Revitalized USC defense claims spring game

Last year’s spring game marked the true start of Head Coach Lincoln Riley’s era at USC. This year, the contest carried high expectations as the Trojans look to build on last season’s 11-3 record.

The matchup did not disappoint, coming down to the very last play of the afternoon. It was the defense who took the victory over the offense, 42-34.

The game, which consisted of two 15-minute quarters, marked the end of spring practices for the Trojans. Riley said this game was the perfect way to cap it off going into summer practices.

“That was a very fitting end to our spring because I would say that’s, in a lot of ways, what our spring has looked like in terms of competitive, down-to-the-wire,” said Riley in the postgame press conference. “A lot to build on, but a lot to be excited about after today.”

The defense, who donned white USC jerseys, started the affair with 24 points. But the offense, wearing cardinal USC jerseys, quickly cut into that lead.

Right out of the gates, junior quarterback Caleb Williams threw a 45-yard pass to senior wide receiver Brenden Rice to put the offense across the 50-yard line. It only took two more plays for the offense to score, capping off a three-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.

“Business as usual,” said redshirt senior running back Austin Jones. “That’s what we expect. We expect to go out there, quick 7 [points] on the board and continue to push forward.”

Williams did not return for the rest of the game, and it was a battle of the backups from there on out. Both freshman quarterback Malachi Nelson and redshirt sophomore quarterback Miller Moss saw significant playing time for the Trojans.

“My job is to look at it and [see] what can we get the most out of today. And I don’t know that playing two or three more series is going to change anything for Caleb,” Riley said. “For a guy like Miller Moss, who hasn’t had a lot of live game snaps, these were invaluable. For a guy like Malachi Nelson or [junior quarterback] Jake Jensen, this is kind of their first time to really do it.”

Moss played much better than Nelson for much of the afternoon, with Nelson throwing two interceptions and getting strip-sacked.

Other than Nelson, many new Trojans played well in their debut. A trio of new running backs, freshmen Quinten Joyner and A’Marion Peterson, along with redshirt junior MarShawn Lloyd — a transfer from South Carolina — all played lights out. The two freshmen both scored a touchdown for the USC offense and combined for 133 yards on only 10 carries.

“[Joyner’s] got deceptive speed, you don’t really don’t think he’s running fast until you really get up on him, then he takes off,” Jones said. “[Peterson], he’s real fast too, you just haven’t really gotten to see it yet. He’s a powerful runner, runs through tackles.”

On the defensive side of the ball, multiple new players in the front seven made big plays. It was redshirt senior rush end Jamil Muhammad, a transfer from Georgia State, who had the strip sack on Nelson, while freshman rush end Sam Greene had a tackle for loss. 

On top of those defensive line standouts, newcomers senior inside linebacker Mason Cobb, a transfer from Oklahoma State, had a pass breakup and freshman defensive back Christian Pierce recorded an interception.

“We’ve been pleased. We feel like we’ve landed on the right guys, the right kind of players, the right kind of people,” Riley said. “They wanted to come in and be a part of, not now establishing, but building on the standard and taking this team where we want to go. And, so, they’re a great group of character guys.”

It was the first time many USC fans saw this iteration of the team. The players themselves relished the opportunity to play in front of their supporters again.

“It was really good just seeing our fans out there supporting us,” said junior defensive back Calen Bullock. “That’s what it’s all about. We go out there every single day to make them happy. So, that was really fun.”

The game officially marks the start of the 2023 campaign, but it was not without a celebration of the 2022 season.

Williams, who won the 2022 Heisman Trophy, was presented with USC’s copy of the trophy between the two quarters. He went two-for-two for 55 yards and a touchdown during the game as he begins his quest to defend the title.

Just as Williams will try to build off of his previous season, the rest of the team will try to do the same. As spring comes to a close, the offseason allows the Trojans to add more players from the transfer portal and get ready for their first game of the season Aug. 26 against San Jose State.

“It’s been a really nice spring. This is a great way to finish it off,” Riley said. “Obviously, this team has a lot of work in front of us, a lot that we have to get better at. Our mentality this entire spring has been to take the standard that was established in year one and really go do something with it and really try to push it to another level.”