A question in this segment on how to defend USC’s offense and improve USC’s defense.
Q: FiestaHobbit said:
How many of USC’s current commits can enroll early? Do they have any JuCo prospects on the radar for early enrollment to help get the numbers up? If USC has not heard back before signing date does that mean they are going to sign 20?
A: Quarterback Cody Kessler is expected to enroll eairly as of right now. USC’s also offered several recruits that will be given scholarships only if they enroll in January. If USC does not hear from the NCAA by February, they can try to sign more than 15 but the NCAA could tell them it is not permissable and USC will not try to buck the NCAA on this matter.
Q: BoscoH said:
You are the defensive coordinator of a team facing the Trojans. Do you cover the receivers tight (or at all) and let Bradford go 10 yards a pop up the middle or do you leave 8 in the box and make MB7 complete passes to Woods and RoJo?
A: I don’t think it requires eight in the box to stop the running game but I’d make stopping the run my first priority and then worry about the pass. I’d probably make Woods my top priority because I think he is a special player. I’m sure I would blitz quite a bit too to put pressure on the quarterback.
Q: billbixby said:
What do the coaches see in Jawanza Starling that they don’t explore other options at the free safety position. Seems like they start him out even further out of the play than Taylor Mays ever was and then he either a) comes up and misses tackles badly or b) gets beat deep. It’s like playing a 10 man defense every week. You go the games/practice what are your thoughts?
A: He did not have a good game against Stanford. I’m curious if Marshall Jones will get any kind of a look this week in practices. I think he plays deep for two reasons: T.J. McDonald plays up in USC’s defense and the coaches are worried Starling will get beat if he moves up closer. This is why I thought Drew McAllister would start going into training camp and now that he is out for the season, I’d like to see a little rotation at times with Jones or maybe even Demetrius Wright.
Funny, I went back and looked at the Scout recruiting profile for Starling, and it says, he is “careless and reckless” with tackling, and the area he needs to improve the most in is tackling. I guess sometimes the recruiting services are right.
This is why you just read the drivel Wolfie writes instead of asking him something about the game.
USC can take 10 early commits. They have 7 already. That includes the transfer from Miami and that number assumes that Vainuku will complete his academic work and be eligible to re-enroll.
As to the 2nd question, Wolfie gets half credit. Woods is a special player, but, if you know anything about the USC football team (and that is the team Wolfie covers like a blanket), then you know that Ronald Johnson has built up a special relationship with Barkley through a lot of off season work and that Johnson is still the number one target. There are “hot reads” for Woods.
The positioning of Jawanza Starling is the position that Monte Kiffin has for that position in his defense. This should not be a surprise, having watched Taylor Mays play the deepest centerfield of any free safety in collegiate football history.