USC TE Josh Falo is 'that confident dude again' after tough setbacks
As Lincoln Riley settled in at USC and took stock of the roster he had inherited, he couldn't help but notice -- like many Trojans fans have over the years -- that something didn't fully add up.
He saw ultra-athletic 6-foot-6, 255-pound tight end Josh Falo and then saw his bio and stat line -- that he hadn't caught a pass since 2019 and had only 18 career receptions overall across his five years in the program.
"You see this big, kind of ideal-looking tight end body walking in the room and you're like, why [has] this guy not been a really, really, fantastic player?" Riley shared.
They would have a more in-depth conversation during fall camp, Falo said, and it had a profound impact on the sixth-year senior.
"That was something I really needed. Because as you mentioned I went through a lot these past couple of years and for him to talk to me like that, it just said something to me," Falo said last week after practice. "He could have just said whatever and never talked to me and let it ride, but he seen something in me that not a lot of people see in me -- I see in myself -- and he just wanted to remind myself like what I could do with my potential and my skill set. It just brought me back to being that confident dude again."
That confident dude has gone from totally off the radar for the Trojans to playing 30, 32 and 26 offensive snaps, respectively, over the last three games. And against Utah two Saturdays ago, Falo caught his first touchdown pass in nearly three years and followed with another for the first two-touchdown game of his career.
"I've been here for a long time. I've had my ups and downs during my time here, but this, I mean, I wanted it to be like this for my last year," Falo said. "But whatever it was, good or bad, I was going to ride with this team no matter what. I'm just glad the ball fell on the good side of it."
So back to the initial question -- why did the agile, well-built 6-foot-5 tight end who looks like the prototype of what every coach wants at the position manage to play in just three games over the last two years without catching one pass?
Well, there is an answer, but nobody has been willing to reveal it specifically -- only in ambiguous references.
"Through the ebbs and flows of his career, the ups and downs, the roller-coaster ride, whatever you want to call it, it's been awesome to see him at the peak right now where he's at because I've been with him through his valleys and I've seen the dark times that he's had to go through," sixth-year offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees said. "I just commend him and his perseverance and just his commitment to the team. He's been here for a while, just like I have, and to see a dude go through some of the things that he's gone through and still fight back, kind of that never-out-of-the-fight mentality is something that is incredible."
Falo was asked directly what he went through the past couple years, what those dark times entailed ...
"It was tough. The stuff I experienced going on the past two years I wouldn't wish that upon anyone," he said. "It was very rough to go through, but I'm just glad that's in the past. I'm looking forward to the present, to the future and I'm just looking forward to what this team can do in the future."
Asked if there was anything specific he could share, Falo paused for a second and said "Sadly, no."
The part of Falo's story everybody was willing to talk about, meanwhile, is this surprising final chapter.
Back at the start of fall camp, it looked like veterans Jude Wolfe and Malcolm Epps would be the Trojans' primary H-back/tight end combo. When Wolfe was lost to a foot injury and sophomore Lake McRee got healthy, it was Epps and McRee.
Falo played just 8 offensive snaps over the first three games, and after falling so completely off the radar in recent years -- save for a highlight-reel catch in practice now and then -- and not even playing last season, there was no reason for anyone to think his role would change this fall.
But that's not how Riley thought.
"Like a lot of these guys, I didn't know him at all. You can read quickly on a bio about his history. First thing that struck me when I met with him is he took a lot of ownership in the problems that he's had and the reason that he maybe hadn't made an impact. Sometimes you get guys in there and it's everybody else's fault but theirs, right, why they hadn't had a really good career, things hadn't gone their way. I like that he took ownership at the beginning," Riley said. "He admitted that there was a lot of things in his career that he hasn't done well, and we both identified and recognized that if you're ever going to do it, this is the time. There's never going to be another shot.
"So it's been good to see him stick with it, especially after having some injury and some medical [issues] in spring. So he's hung in there. Everybody saw the two touchdowns -- those were good plays -- but he played really, really well the other night. He had one of the best performances of anybody on the football team."
