FOOTBALL

And Now Back To USC Football Matters

I’m curious about where USC will use Max Williams on Saturday.

He was expected to be the possible starter at nickel back. But now he is also playing safety and might start there against Rice.

Depending on the scheme, the positions might not be too different.

But Williams is listed at 5-foot-9 and playing a conventional safety role seems unusual. So it’s worth watching this weekend.

If he starts at safety, what does that say about some of the other safeties, like Xavion Alford? Bryson Shaw had a good first week of camp but then got hurt.

If Williams is at safety, Jaylin Smith could start at nickel. That’s good for Smith because there are others who have more experience or even more hype and he leapfrogged them by performance.

69 thoughts on “And Now Back To USC Football Matters”

  1. It shouldn’t matter —Rice has the consensus worst QB in Conference USA….
    #BIGRedFlagIfHeThrowsForBigChunks
    P. S.
    Rice has the consensus worst secondary in Conference USA —if we don’t get 300 passing yards against this bunch it’s another Red Flag…..

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    1. It should be – should be – something like 31-3 at the half, with Williams throwing for over 200 by the half.

      Of course, with Clay, it would be 17-13 at the half. Maybe. If the team was lucky. I remember Western Michigan game. What a farce that was.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. You saw it. I saw it. We all saw it…… except for Carol & Bohn….
        #ManyUSCFootballPlayersWereScrewedOverAsAResult

        Liked by 1 person

      3. This guy Grinch is a clown, he ain’t too bright. No wonder ‘Ol Mule Shoe’s defenses at Oklahoma sucked

        Like

    2. I just hate games like this where SC is favored by 28-points or more, except for the fact it is the opening game of a new season, and we SC folks are waiting to see what Wiley has done to change the Ton-o-Hel culture.

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  2. usc overrated, they not play no body good. Lincoln riley always get his azz kick in playoff . trojans weak on line cuz Riley recruit like he helton . mi missus had peenus breth dis morning cuz I came in her mouth . I wish eye could spell so I don’t sound like dumb fuck 🙄🙄

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      1. Disgusting, how some loser gets his kicks by imitating Ed.G

        Fortunately no one has yet caught on how I steal from MG, but it is impossible to imitate the guy, and if you try you will die

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Disgusting, how some loser gets his kicks by imitating Ed.G. I always end up with boners every time I read his stuff. I wish the real Ed.G Missus would rub me off.

        Fortunately everyone caught on how I steal from MG, but it’s so fucking easy to imitate the guy, and if you try I’ll suck you off.

        Like

      1. The evil twin in The Man in the Iron Mask….
        The Bad Brother in The Corsican Brothers….
        The Devil Robot in Metropolis….
        #I’mGettingTired…ButYouGetThePicture….

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Max Williams is a really good player. He’s a little small and therefore has a hard time staying healthy. If he can stay healthy he is a great addition to this defense.

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    1. The kid needs to live life on the outside, and not get caught-up one-on-one with a TE. It’s the typical chess match a competent OC will try to scheme for, match up on an undersized DB. Stanford has been brilliant at it

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      3. If the Pac 12 officiating doesn’t improve, Stanford will be jamming ALL our receivers at the LOS ….and 10 yards out…. and at the point of the catch …all day long….just like last year when they made Drake London lose his cool…..
        #TheyWereCoachedToInterfere….
        #…AndTheRefsWereHappyToLetThemGetAwayWithIt…
        #[UtahDidTheSameThingToUs&GotTheSame#OfNonCalls]….

        Liked by 2 people

  4. A 5’9″ safety versus a Stanford 6’6″ 250 lb tight end does not work real well for the defense. Against Rice no big deal. There is a reason the safeties have some height going for them.

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. I’m more concerned about Oregon State than Stanford. This Grench defense looks like more of a quick finesse defense. That kind of a defense usually gets bullied against power teams that just run right at you. The last time Stanford really ran the ball well was in 2017. But Oregon State is a master at running the ball between the tackles with the 10th best O-Line in football according to PFF.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Parcel, good insight!. Oregon St. gets off to good starts but tends to wear down late in games due to depth issues. Maybe we will be the team wearing down,,,,, who knows at this point.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Parcelman, we have to change our thinking. There is not possible way the 2022 defense can remotely resemble the 2021 defense. Just like our offense has changed, the defense is a whole new thing. OR St should be respected for their run game, and it is a given that LR/Grinch will consider all avenues to control it. Remember who had the nations best O line as rated by PFF last year?

