USC Film Room: Why Talanoa Hufanga's absence is a huge loss for Trojans

On a USC defense that has been plagued by tackling woes all season, sophomore safety Talanoa Hufanga has been the shining exception.

He tied for the team lead with 14 tackles last Friday night in a 30-23 win over then-No. 10 Utah and he leads the Trojans overall this season with 42 tackles.

"Probably in my 10 years here I don't know if I've seen a better game by a safety than Talanoa Hufanga had in that game," coach Clay Helton said. "I thought he just was all over the field."

Which makes it significant loss when he's off the field entirely, which will be the case this week as No. 21 USC visits No. 17 Washington on Saturday. Hufanga has been in the concussion protocol while also dealing with a sprained AC joint in his shoulder.

"He's a guy that's a playmaker. You try to use him up around the line of scrimmage, you try to use him in coverage. He's really playing well and he's getting better the more he's out there," defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast said. "So not only is it hurting us as a team defensively, but when he's not out there he's not gaining valuable reps himself. So it hurts in all areas."

In this week's edition of the USC Film Room, we take a closer look at the impact Hufanga makes for this defense -- with examples from his performance vs. the Utes -- and what his loss really means this week for the Trojans.

Result: 2-yard tackle for loss on Utah's second play from scrimmage

Inside the play: Hufanga creeps up to the line of scrimmage wide of both the Utah tight end and H-back. Utah runs a receiver towards him on a sweep, and with the snap Hufanga has to choose between the receiver, the running back and QB Tyler Huntley himself. There’s a ton of eye candy in the backfield to misdirect defenders, but Hufanga reads the play carefully as he shoots into the backfield. He identifies the ball carrier almost as soon as he gets it and makes a perfect low tackle on the running back for a loss of 2.

Result: Run stuff on QB Tyler Huntley for a gain of 1 yard with help from cornerback Chris Steele

Inside the play: Hufanga is a rover on this play, roaming the box as he creeps up from a deeper position. Utah runs almost the exact same play again, except Huntley keeps the ball and runs wide left. Hufanga shuffles closer after the snap and reads before making a decision. He quickly realizes Huntley has the ball and bursts towards the line of scrimmage to make a play. A pulling guard attempts to block him, but Hufanga gets low to shed the block and springs straight into a clean form tackle to stuff the run. Once again, he does an excellent job of keying on the ball carrier and makes a perfect low tackle to finish the play.

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