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USC defensive backs coach Greg Burns wouldn't confirm that starting cornerbacks Olaijah Griffin (bulging disc in back) and Isaac Taylor-Stuart (high-ankle sprain) are definitely out this week after again not practicing Wednesday, but he did make clear who would be the starting CB opposite Chris Steele if that is indeed the situation.
Freshman Dorian Hewett, who came in as a safety and has been listed as the No. 4 nickel on the official depth chart USC sends out each week, has actually been working at cornerback since some point in August and has been the next corner behind the triumvirate of Griffin, Taylor-Stuart and Steele.
Reporters haven't gotten to see much if any meaningful reps in practice since the end of fall camp, so it was never quite clear who the fourth corner was for the Trojans as it hadn't been needed to this point.
After defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast declined to provide any insight into plans for the position and Burns initially left it open-ended too, he did eventually confirm that Hewett has been the next corner on the depth chart for a while now.
"He's really fast, and then at the safety spot it was kind of getting bottled up and I didn't want to waste him behind a bunch of people and he's athletic enough to do multiple things," Burns said of Hewett. "We actually had him at nickel a little bit, so he almost knows every spot right now. But then as we were going, I was like, corner might be his spot. ... Right now he's getting the corner work right now and he's doing a good job."
Hewett left even less doubt as to the plans for USC's game vs. Arizona this week, if Griffin and Taylor-Stuart indeed remain sidelined.
"We're going to have a rotation in the game, but as of right now I think I'm the starter," he said.
Fellow true freshman Jayden Williams would be the next cornerback rotating in behind Steele and Hewett if needed.
Neither Hewett nor Williams have played any defensive snaps, but both have played on special teams.
Hewett has been on an interesting trajectory. He admitted back in May as he was preparing to move to campus that there was a time not long ago that he didn't think he'd get the opportunity to play Division I football coming out of high school. The 3-star prospect from North Shore High School in Houston, Texas, was committed to Syracuse for a while, and then USC made a late push for him in the month leading up to National Signing Day in February, getting him on campus and soon landing his commitment.
As mentioned, he came in as a safety, but his blazing speed -- he was also a track standout in high school -- put him on yet another unexpected course.
"I've been working at outside corner for at least a month or two now. I initially was recruited as a safety, but I ended up moving to corner two or three weeks afterward because my abilities were more sufficient at corner," he explained Wednesday.
"[Burns] came to me straight up, 'I want you to try some corner, I want you to learn the defense at corner.' And I was like, 'All right, I'm up for the challenge.' And that's what I've been doing. … I've showed that I could learn a defense really fast and I have great footwork and my hips and I'm fast so I easily can keep up with a wide receiver."
Steele seconded that assessment.
"Dorian, he knows every position so he knows where his help is, and I think that's going to help him a lot this game," Steele said. "He's a playmaker. He's real physical, probably one of the fastest -- he is one of the fastest dudes on the team. I expect a lot from him this week just because of what I see him do every day.
"I've seen Velus [Jones] beat him at the line, have like four yards on him and the last few steps you see Dorian running using his track form and breaking the ball up and I was just like, 'Dang, that dude's fast -- like really fast."
Burns, meanwhile, has had one of the toughest and most important jobs on the USC coaching staff this season, preparing a young secondary with minimal game experience entering the fall and having to adjust further on the fly with even less experienced players.
Nickel Greg Johnson (shoulder) has already been ruled out for this week, meaning USC could likely be without three starting defensive backs vs. Arizona. Freshman Max Williams, who has played 22 snaps all season (all vs. Washington), is expected to start at nickel.
USC is facing a Wildcats team that ranks 18th nationally in passing yards per game (300.0), and although quarterback Khalil Tate is known more for his dual-threat mobility, he has two big passing games this season (361 yards at Hawaii and 404 at Colorado).
Burns had to think back to his time at Purdue "many moons" ago (in 2012) to recall a time when he was replacing multiple key DBs like this for a game, and even then he admitted it was only two starters. Nonetheless, he maintained the stance he has all season.
"Hey, it is what it is. I can't worry about it. I have to play who I have, but the cool part is this group has always been locked in. This group has always been paying attention and honestly saying, 'I'm ready when you need me,'" he said. "Max did it -- when we needed him, he jumped in, he was ready to roll. Kaulana [Makaula] was ready to roll [last week in taking over for Johnson at nickel, with Max Williams unavailable]. So we're going to have some more guys that we need to be ready to roll and they're showing that they're going to be able to do it. We'll see, but they're showing like they're ready to go. ...
"They don't know they're young. They just know, I'm playing football and I've got to do what I'm supposed to do -- and they're doing it and they're focused."
More injury notes
-Pendergast never discusses injuries, and as mentioned, Burns wouldn't offer anything concrete on Griffin or Taylor-Stuart.
"I don't know that. I'm not a doctor, so I can't say. I can hope, and that's all I'm going to do. But whoever's in front of me I'm going to work him and coach him up as best I can," he said when asked if he could confirm the two corners are unlikely to play this week.
-Defensive end Christian Rector also did not practice Wednesday. Rector has been playing through a high-ankle sprain sustained in Week 2, and he still does not look fully healthy. Notre Dame attacked him on the edge last week after identifying his mobility was compromised. That said, it's not clear if this was just a maintenance day of rest or indicative of his status for this week. Head coach Clay Helton doesn't talk with reporters again until Thursday evening.
-Wide receiver Tyler Vaughns also did not practice during at least the early portion open to media. Freshman Munir McClain replaced him on the first team.
Max Williams primed for another opportunity
Max Williams made his Trojans debut two games ago, starting at nickel against Washington when Johnson was held out for the first quarter due to a team rule violation. Williams helped on a sack and forced a fumble in his limited opportunity that game before he then was held out vs. Notre Dame for an unspecified team rule violation.
Despite the limited sample size, he's a very intriguing player for the Trojans and Burns reiterated his confidence in him.
"Max displays everything he can do in practice. I have no reservation at all," Burns said.
Said Pendergast: "I was real happy with the plays he played against Washington, and he's another guy that since he's been healthy has done a lot of good things in practice."
Williams came in as highly-regarded 4-star cornerback from Gardena Serra HS and arrived as an early enrollee who was working his way back from a torn ACL. Just when he was ready to make an impression in fall camp, he then sustained a hamstring injury that he would re-aggravate and that would linger into the start of the season.
Then he got his chance vs. Washington before missing a subsequent opportunity vs. Notre Dame due to the team rule violation. Needless to say, he's eager to play a big role for the Trojans on Saturday.
"I'm preparing myself as best I can so I'll be ready on Saturday," he said.
Meanwhile, Burns explained while fellow freshman Kaulana Makaula got the nod at nickel Saturday when Johnson left with injury. Chase Williams had been the backup there earlier in the season, but as he was also backing up at both safety spots, Burns wanted to lighten his load.
"I felt I was giving Chase too much. He had two safety spots and a nickel spot so he's really learning three spots and has to be sharp on it and know all the checks. So what I ended up doing is saying, OK, I'm going to pull that out of him because I have Greg and Max doing well at nickel, so I said, 'Hey, you focus at safeties only,'" he said.
"I just locked into that so now it's Greg, Max and Kaulana's the third-string nickel. ... I was like, 'I'm going to stick to what I said, so get your butt in there' and he did well. He's done well in practice so I didn't feel like he shouldn't have got that opportunity. It's just kind of a battlefield decision."