        Liked by 2 people

    2. Troy Paloamalu 5”10. Bob Sanders 5”8 Both Safeties would knock a player back into yesterday. One is in Pro Football’ Hall of Fame . Hmmm 🤔

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      3. steveg49
        I’m not questioning our O-Line. I think that they will be good. I’m wondering about our D-Line and how they will stand up against a powerful O-Line

        Liked by 1 person

      4. I’m just thinking thoughts in my head. I don’t really know, at this point, what kind of a defense we will have. We’ll just have to wait and see. I’d just like to see us get a great DC. Grenchs defenses have been OK. As a DC he has been:
        2015 93rd in nation WSU
        2016 68th in nation WSU
        2017 17th in nation WSU
        2018 68th in nation OSU
        2019 24th in nation OU
        2020 29th in nation OU
        2021 68th in nation OU
        Not bad. Probably not that much talent at WSU but should have had talent at Ohio State and Oklahoma. We have the money to go out and get a Brent Venebles….Dave Aranda type DC. They said that Aranda was very interested in the USC DC job before he took the Baylor job. I’d give Grench 2 years to create an really great defense. If he can’t do it, I’d move on

        Liked by 3 people

  5. FYI……USC will release an official depth chart after Wednesday night’s practice, offering a long-awaited glimpse into Lincoln Riley’s position-by-position plans for his first season as Trojans coach

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    2. MG
      I hope it is Lincolns plan. I’m just surprised that he brought in Grench so quickly without at least looking for a 5 star DC. I’d give him 2 years….possibly 3 if the improvement from year 1 to year 2 is dramatic. If they have great years in year one and two offensively but the defense is average, He will be in a great position to appeal to some of the big time DC’s in the country because they will know that he will be there for awhile and at a school like SC they will be able to recruit great talent on the defensive side of the ball and get great exposure which is great for their career.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Great observation do you believe in Foreman not sold on him because I saw replays of his snaps he didn’t play hard or physically N he looked outmatched. Hopefully he will take this last opportunity to live up to the Hype? Y doesn’t he have a lot NIL deals HMMM! #ISMELLAFRAUD

        Liked by 2 people

  6. I’m sure our DC will game plan Gentry in a flex type of defense with Gentry dropping back in coverage using athletiscm and wing span to disrupt passes in his zone. Jaylin Smith will cover those Stanford TE. By the end of the year the secondary will be the 2nd best unit. Bullock Gordon Jackson Alford Wright will show why they where highly recruited. Imagine Crawford Jason Mitchell patrolling the back end 2024. Length speed Coaching. LR never had these many athletes on OU.

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    1. You may be right, they will run generally a 3 down front with the edge coming hard. If Gentry has the speed he could be killer defending the backs coming out. Can’t wait for Saturday!!!

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      1. If they really use their backend correctly every position has elite speed Jackson Wright Smith all ran under 10.5 in HS Smith is another Bullock. Donte if you blow this your a not a good coach just recruiter. I’m forgetting Brown Beckham excuse the spelling. I see Joshua entering transfer portal he see him as the odd man out along with Beavers got reps but didn’t see improvement from the coaches.#CantWaitTillSaturday#FightOn.

        Liked by 2 people

    3. They have Gentry slated to play in the middle. With his wingspan, that’s going to make it tough to run those slants and even to throw over his head to the short center….the guy is 6’6″

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      1. When you have a 6’6″ middle linebacker with a 7′ wingspan who is tough enough to play in the middle, that takes away one of the opposing QB’s main passing lanes. I
        predict that a lot of passes thrown over the middle will be knocked down and even intercepted.

        Liked by 1 person

    4. ET
      It’s hard to say. I believe that he has a lot of talent. If you sit him on the bench for awhile and he sees all those other guys (whom he feels superior to) playing and get their names in bright lights while he is watching the game from the sidelines, you would think that he would start giving 200%. But I remember Wole Betuku. That guy had as much raw talent as most of the players who have played at USC. Yet he turned out to be a giant bust.
      Another guy that was like that was Thomas Herring. He played from 2005-2009. He came out of Freemont High School in LA. He played tackle and tight end. He was a 4 or 5 star. He was actually at SC for 6 years. The first year(2004) he wasn’t on the team for academic reasons. He redshirted one year. Another guy that never amounted to much. Great players are more than just physically talented players. There is an emotional and mental element involved.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Hey parcelman007 you are right on with 5 star bust. I can’t understand these overhyped 7 on 7 circuit and camp stars best evaluations are in person because you get to see them up close. I’m more excited to see our defense mental game.

