but it brings up the competition factor."

Riley said the Trojans' health through the first handful of practices is good with "nothing major" to report on the injury front.

But there are several players limited or sidelined at the moment, including junior linebacker Raesjon Davis, who has an unspecified hand injury.

"He had a hand injury first or second day of camp, very early, so he'll be out for just a couple of days. We'll get him back here the second half of camp," Riley said. "He's starting to get now where he can move around and get some activity on it."

Meanwhile, Riley used the occasion to praise the growth he's seen in Davis this year.

"He's done very well. He had a really good summer, had a good stretch of plays even before he got injured. Feels like a guy that's -- I know we talked about it some -- but he feels like a guy that's starting to surge," Riley said. "Like, he's in the best shape by far of his life. His body is much more developed than where he was when we came in. He's stronger, faster, a little more confident. He knows the schemes really well. He's really become, I think, one of our better coverage linebackers, just in terms of kind of his athleticism on the field in space. We fully expect him to push, and what we saw early on in camp suggests nothing different."

Davis is battling with freshman Tackett Curtis for opportunities in the linebacker rotation behind veterans Mason Cobb, Eric Gentry and Shane Lee.

Davis, a top-100 national prospect from local Mater Dei HS in the 2021 recruiting class, played just 41 defensive snaps last season with 27 of those coming in the Cotton Bowl. He's mostly worked on special teams through his first two seasons.

But linebackers coach Brian Odom also praised Davis prior to the start of camp while laying out what he needed to see from the linebacker for him to find his way into more defensive snaps this year.

"When we got here a year and a half ago, he was just kind of there. He was a little bit immature as a freshman and he was kind of almost a little bit lost in terms of the coaching change and all that, but he's done a really good job over the past, especially the last half of the season to be able to earn the right to go get on the field," Odom said. "He had a ton of reps in special teams a year ago, which was very valuable for him to continue his growth. There was an investment made on our part as a staff to continue to develop him as an inside linebacker and it showed some dividends this spring. He had a really good spring.

"I'm very confident in Raesjon to be able to go out, and again, he's going to be in that group of guys that's going to compete. How consistent can he be on a day-to-day basis? I don't question any kind of work ethic with him. I think he works hard, I think he plays hard. But how consistent can he be in practice and can he separate himself through making plays within those practices?"

Davis is an intriguing player to monitor as this would seem to be a pivotal season for his trajectory heading into his third year, considering he didn't take a redshirt as a freshman and has just these two years of eligibility remaining barring injury.