It was the most notable comment USC interim head coach Donte Williams made after the Trojans' latest blowout loss in the Coliseum on Saturday night.
He was asked what his focus would be heading into this bye week and he didn't hesitate.
"Making sure that we're playing the right guys," he said bluntly.
He was later asked if he'd give more thought to playing some of USC's younger players late in games that go the way the Trojans' 42-26 loss to the Utes went Saturday night.
"Later in the game? I'm thinking about playing some of the younger guys early in the game. Like, it's competition always so the better guys need to play to succeed," Williams said, doubling down on the consideration of potential personnel changes. "Just because you're a senior or a junior doesn't mean that you just play. The better player needs to play."
It will be interesting to see what all comes from that -- as Williams has consistently preached ongoing competition but little has changed on Saturdays, aside from the running back rotation -- but USC's younger players who have been waiting for their opportunity will at least get an extended evaluation this week with the staff planning a full-padded scrimmage Thursday just for them.
Williams didn't want to single out any of those young players who will be particularly in the spotlight Thursday, but defensive coordinator Todd Orlando was willing to do just that, highlighting freshman linebacker Raesjon Davis, freshman nickel/safety Jaylin Smith and redshirt sophomore nose tackle Ishmael Sopsher.
"A guy like Raesjon, a guy like Jaylin, those type of guys you figure at this point going into this will be their 11th week of being in the system, playing with us, and do they need more opportunities? And this is the time to do it," Orlando said after practice Wednesday. "We already explained to them, take this week, they're going to go out there, we're going to have a young-guy scrimmage tomorrow, full-padded, they'll be able to evaluate those guys. If they're deserving to play and they're better than the other guys then they're going to play. ...
"Some of the younger guys are the guys that we're going to redshirt, guys that don't have a significant role. But some of the guys, a guy like Ish, he's going to be out there working a little bit, he's a guy that I'm excited to see where he's at at this point. Some of the other guys, we talked about the younger DBs going out there and just letting them go. Nobody's telling them what to do, going out there and playing to see if they're ready to go out there and contribute. I think that's probably the biggest thing. Are you going to see a guy go from 10 plays to 70 plays? I don't think so, but are you gonna see a guy go from 10 plays to 35 plays? Absolutely, if that's what's necessary to get some of the changes done that we need to get changed."
Davis, the top-100 national prospect from Mater Dei HS, played 11 defensive snaps in the season-opener and none since, though he has had a consistent role on special teams. This despite the Trojans' linebacker play remaining largely lackluster through the first half of the season.
Smith has played 39 defensive snaps, including 25 at Washington State, and he has already managed a sack and an interception in his limited reps.
Sopsher, meanwhile, hasn't played at all and only returned to full practice in the last few weeks after a lengthy recovery from surgery for compartment syndrome in his leg. The big Alabama transfer could be a significant addition to the rotation at nose tackle -- the Trojans' thinnest position.
"I'm excited, he looks good, been doing some really good things. But it'll be stamina, that's the only thing I'm concerned about with him. Because you go through practice and take a break, but in a game if you got to go six or seven plays, there's no break. So we'll be really glued into that tape," Orlando said. "We're going to make some hard evals tomorrow watching some of those younger guys and then going into the next week on Monday it's like, hey this guy is good enough to help us win ball games and we're going to ride with him. Because we need more depth right now."
A couple other young guys that could be deserving of larger roles are freshman safety Calen Bullock, who has already worked his way into the rotation while playing at least 18 snaps in five of the six games (26 last week vs. Utah), and freshman defensive end Korey Foreman, who notched 2.5 tackles for loss with his first 1.5 sacks last weekend despite only playing 11 defensive snaps.
On offense, it would really just be the young receivers looking to maybe earn some more opportunities on Saturdays.
The defense is the reeling unit, though, having given 535 yards to Oregon State three games ago and 486 to Utah over the weekend, and injecting some fresh energy into the unit probably can't hurt at this point.
"I just look forward to seeing all of them play and seeing the progress they’ve made over these few month," Williams said.