        Like

      2. 7 on 7 camps mean very little. Even game films don’t tell you that much. You have to watch the whole game to see if the guy goes hard on every play and doesn’t take plays off. The highlight films only show you the highlights. You also have to talk to coaches(both theirs and opposing coaches), read their facebook and twitter accounts….has he been in any kind of trouble….all that stuff goes into recruiting.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. September 3rd Lincoln Riley plays the hand he’s dealt. We will se almost immediately if he’s worth all the optimism and hype.
    Most of us know he’s better than the gap mouth clueless Clay. Just how much better remains to be seen. Early on most pundits were saying give it some time, but with the team he’s cobbled together, I see plenty of reason for optimism. Each game starts at zero to zero and it looks as if most talking heads still think this is Helton’s team. I hope that’s the edge we need to beat some of the teams we face this season.

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    1. WTF I guess Riley was window dressing because his depth chart is shocking. Jackson at CB2 Gentry2 Prophet B. CB2nd instead of Ceyair3rd D Jackson4th WTF Gordon3rd Wow!. I guess Wright Gordon Jackson lost out to transfers or DC is giving each surprise starter a chance to lockdown 1st string game reps or they are all in the dog house WTF. I hope it works out because I know some players are pissed. Why did they make it sound like they improved to start.. I’m totally shocked. Scottie where is Depth Chart post did you get an explanation to 1st n 2nd string decisions please find out looking for more explanations on other USC sites.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. They changed the depth chart from the above link go to other sites it’s totally different WTF check it out I believe it’s going to be a game time decisions for CB2 Nickle FS LB LT.

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Not much talk yet about the Game Time Temperature approaching 100 at a 3:00 Kickoff. Wonder what the attendance will actually be? I’m 50/50 at best on even attending.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. I can no longer handle that kind of weather. Rice is from Houston and it’s not there too. USC has been practicing in the heat, so it shouldn’t be a problem for the players.
      I know I won’t be there. My first game is October.

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      Reply

  10. I stumbled across a post from the Rice coach. He said, “USC doesn’t know what’s going to hit them” I love to see locker room material like this.

    Liked by 3 people

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  11. BEWARE– USC 2022 WARNING–

    – Utilizing imagination, I am currently camped out at Scott Wolf’s office. THE Scott Wolf, if you are wondering

    Yes, I know, Scott is an acquired taste, too SC-negative– It is of course our Wolfie’s little schtick, but it is a schtick that is welcomed by his 30-or-so active Blog-Posters,
    whose addiction to SC-football is off the charts.

    And with the ability of Scott Wolf being able to come up with some obscure
    SC-football topics that still incite his followers to respond to, it marks a pretty-savvy marketer guy.

    More importantly, if Scottie’s Friday USC-Recollections pieces don’t remind you that Wolf is a valued SC-historian, then I cannot help you!

    Liked by 2 people

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      1. MG….. REALLY!!!!! you guys lose a seat in Alaska. Trump going away in some form is the best thing that can happen for the GOP!…

        I predict an “emotional” high in early Nov. for the team in blue.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Of what am I being accused, Gabby? [We’re both seeing our “replies” show up in the middle of nowhere lately]…..
        P.S.
        Believe me when I say I’ve got no vested interest in seeing Trump back in the White House. If you check out the Sports Illustrated models he has arguing the complex 4th Amendment issues implicated in Garland’s search of his home you’re forced to conclude he’s still a 13 years old. All I want outta a prez at this point is somebody who doesn’t talk about using F-15’s [Biden is too out of the loop to know we’ve moved on to F-22’s & F-35’s] against the American people and is willing to call off the 87,000 new IRS agents before they go after every taxpayer without a lawyer

        Like

      1. Nailed it….. Petros sounds very similar when talking about USC. Anytime he’s broadcasted a USC game, I kill his snarky voice and listen to Arbogast.

        Like

    3. LJ…..make that 29!…. I’m one of the most outspoken critics of his lame “schtick”… I will cut him some slack regarding the Friday content.

      Like

      Reply

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