Sophomore safety Talanoa Hufanga continued to wear a yellow non-contact jersey at practice Wednesday and didn't offer much insight as to whether he expects to be limited in any way for USC's game at Notre Dame.

Hufanga has been cleared through the concussion protocol after missing the loss at Washington two weekends ago, but he was also dealing with a sprained AC joint in his shoulder -- the status of which remains less clear.

"Feeling good, feeling good. I'm just glad to be out here and be around the guys so I can't complain," Hufanga said after practice. "... I expect to just go out there and do whatever they ask me to. Coaches will put me in the spot, and at the same time if I'm limited it's their job to hold me out. So for me, I'm just going out there just to play."

Asked how significant the shoulder injury was in this process relative to dealing with the concussion, he said "It's probably just the same" and responded to a follow up question about whether it's better with "Yeah, no doubt -- it feels good."

USC coach Clay Helton, who is not available to reporters on Wednesdays, had said Tuesday "we anticipate him being a part of this game," and judging by his work with the first-team defense at the start of practice (the limited window open to media) it would seem likely Hufanga plays his usual role as the Trojans (3-2) visit the No. 9/10 Fighting Irish (4-1).

Which would be a huge boost for the defense, of course.

"He is a very talented guy and I think he brings a whole other energy level to our defense when he's available. And you can see it by his play he really leads by example. We'll be excited when and if he's back out there," defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast said, as per usual remaining intentionally vague on the status of an injury.

"... He can do a lot of different things for us. He can play up around the line of scrimmage, he can play in the intermediate part of the field or he can play in the back part of the field. We've had things kind of dialed up for him when he's been available to be in all those different situations so to be able to utilize some of those things is kind of part of what we [planned for] in the offseason."