USC football gets a taste of reality as camp battles continue

PUBLISHED August 2, 2023
LOS ANGELES — Five practices into fall training camp and the USC football team is trending toward overly aggressive.
“I think as you’re establishing a mentality there’s that inner push-pull,” Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley said, “which is you want the aggressiveness and physicality and I think you try to taper back.”
Having officials calling penalties and throwing flags is one way to pull the reins.
Referees aren’t typically brought in this early to camp, leaving players to play and coaches to coach, but they were on hand at Wednesday’s 6 a.m. session, which featured bursts of piped-in crowd noise to make the exercise feel more real.
It was one of the many moments over the next few weeks when players can separate themselves in the eyes of the coaches and be accountable to teammates.
“When you start moving the ball or have competitions and they feel a flag being thrown and their group gets set back because of that flag, it just hits them a little bit different,” Riley said. “It’s more than saying something in the meeting room because they know they let their teammates down. So we’ve added that piece as well.
“I think the guys have been pretty disciplined. A few flags. Teachable moments. But I don’t think anything that would concern us right now.”
Across offense, defense and special teams, the roster is generally healthy despite a few knocks that come with heavy practices in full pads and plenty of competitive repetitions. Battles for playing time are taking shape.
On the defensive line, true freshman pass rusher Braylan Shelby has transitioned well to college trench warfare.
“Five days in, you see some rushes that you’re like, ‘OK, that’s what it should look like,’” Riley said. “You see him pursue, open up and run – a guy his size shouldn’t be able to do that.”
During media day last week, defensive line coach Shaun Nua said he needed four or five days to get a handle on the depth and the competitiveness of his group, which includes Shelby.
“We want to make sure they all play up to the standard on the field like it’s a championship level,” Nua said. “That’s the beauty of competition. You push each other and that standard keeps raising. That line keeps raising.
“That’s one of the goals of camp: ‘Who’s trustworthy in a championship level?’”
Junior defensive lineman Korey Foreman, of Corona, also grabbed Riley’s attention this week – “another one we’re really pleased with” – due to his improved consistency.
“There’s no telling where that ceiling is, which is a lot of fun,” the USC head coach said. “I continue to be proud of his progress. Five practices in, he’s taken another jump in his game.”
Riley called the competition among cornerbacks “very even.”
Ceyair Wright, a redshirt sophomore out of Loyola High, Jacobe Covington, a redshirt junior from Arizona, and Domani Jackson, a sophomore from Mater Dei High, will be expected to play often.
And “pretty impressive for a true freshman” Christian Pierce, out of Rancho Cucamonga High, has emerged as “one of our more physical players in the secondary, really maybe overall on the defense,” Riley said. “He brings an attitude that you can’t always just coach and there is a real confidence. We’re training him at a couple positions, but he certainly looks like he’ll make a difference on special teams and defense.”
Palmdale’s Christian Roland-Wallace, a transfer from Arizona in the spring, has quickly come up to speed with the defensive backs.
“Wherever they’re willing to put me,” Roland-Wallace said, “I wouldn’t hesitate. I’m more than willing to do it. I’m comfortable with whatever.”
Maturity should serve Roland-Wallace well as he transitions from cornerback to nickel, defensive backs coach Donte Williams said.
Competing against USC’s dynamic and physical group of wide receivers in a Lincoln Riley offense will continue to challenge the secondary on every rep.
Said sophomore Raleek Brown, who changed positions from running back to wide receiver in the spring: “The competition is tough, but we go to practice and compete every day and just try to make everybody better.”
The experience is helping the defensive backs learn to play the game, Williams added, instead of acting like giving up one catch is the end of the world.
“Every day is still a learning curve, so guys not only are learning but they’re also adapting to the physicality, the speed, coming out here early in the morning, long days. It’s camp, it’s a grind,” Williams said. “You can separate yourself on Day 1 and have the greatest day, but if Day 2 is not the same or Day 3 you’re hurt, you haven’t separated at all. So it’s never really a separation when you have such a great group that’s always in competition.”