FOOTBALL

USC Sunday Buzz: Does Secondary Inspire You?

During training camp, one group USC’s had in the secondary is Calen Bullock and Xavion Alford at safety, Mekhi Blackmon and Ceyair Wright at cornerback and Max Williams at nickelback.

I’ve consistently promoted Blackmon and Bullock so I’m bullish on them. But I have to say if this is the starting group, I’m not exactly inspired.

Alford played last season and had some good moments and some not-so-good moments. Wright’s been a disappointment and was criticized in the spring by Donte Williams.

“He’s a much better player right now than he was in the spring,” Lincoln Riley said.

We’ll see.

Williams is coming back from two ACL injuries. He’s worked hard to come back but also unproven.

I suspect there’s going to be rotating and this might not even be the starting lineup for Game 1. But it’s fair to say this isn’t exactly going to scare an opposing offense that can pass the ball.

But I’ve joked in the past USC might games, 62-61, this season.

  • USC baseball received a commitment from Joshua Hanson, a Class of 2024 outfielder from San Bruno, Calif.

28 thoughts on “USC Sunday Buzz: Does Secondary Inspire You?”

  1. Great to see the secondary is almost entirely rebuilt. Bullock was a bright spot last year. Interview with Ceyair Wright below. He notes all the secondary guys were told to come back a lot stronger, with specific weight goals. He also notes without hesitation how much the defense has changed under Grinch and his leadership

    #BrandNewDay

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Two can play snarky also

      QUESTION: Does blogger inpire you with inside USC information?

      ANSWER: There has not been any insight from Wolf in years.

      We were all sad about his apparent illness last year or 2020. He was nice for a while, but cynicism has returned.

      Best material from blogger is Friday restaurant reviews and cool historical stuff.

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. Yeah, sadly the blog has lost any “inside” info. Scottie needs to develop some new sources. After 6 or 7 practices, we haven’t learned much here. The Friday stuff is uniquely good.

        Like

  2. Not that I am Scott Wolf’s hired lawyer or anything, but you got to give it to him that he keeps the conversation going. It’s pretty amazing how he keeps coming up with all these trivial, disjointed SC matters, but it often opens up (inspires?) the conversation to take on a wider latitude with more weighty matters

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Brother, I hear you. But OTOH, USC football is pretty weighty this time of year. And provides a nice diversion from so much else that is going on.

      Liked by 2 people

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    2. Steveg49 last season we had both football and politics. Could you imagine a debate between Helton and Biden? Platitudes and Script screw ups. Come to think of it does anyone know a writer for SNL?

      Liked by 3 people

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  3. AND HOW ABOUT THATOHIO ST TRANSFER
    SHAW
    DIDNT HE START LIKE NINE GAMES LAST YEAR
    CANT BE TOO BAD
    AND
    OUR FIVE STAR FRESHMAN MIGHT SOON BE READY
    SO
    SHOULD SEE A TREMENDOUS IMPROVEMENT OVER LAST YEAR
    AND FINALLY
    OUR OWN MICHAEL IS NOW SUPPORTING DONTE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Liked by 3 people

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      4. Mg
        Thousand comedians out of work and you keep trying.
        My personal assessment,
        Your defense will be in shambles the second half of the schedule. Youz guyz are thin at positions. Injuries will devastate SC. The only good news is you don’t have to play O and Udub. Easy schedule.
        Furd has some beef in the trenches and tanner McGee will test your secondary. You might hold you enthusiasm until that game. You can be 100% assured that the PAC ten will be gunning for SC.

        Liked by 2 people

      8. 67 —Sadly, you are not splitting hairs –it is analytically impossible for there to be a “series” consisting of a singularity…
        #PoorCal75

        Liked by 2 people

  5. ’75, I was interested in your comment of a 1000 comedians now out of work. Checking it out, it is true. During the first months of the March 2020 Pandemic comedy clubs throughout America, and especially Las Vegas where the real money was to be made, shut down. One comic wrote: “During this Pandemic there is nothing funny to write about”

    But here a few canned-football jokes that might incite a light-chuckle or more:

    Why should you not play football in the jungle
    — Because there are too many cheetahs

    My wife left me because she said I was too obsessed with Football
    –Oh well, we had 5 good seasons together

    The last time I played tackle football I broke 3 ribs and a collar bone
    — Fortunately, none were mine

    What is the difference between a sucla fan and a baby?
    — A baby will stop whining after a while

    Okay, OK, these are not my favorite jokes either, but it goes to show that being funny is a hard, tough job. That is why true quality comics make the big bucks. People love to laugh, because it feels good. And the deeper the laugh, the deeper the pleasure. Scientists also proclaim that laughter is good for your health. Makes sense.

    But be aware there is an easier way to have you laughing. Laugh Clubs throughout staid India have arisen. Most Indians have a difficult life just surviving, so laugher does not come naturally to them. As a result, groups were formed to promote and encourage laughter. A group of Indians will sit together and bring out laughter artificially from their bodies. Needing no outside stimulus, they just simply will burst into laughter for no reason at all.

    And they will vary their type of laughter– there is the “blast” where you simply let out a blast of a laugh, there is the snake-laugh, where you hiss-and-siss as a snake would, and there is the delayed-laugh, where at first you are not sure it is funny enough to laugh at, but later change your mind and laugh at the top of your lungs.

    If you engage in these laugh exercises your body will be energized because your body does not know the difference between true laughter and conjured-up laughter.

    Try bringing out the laughter trapped inside you at least several times a day, for your good health

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. “Your body doesn’t know the difference between the real and the conjured orgasm…”
      #Awh,WhyDidYaHaveToGoAndBringF.U’sMarriageIntoThis?

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. MG, only you could turn a conversation about laughter into a hard-core orgy debate. You are on your own with this one

        Like

  7. How about a report on the stud CB freshman coming in, Domani Jackson? Is he in line to see playing time or even nab a starting spot?

    #Don’tHoldPlayersBackJustBecauseThey’reFreshmen;BestPlayersRegardlessOfClassPlay

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  8. You keep basing your assessment on last year, that just doesnt make any sense. The athletic talent in the secondary is excellent. The coaching is at least very good. Players actually give a damn this year. Totally different. Bodies are in much better shape than the past.

    You dont even list all the players that are likely to contribute. Prophet Brown, Domani Jackson, Bryson Shaw, Jacobe Covington. And they are practicing against a very explosive offense this year.

    This secondary is young, so there will be mistakes, but they will get quite good. Maybe not CFP good, but definitely top of the Pac-12 good.

    But a secondary is only as good as the support they get from the front 7, so the results of the secondary are as much dependent upon the pass rush and coverage underneath as it is dependent upon the secondary. A defense with any holes will get exploited.

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  9. Pingback: Morning Buzz: USC-Rice Report Card – InsideUSC with Scott Wolf

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