USC spring football game: New-look defense starts slowly but picks up speed

After a spring meant to ensure progress, the new pieces on USC’s revamped defense took their places, ready to start anew.

Anthony Lucas, the Trojans’ new five-star lineman who transferred from Texas A&M, towered over the line of scrimmage, as intimidating as promised. Mason Cobb, who was an All-Big 12 Conference linebacker at Oklahoma State, crouched in the middle, running to every hole with reckless abandon. In front of him was Kyon Barrs, who was an All-Pac-12 Conference defensive tackle at Arizona, holding down the interior with the sort of size USC sorely lacked.

So much of the Trojans' defense looked different from the group that unraveled at the end of last season, and for the last four weeks ahead of the spring game, optimism had been the overriding narrative. But as quarterback Caleb Williams dropped back on the opening snap Saturday, lacing a 45-yard pass confidently across the field, it was fair to wonder how much a few players plucked from the transfer portal could be expected to turn around a defense on their own.

That question couldn’t be solved with one spring game. But the opening drive didn’t offer much solace. It took just three plays for Williams to lead the Trojans down the field and find wide receiver Mario Williams in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown, punctuating an early gut punch for USC’s defense.

“We knew what we had to fix,” safety Calen Bullock said. “We got to the sideline and was like, ‘Let’s calm down and just play football.’ ”

USC’s defense did indeed calm down. It got after the quarterback at times. It clamped down somewhat in the secondary. It even came away with a spring victory over the Trojans' offense, 42-34, for what that’s worth.

But it never faced Williams again after that first drive, as the reigning Heisman Trophy winner sat after those initial three plays. Three of the defense's four forced turnovers came against freshman quarterback Malachi Nelson, who struggled to find his footing in his Coliseum debut. Not to mention the defense still had issues against the run, as several running backs, including a pair of impressive freshmen, blew through the Trojans' front.

Still, afterward, USC coach Lincoln Riley remained sunny about the outlook of his defense. He pointed to a bulkier front seven especially as evidence.

“We all knew deep down that we had some holes there last year,” Riley said. “I mean, it is what it is right? You knew. And even when we’re winning games and playing, playing well defensively, like, you know, at some point this has got to be addressed. It was going to be a focal point no matter if we won five games last year, we won 11, or we won 15 games last year. Like, it was going to happen. And so I’m excited about what that looks like.”

Some changes certainly had been made since last season. That much was clear Saturday. But wheth˜er they’re enough, that won't be known for a while.

Miller Moss set to be No. 2 QB

What is known definitively after the spring is that USC has a clear No. 2 quarterback behind Williams.

The difference between established backup Miller Moss and Nelson, a true freshman five-star player, was more pronounced than expected Saturday, as Nelson often looked erratic at the helm of the Trojans' third-team offense.

Nelson wasn’t entirely healthy for the spring after he underwent shoulder surgery before enrolling, but he played most of the spring. He threw two interceptions, albeit one on a desperation heave at the end of the game, and had a lost fumble. Moss, meanwhile, was much more polished.

“I think he’s taken another great jump,” offensive tackle Jonah Monheim said of Moss. “You can feel it when he’s on the field. You can feel his confidence.”

Quinten Joyner making his mark

No newcomer made a better impression in the spring game than Quinten Joyner, the Trojans’ four-star freshman running back. Joyner had multiple big runs, including a 26-yard touchdown.

“You saw it today. The dude just naturally makes explosive plays,” running back Austin Jones said. “He gets out of trouble all the time.”

Fellow freshman A’Marion Peterson added a late rushing touchdown as USC’s pair of new young backs finished an already impressive spring on a strong note.

Where they will fit in USC’s running back rotation remains unclear — MarShawn Lloyd, another newcomer, also looked strong Saturday — but they are forcing their way into the conversation.

Zach Branch earning praise

Zach Branch started his spring debut with a drop. But the electrifying freshman wide receiver would have plenty of opportunities to make up for it after that.

Arguably no newcomer has had more praise heaped upon him this spring than Branch, who was the highest-rated prospect to sign with USC in its 2023 class. The Trojans fed him accordingly Saturday.

Branch finished with eight catches, flashing his shifty speed and his surprising strength. At one point, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound receiver threw linebacker Shane Lee over his shoulder as he was being tackled.

Branch was more prevalent in USC’s spring game than Raleek Brown, a similarly electric five-star prospect who moved this spring from running back to slot receiver. Brown had four catches for 69 yards playing strictly as a slot receiver and never took a handoff, either from the backfield or on jet sweeps.

Cornerback competition should be fierce

Of all the position battles to monitor in the fall, there might be no more fierce competition than at cornerback, where several defensive backs were jockeying for time this spring. Sophomore Domani Jackson and redshirt sophomore Ceyair Wright got the starts Saturday, but Jacobe Covington made the biggest splash.

Covington tore away a potential touchdown catch from new wide receiver Dorian Singer and came away with a red zone interception. Then, with the final seconds ticking away, he made another interception, this one against Nelson to decide the game.

All three of those cornerbacks, as well as Arizona transfer Christian Roland-Wallace, will have a chance to lay their claim to two open spots in the fall. It’s impossible to tell at this point who the favorites are for either spot.

Defensive line newcomers shine

Lucas came to USC with the most impressive pedigree among the Trojans' new pass rushers. But in his Coliseum debut, he was often outplayed by his fellow sack artists up front.

Jamil Muhammad opened Saturday as USC's starting edge rusher and, after starting slowly, forced a strip sack of Nelson at a critical juncture. He started alongside Lucas, Barrs and Jack Sullivan on the defensive line, all four of them newcomers. Solomon Tuliaupupu was the only returner along the Trojans' line.

The most surprising standout performance up front came from true freshman Sam Greene, who notched a sack and added several more pressures after converting to edge rusher ahead of the spring. So far, that transition seems to be going seamlessly for him. Don’t be surprised to see him play a role in the fall.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.