{"id":1164724,"date":"2026-02-24T01:26:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T06:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/?p=1164724"},"modified":"2026-02-24T01:26:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T06:26:22","slug":"10-more-notes-quotes-and-things-to-know-ahead-of-usc-spring-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/10-more-notes-quotes-and-things-to-know-ahead-of-usc-spring-football\/","title":{"rendered":"10 more notes, quotes and things to know ahead of USC spring football"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jahkeem Stewart in action against Michigan State last season.\u00a0(Luke Hales \/ Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n

With spring football practice approaching, reporters met with USC\u2019s staff to talk about the Trojans. We gave you our first 15 thoughts out of those interviews in this week\u2019s Times of Troy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

(You can subscribe to the Times of Troy here<\/a> for that news in your inbox every Monday morning.)<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s still more to share. Here are 10 more notes, quotes and things to know ahead of spring football \u2026<\/p>\n

1. \u201cEverybody thinks he\u2019s the No.1 player in the country for a reason,\u201d defensive line coach Shaun Nua said of freshman Luke Wafle. \u201cHe has the potential, the mentality, the character. It\u2019s our job to make sure we maximize that on a consistent basis.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

2. The most encouraging development on USC\u2019s defensive front? \u201cDepth is the greatest friend you can have,\u201d Nua said. He\u2019ll certainly have more of it this season. Assuming his freshmen up front settle in quickly. Wafle is sure to play, while freshman defensive tackles Jameion Wingfield and Tomhuini Topui look primed for early roles. That\u2019s in addition to Jahkeem Stewart, an All-American as a freshman, and fellow rising sophomore Floyd Boucard, who was a standout in stretches last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

3. Skyler Jones, USC\u2019s new defensive tackles coach, got his break in college football because of Eric Henderson. Now, with Henderson back in the NFL, Jones got promoted in his place at USC. Jones said he cried when coach Lincoln Riley told him the good news. He\u2019ll be a critical figure in improving USC\u2019s interior, and in developing Stewart. It\u2019s a huge opportunity, but I think Jones is capable of continuing Henderson\u2019s work. \u201cDawgwork is alive,\u201d Jones said. \u201cDawgwork isn\u2019t going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more:15 notes, quotes and things to know ahead of USC spring football<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Of all the new coaching hires, Mike Ekeler impressed me most. Ekeler said he left Nebraska because he already built a strong foundation for the Cornhuskers\u2019 special teams, which he said were now \u201con cruise control.\u201d He didn\u2019t like the feeling of being comfortable, he said. He wanted a challenge \u2014 and he\u2019ll get a double dose with USC\u2019s linebackers and special teams units. Last season, Nebraska was great on kick return while also blocking five kicks. The Trojans had a good kicker \u2026 but that\u2019s about all the nice things you can say about the special teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n

5. According to Ekeler, even \u201cRay Charles could see we have a talented linebacker room here.\u201d If that\u2019s true, we haven\u2019t seen that talent harnessed yet. USC is putting a lot of faith in the untapped potential of Desman Stephens and Jadyn Walker, who both have very particular skill sets for defensive coordinator Gary Patterson to utilize. But Ekeler is convincing: \u201cOver 30 linebackers that I\u2019ve coached have gone to the NFL,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got guys in our room with that ability. Now it\u2019s just about getting that out of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

6. Another great quote from Ekeler, who was asked about the perception that Riley can\u2019t have a good defense: \u201cAnybody who says that Lincoln Riley doesn\u2019t care about defense, I\u2019d have to check their oil.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jontez Williams returns an interception for Iowa State last season.\u00a0(Justin Hayworth \/ Associated Press)<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Safe to say that Jontez Williams will open spring as USC\u2019s CB1. Cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed said he saw the Iowa State transfer as \u201cthe best all-around player in the portal.\u201d That\u2019s high praise, but USC made Williams its top target this offseason for a reason. It\u2019s been a while since USC had a true shutdown corner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

8. The other cornerback spot is wide open. I didn\u2019t get the impression that Chasen Johnson, who was expected to fill a starting spot last season, is assured to play opposite Williams in the fall. There\u2019s Marcelles Williams as well as RJ Sermons, who would\u2019ve been one of the top recruits in this year’s class if he hadn\u2019t reclassified. Prophet Brown also could play outside if he doesn\u2019t play in the slot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

9. Don\u2019t be surprised if freshman corner Elbert \u201cRock\u201d Hill is a serious contributor by season\u2019s end. Reed said the \u201csky is the limit\u201d for the four-star freshman, who could play any number of positions in Patterson\u2019s defensive backfield. \u201cWherever we can get him on the field fastest, that\u2019s where he\u2019ll be,\u201d Reed said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

10. Safety Christian Pierce is out after offseason surgery. Safety is a critical spot in Patterson\u2019s scheme, and Pierce is one of the most important players on the team. It\u2019d be unfortunate if he had to sit out spring, but I\u2019m bullish on Pierce having a big year regardless.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sign up for more USC news with Times of Troy. In your inbox every Monday morning.<\/a><\/p>\n

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/10-more-notes-quotes-things-012622685.html<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jahkeem Stewart in action against Michigan State last season.\u00a0(Luke Hales \/ Getty Images) With spring football practice approaching, reporters met with USC\u2019s staff to talk…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1164725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1164724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1164724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1164724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1164724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1164725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1164724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1164724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1164724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}