Since his freshman season, it has been clear that USC safety Talanoa Hufanga has had the potential to be a truly special difference-maker on the field. The only question seemed to be whether he could stay healthy for a full season.
Of course, USC didn't have a full season this year, playing only six games due to the Pac-12's late start, but Hufanga played every game and left his mark on most of them.
And on Tuesday the junior was deservedly named the Pac-12's Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year.
USC also landed five players on the All-Pac-12 first team -- more than any other school -- in Hufanga, redshirt junior defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu, sophomore quarterback Kedon Slovis, redshirt junior left tackle Alijah Vera-Tucker and junior wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Sophomore cornerback Chris Steele, sophomore outside linebacker Drake Jackson, sophomore wide receiver Drake London and redshirt senior wide receiver Tyler Vaughns earned second-team honors.
As for Hufanga, he is the eighth Trojan honored as the conference’s top defensive player, joining outside linebacker Duane Bickett (1984), outside linebacker Junior Seau (1989), inside linebacker Chris Claiborne (1998), defensive tackle Shaun Cody (Co-, 2004), defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis (2007), inside linebacker Rey Maualuga (2008) and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (2016).
Hufanga led the Trojans in tackles with 62 -- 21 more than any other player on the team -- and ranked 19th nationally with 10.33 tackles per game. Every player ahead of him on that list was a linebacker. Hufanga also led USC with 4 interceptions (coming in four straight games) and 2 forced fumbles, and he ranked second with 3 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss. His 0.67 interceptions per game ranks third nationally and he nearly had another one last week vs. Oregon.
"During the offseason, I just wanted to try to step up my game in total. I think I definitely still have a lot to work on all around and a big emphasis this year for our whole team is just to run and hit and create turnovers," Hufanga said last week. "So as much as we can to help the offense out, I got to make the most of all my opportunities I get. At the end of the day, just want to help our team win, anyway possible."
Anyway possible is a fitting descriptor for Hufanga's role on this team.
Against Washington State, with the Trojans down two of their three main linebackers, Hufanga essentially played middle linebacker for the team and had 9 tackles, a sack and an interception.
The next week against UCLA, he tallied 17 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and 2 tackles for loss. His pick, which would have been returned for a touchdown if not for an inconsequential block in the back, helped key USC's late comeback vs. the Bruins while leading directly to a short touchdown sequence.
He was so often in the right place at the right time in the biggest of moments for the Trojans.
"I thought he made some dynamic plays. He's got a certain skill set that's unique, you know what I'm saying? So there's some type of hybrid, outside backer slash strong safety slash ... he's got really good vision too," defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said of Hufanga.
As for the Trojans' first-team selections:
-Slovis completed 67 percent of his passes this year for 1,921 yards,17 touchdowns and 7 interceptions (3 of those coming last week vs. Oregon) and led USC and showed his unflappable poise in leading the Trojans to three come-from-behind wins in the final minutes. He leads the Pac-12 in completions per game (29.5, first nationally), passing yards per game (320.2), total offense per game (310.7), completion percentage and points responsible for per game (17.0). The sophomore moved to ninth on USC’s career passing list (459 completions) and his 70.0 career completion percentage is above the school record.
-St. Brown led the team with 41 receptions for 478 yards and a Pac-12-leading 7 TDs (which all came in the final three games). He is in the national Top 25 in both receptions (6.8 per game) and TD catches. He caught 4 touchdowns in the first quarter against Washington State to tie an NCAA record, then had the game-winning TD catch with 16 seconds to play at UCLA. He is 11th on USC’s all-time receptions list with 178.
-Vera-Tucker was the bright spot on an offensive line that struggled overall, and his decision to reverse his opt-out decision before the season was a incalculable boost for the unit. After starring at left guard last year, he settled in well at left tackle. He had his only major struggles last week against Oregon, allowing 2 sacks and 6 QB pressures after giving up only 2 pressures and 2 sacks over the first five games.
-Tuipulotu, a third-year starter, notched 23 tackles from his nose tackle spot while tallying 3.5 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and also forced a fumble. His sack and forced fumble early in the win over Utah set up an easy Trojans touchdown and set the tone in the team's best victory of the year.
As for the second-teamers ...
-London led USC in receiving yards overall with 502 on 33 receptions, averaging a team-best 15.2 yards per catch and scoring 3 touchdowns. He simply refused to go down, often dragging defenders or avoiding them altogether for long gains, and he caught perhaps the biggest pass of the year in hauling in the game-winner with his finger tips as two defenders closed in on him for a fourth-down touchdown to complete USC's wild rally from 13 points down in the final few minutes in the victory over Arizona State.
-Vaughns finished with 33 catches for 406 yards and 3 touchdowns, having his best game in the rivalry win over UCLA when he caught a 38-yard touchdown in the end zone and hauled in a 35-yard catch in traffic down the right sideline on the final drive to set up USC's go-ahead score on the next play. Vaughns is third on USC's career receptions list with 222.
-Jackson made 20 tackles in 2020, including 5.5 for losses (with 2 sacks), and he had an interception while adjusting from a true defensive end role to a stand-up pass-rushing outside linebacker position.
-Steele recorded 26 tackles, 4 pass deflections and an interception this season while taking over as the full-time starting boundary corner.
USC also had seven players receive All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors: redshirt junior right tackle Jalen McKenzie, redshirt junior center Brett Neilon, redshirt junior defensive lineman Nick Figueroa, junior cornerback Olaijah Griffin, redshirt junior safety Isaiah Pola-Mao, freshman kicker Parker Lewis and redshirt sophomore punter Ben Griffiths.
Meanwhile, Colorado's Karl Dorrell was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in his first season with the Buffaloes, Colorado running back Jarek Broussard was named Offensive Player of the Year, Utah running back Ty Jordan is Freshman Offensive Player of the Year and Oregon linebacker Noah Sewell is Freshman Defensive Player of the Year.
