USC is through six practices and media has been out to at least parts of four of them so far, while also gleaning a lot of insight in talking with coaches and players.
We feel we've learned a lot about this Trojans team already, and so we're taking all questions from our subscribers.
Here's the start of it, while the full Q+A can be found on our Trojan Talk board.
Q: Not too many practices to date to fully evaluate, but your thoughts on the defense as a whole? Biggest difference you see from last year? More aggressive, etc.?
A: The biggest difference is without question the depth and talent. The one practice we got to see all of was of course non-contact so not a great barometer for projecting anything. That said, consider last year how thin the LBs were where Tackett Curtis was a main piece despite his freshman struggles -- now Easton Mascarenas-Arnold looks like the real deal and better than anyone they had last year, which slides Mason Cobb down a peg and maybe puts him in a role more conducive to success (the defensive scheme itself, it sounds like, is going to do that, but then also not having as much pre-snap responsibility with EMA taking on the defensive calls), that in turn makes Eric Gentry a truly versatile asset who can be deployed in creative ways that play to his strengths. And Raesjon Davis, who made starts for this team last year, is battling just to be in the top 4 at the position if freshman Desman Stephens continues to come on strong.
Look at safety, where it was really Bryson Shaw and Max Williams playing opposite Calen Bullock last year. Now Shaw looks to be in more of a rotation role (but still set to play a lot) behind Akili Arnold and Kamari Ramsey, while Christian Pierce is ready to contribute and Zion Branch should emerge at some point as well.
Look at cornerback, which was a bit of a disaster last year on the whole with Ceyair Wright eventually disappearing from the roster entirely, Domani Jackson never looking truly comfortable, Jacobe Covington limited to half a season and Christian Roland-Wallace the steadiest of the bunch. Not only is the depth night and day now but so is the size! John Humphrey and DeCarlos Nicholson are towering (and Covington has an ideal frame as well) and fit a different priority for the position with this defensive staff. Between those three alone, that could be a solid unit, but don't sleep on freshman Marcelles Williams (one of the true stars of the spring), don't forget how well Prophet Brown played in the bowl game, don't forget Jaylin Smith, who is getting work at corner and could play anywhere.
Greedy Vance was a proven producer at Florida State at nickel, and now you have him and Jaylin Smith or Brown for that spot -- options!
Even up front, while it's not ideal, the foundation is so much better with Bear Alexander, Nate Clifton, Elijah Hughes and Gavin Meyer as a fairly high-floor, high-upside top four on the interior, the POTENTIAL for Kobe Pepe to contribute, the future developing behind them in Carlon Jones and Jide Abasiri, the potential to also play Anthony Lucas inside, etc.
On the edge, they go from a Jamil Muhammad-Solomon Byrd combo to Muhammad, breakout candidate Braylan Shelby, breakout candidate Lucas, super exciting freshman Kameryn Fountain and a handful of others.
So, that's what jumps out to me on defense. And just the trust in D'Anton Lynn to get the most out of all those pieces and put them together in a cogent way. I really don't feel I'm overhyping the talent increase, though -- especially in the secondary.
