Todd Orlando has high praise for USC LB Ralen Goforth ahead of opener

USC defensive coordinator Todd Orlando wouldn't address the depth chart directly Wednesday, but he said enough to seemingly confirm what has been developing all preseason.

That sophomore linebacker Ralen Goforth has set himself up for a potential breakout season in his second year in the program.

Goforth entered camp set to compete with junior Kana'i Mauga for the starting middle linebacker job, and with Mauga limited for a large part of the preseason due to a hamstring injury, Goforth has by all accounts seized his opportunity.

"Ray's a pro. To me it's the way he approaches the game," Orlando said in a Zoom call with reporters on Wednesday morning. "I took a photo and sent it to the linebacker group because I usually go down to our meeting rooms pretty early, and on his desk where he sits his playbook was open, the Arizona [State] two-deep was right next to him and his iPad was open with cut-ups. I love the way he approaches everything.

"He's very prideful about when he makes mistakes or he's not sharp in terms of doing stuff, he works his tail off. I'm really, really proud of Ray, I really am. We'll see how he does on Saturday, but these guys in that room, he's one of the harder workers that we have."

Goforth played just 56 snaps on defense and 76 on special teams last season, according to PFF's data, while stuck behind veteran John Houston. With Houston graduated, redshirt senior Jordan Iosefa and redshirt sophomore Solomon Tuliaupupu both lost to season-ending knee injuries, and Mauga limited this preseason, the door was wide open for Goforth to assert himself.

Again, the depth chart isn't official, but head coach Clay Helton seemed to indirectly drop a hint earlier this week as well when he was talking about defensive tackle Brandon Pili.

"He's one of those guys that require a double-team block which will open up things for EA and Ralen and the linebackers," Helton said.

Junior Palaie Gaoteote is locked in as the starter at the other inside linebacker position -- the "Rover" in Orlando's defense. Ultimately, it seems likely that both Goforth and Mauga have roles as well -- Mauga played a lot last season, racking up 61 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble -- but it remains to be seen exactly what the balance will be at that spot with he and Goforth.

"It depends. We'll see how we finish out the week. Right now we're not getting into specifics because that will be released on Friday, but we'll see how it plays out," Orlando said Wednesday morning. "But Kana'i has a lot of experience, he's a guy we feel comfortable with so we'll see how this thing plays out on Saturday. And that'll be based on who's running hot, who's running not. And maybe the pace. I think we'll see a little bit of gas pushed on us a little bit at times [by Arizona State], but it depends on the amount of plays that we on Saturday."

If left to parse through all the comments this week, though, it's hard to see a scenario where Goforth is not playing a large role on Saturday.

That's what he's been pushing for since the end of last season, as he explained to us last month.

"[I trained with my brothers through the time back home] like two, three times a day, sun up to sun down we were training. And all of that was on my mind -- I have to get a job this year," he said. "I had a fun time last year, but at the same time, my family coming to the games and I'm not playing as much as I want to play, that's something I really thought of all offseason. That's something that really stuck with me, so every time I would train I had that in the back in my mind."

At the very least, it sounds like he's done his part this preseason.