The Trojans didn't exactly go into that game at Utah planning for Falo to be a primary red zone target.
But as quarterback Caleb Williams quickly backpedaled from an oncoming pass rusher on a second-and-goal play from the Utah 3, Falo slipped off his block and into the end zone right in Williams' line of view as the QB fired a quick strike to him late in the first half at Utah.
In the third quarter, Falo caught a quick pass out to the right and saw wide open grass as he ran it in for an 11-yard score.
But for the most part, his role -- and the reason he's worked his way back onto the field this fall -- has been far less glamorous.
"When I first came in as a freshman, I came in as a [receiving] threat at the tight end position. Everyone didn't even really know about the blocking phase of my game, but going into this year I told the media people during fall camp that my main focus was blocking," Falo said. "That's the big question mark about me, just how is my blocking, so I took that to heart, and as you can tell the past three or four games I've been in my main role has been blocking.
"So I've just been doing my 1/11th. Whatever Coach Riley has me doing, whether it's blocking or ... going out for a route, just make sure I'm doing my job to the best of my ability. And part of that was those two plays I had."
He's officially the only Trojan who has caught touchdown passes from both Sam Darnold (who last played at USC in 2017) and Williams.
A lot has changed since then -- for the Trojans and for Falo.
"It's just so much easier to me now with the experience I've had. My six years being in college, everything just slowed down for me. Everything used to be so fast-paced," he said. "Before, I didn't even read the defense. I didn't know what a front was, I didn't know what coverage, but now I could have a pre-snap read and everything that I need to do, and if they do any other coverage I know what to do if they adjust."
Said running back Travis Dye: "Josh has been working his butt off since I got here. He's the first one in the weight room, last one to leave, and he's been really waiting for his chance. Unfortunate events in his past have been holding him back, so just to see that he got the opportunities that he did tonight I'm really stoked for him."
Even without knowing the full story -- what exactly those "unfortunate events" are -- one can still appreciate that this is shaping up as a good ending at USC for Falo.
Whatever it is he went through, he maintains that he never really considered transferring or trying to start over somewhere else. Whatever his story was going to be, it was going to play out here at USC.
"When it came down to it, I just kept reminding myself that I came here for a reason and there's no reason why I should want to leave. This is where I want to be. I couldn't see myself going into any other conference or any other team, so I stayed true to my colors."
Riley has made it clear, both in his words before the season and through his actions in-season, that every role on the depth chart is assessed each week. Whether it be rush end Solomon Byrd, Nick Figueroa moving from defensive end to rush end and starting last game, wide receiver Michael Jackson III emerging from off the radar to catching a big touchdown pass vs. Utah, that every player has the chance to change their situation based on how they practice and perform.
Falo's situation ran a little deeper, obviously, but he heard the message from Riley and has now seen the payoff of his perseverance.
"We had some really good, candid conversations with him about some of the things that had held him back or where he at times had held himself back. Has had some ups and downs even certainly as we've been here, had some medical things going in the spring that held him back and was just never really able to get traction. Then here as of late, like a lot of players on our team, when you find a way to stay on the field and you come to work every day you're going to get better, fast. And he's been on the field consistently, he's been able to get reps, he's been healthy. He's gotten better, he's gotten confidence," Riley said. "... He's been a good physical presence for us there at the tight end. He and Lake and Malcolm have formed a nice room that are doing some really productive things for us.
"So I'm proud of him because sometimes you get the fresh start, new staff comes in, it's my last year, all that, you think, alright, this is going to be it. And then all of a sudden you have to miss almost all spring with another medical issue, like, oh my goodness. He's kind of hung in there and weathered the storm. It's fun to see him getting better and building a bigger role for himself for this team."
Finally, Falo was asked, how his experience -- whatever exactly it has entailed -- over his six years at USC has changed him.
"It changed me a lot. It kind of forged me into who I am today," he said. "What I went through, it was a very rough situation, but I'm just glad I came out on top and I'm just trying to keep on going with this team and see how far we can go."