USC defensive backs coach Doug Belk talked with reporters Wednesday after practice, covering a range of topics concerning the Trojans' secondary -- a group that is as deep as its been in a number of years.

With veterans John Humphrey, Jacobe Covington and DeCarlos Nicholson looking like the top three options at corner but with a deep group behind them with Holiday Bowl standout Prophet Brown, freshmen Marcelles Williams (one of the stars of the spring), Braylon Conley and Isaiah Rubin plus the versatile Jaylin Smith, that position alone could arguably be the deepest on the roster.

If not for the safeties, that is, where transfers Kamari Ramsey and Akili Arnold look like the projected starters at those two spots but Bryson Shaw played a lot of football for this program the last two years, former top-100 prospect Zion Branch is healthy again and looking to breakout, ditto for sophomore Christian Pierce and not to mention the freshmen.

Add in transfer Greedy Vance, Smith and Anthony Beavers at nickel, and the Trojans are flush with options across the board at the DB spots.

So how many of those guys will actually see the field on Saturdays?

"Man, that's a good question. Hopefully, at least 8-10 a week -- I'm not talking special teams, I'm talking just defense in general," Belk said. "We've got a lot of competition at a bunch of positions. Hopefully, that competition creates roles for several guys in the room, whether they start, whether they don't start. All the good teams that you see week in and week out, they have competitive depth, and I think that helps you from a big picture perspective, for sure."

Watch the full interview with Belk, as he touched on specific individuals and more, here, and scroll down for a complete transcript of his comments.

With so many guys at both safety and corner, how many do you ideally want to play once the season gets going?

"Man, that's a good question. Hopefully, at least 8-10 a week -- I'm not talking special teams, I'm talking just defense in general. We've got a lot of competition at a bunch of positions. Hopefully, that competition creates roles for several guys in the room, whether they start, whether they don't start. All the good teams that you see week in and week out, they have competitive depth and I think that helps you from a big picture perspective, for sure."

How have you seen that competition shaking out so far, who has impressed you?

"I think everybody that we have has had their moments -- good, bad, ugly -- and a lot for us to coach off of, a lot of growth so far with a lot of different players within the group. But we have a pretty veteran group at the top, so all those guys have been competing at a high level. It's been encouraging to see a bunch of different guys at different positions, and a lot of guys in the room playing multiple positions. So it gives us a chance to evaluate them in a lot of different ways and we have a long way to go, so the competition is still ongoing at a lot of positions."