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At a certain point last fall, it became clear to USC linebacker Jordan Iosefa that his surgically-repaired left knee wasn't going to be ready in time for him to make it back that season. In fact, he'd ultimately need a second procedure to fix a lingering cartilage issue.

But Iosefa had been voted a team captain, and so he was intent on providing whatever value he could nonetheless.

"So I watched film as if I was starting that game. I would watch film and I'd go to all the practices and I'd help all the players and just try to contribute in any way," he recalled. "Now, leading up to my senior season, that has helped me have a different outlook from the outside in on how coaches approach things. I've been able to use that to my advantage and to the team's advantage, so now I'm just trying to help the younger guys kind of see the same picture, especially with our new coaches, [to] try to adapt to the new defense."

Iosefa has also asserted some leadership over the last month despite the Trojans being scattered around the country with their families during this ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"About two weeks ago I held a Zoom training session with our defense," he explained. "I created a little strength training plan and I held it on Zoom. The reason why I held that is because I know some guys are not able to create their workout plan, so I kind of thought about it and said all right, I'm going make something, I typed it out, sent it to the whole defense and if they have no access to a gym this is something easy to do anywhere."

Eventually, though, Iosefa hopes to lead with his actions. That's the opportunity he's been waiting for -- working for -- since dislocating the patella in his knee back in early August. He continues to rehab and hopes to be back to full-strength by July, which would make him a really interesting piece to the Trojans' defensive puzzle as a redshirt senior who made nine starts in 2018 at outside linebacker but is projected to compete at the middle linebacker "Mac" spot in Todd Orlando's defense.

By using his redshirt last fall and extending his collegiate career an extra year, Iosefa has a lot riding on this final season -- both in terms of the legacy he hopes this team can leave and, of course, in terms of his future.

"This last season means a lot to me. It's a stepping stone to my next career [of getting to] the NFL and just putting on good, consistent tape," he said this week. "The motivation is just to make my family proud and get USC to where it was when we won Rose Bowls and winning Pac-12 championships again and helping the younger guys build a culture of success. And if I can do that in a matter of six months then I think my job would be done."