It's easy to be comfortably confident and assured that USC's offense will reach another level with Lincoln Riley at the helm. The supporting evidence there is just overwhelming.
It's the defense, though, that will likely ultimately dictate the true potential for this team this season.
And Trojans fans are a bit scarred by the perpetual letdown and erosion on that side of the ball. There was reasonable belief two years ago that former defensive coordinator Todd Orlando was the guy who would turn things around, and well, the defense only got worse.
Now it's Alex Grinch's turn.
It's understandable if USC fans are going to be a bit more tepid in their confidence for the new DC, but if one has unwavering trust in Riley's ability to lead a program -- as most Trojans fans have made clear they do -- then it's worth reiterating that Riley didn't spend even a day deliberating who he wanted to lead his defense here.
Grinch was on the plane to Los Angeles with him the morning after the news broke that USC had poached Riley away from Oklahoma.
"We've worked really well together for the last three years. I think we complement each other in a lot of ways," Riley said this week. "He does an outstanding job with not just the scheme of our guys and coaching our safeties, but also just the mentality of our group, and I think we're very much aligned in kind of our beliefs, our beliefs in building a program, our beliefs in continuing to improve and take next steps.
"And I think also you get some of the added experience. We've done this together at a different place, and not to sit there and pretend that we were perfect -- there's things that we've learned that now starting over here that we're able to implement that I think are battle-tested, time-tested. I don't feel that we're reaching, grasping for things that we haven't done or experienced or been through together. So to have somebody in obviously such a key position on your staff that you have that kind of a rapport with I think is very important."
In Grinch's three seasons coordinating the defense for Oklahoma, the Sooners ranked 38th nationally in total defense in 2019 (356.4 yards per game allowed), 29th in 2020 (350.6) and 76th in 2021 (390.8), while in terms of points allowed ranking 64th (27.3 points per game), 28th (21.7) and 58th (25.8).
It's also worth noting that he had his best season as coordinator in the Pac-12, at Washington State back in 2017, ranking 16th nationally in allowing 323.3 YPG.
Lest anyone need to be reminded, USC last season ranked 88th in total defense (407.1 YPG) and 103rd in scoring defense (31.8 PPG). Two of the three worst defensive seasons on record for the Trojans have come in the last three years, with the 2019 campaign the worst ever at 408.7 YPG allowed. Meanwhile, the points allowed per game last season was the most ever for the program.
That's what Grinch is inheriting, with very few established contributors returning -- really only three starters -- so perhaps a little patience is in order.
Like the Trojans used last year, Grinch's base defense is three defensive linemen with an outside edge rusher, two inside linebackers and five defensive backs.
USC fans will hope that's the extent of the similarities to the recent past.
In terms of what he wants to do with his defense, Grinch described it like this:
"As I would describe it, single-gap approach. We use the term downhill, we want guys to play in the opponent's backfield, have an opportunity for the guys to be competitive in coverage and impede receivers' ability to run the route that is called," he said. "... Ultimately, what we want is the space and speed game that is college football, and obviously the same thing in the NFL, but to make sure that from a personnel standpoint that we have the speed to be very competitive to take away the space that so often offenses are trying to take advantage of."
Inside linebackers coach Brian Odom, who came over from Oklahoma as well, summarized Grinch's defense more succinctly.
"It’s hard to put into words but fast and physical -- fast and physical," he said.
The better question is whether they can actually implement what they want to do -- that's the one they start trying to answer Tuesday with the first of 15 spring practices.
With that, get up to speed on the personnel that Grinch and Co. inherit, and the key individual storylines, with our in-depth position breakdowns and projected depth chart.
-ILBs: Trojans hoping Alabama transfer Shane Lee can be a difference-maker in the middle of the defense
-DL/Rush Edge: USC's defensive line boasts more depth in 2022 but remains largely unproven
-DBs: USC starting over in the secondary with key position battles this spring
RELATED: USC Spring Practice: Offensive preview, projected depth chart, storylines
Projected USC defensive depth chart
Rush end:
1A. Korey Foreman, sophomore
1B. Romello Height, redshirt sophomore
3A. Eli'jah Winston, redshirt senior
3B. Solomon Tuliaupupu, redshirt senior
This is effectively what USC called the outside linebacker position last year. The Trojans actually returned no OLBs from 2021, so they've reclassified Foreman as a "rush end," which probably doesn't change much at all for him, and moved Winston and Tuliaupupu over from inside linebacker. Foreman is a potential X-factor for this defense if he can live up to his five-star recruiting pedigree, and Height -- a transfer from Auburn -- is one of the most intriguing newcomers to the roster. Although he didn't play a major role at his previous program, he looks the part at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds.
Defensive end:
1. Nick Figueroa, redshirt senior
2. Tyrone Taleni, junior
3. Colin Mobley, redshirt freshman
(Freshman Devan Thompkins arrives in the summer)
Figueroa returns as a sixth-year senior, hopefully past the shoulder injuries that undermined his 2021 season. He led USC with 3.5 sacks in six games during the shortened 2020 campaign. Taleni joins as a transfer from Kansas State. He didn't play much there, but the staff thinks he has untapped potential. Mobley put on 15 pounds and is now a towering 6-foot-4, 290. He could move inside to defensive tackle.
Nose tackle:
1. Brandon Pili, redshirt senior
2. Stanley Ta'ufo'ou, redshirt junior
3. Jamar Sekona, redshirt sophomore
4. Kobe Pepe, redshirt sophomore
Pili was supposed to be the starter here last year, but a torn Achilles sustained in the spring wiped out his season. He still has to prove he's fully recovered and can handle a big workload coming off the injury. Ta'ufo'ou drew most of the playing here last season, though his performance was undistinguished.
Defensive tackle:
1. Tuli Tuipulotu, junior
2. Earl Barquet, redshirt junior
3. De'jon Benton, redshirt junior
Tuipulotu can play tackle or defensive end -- we're slotting him here based on perceived need. Wherever he lines up, he's the Trojans' best defensive lineman. Barquet joins the program as a transfer from TCU.
