USC football preview: New coaches lead a defense in need of a surge

LOS ANGELES — They are the Four Horsemen, not of the apocalypse, but of a rebirth.

There is USC’s new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, the mastermind behind it all, the man who took UCLA’s defense from bottom-dweller to fearsome run-stoppers in the span of one season.

There is new defensive line coach Eric Henderson, a booming, confident presence that won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams and whose mantra of “Dawg Work” has been parroted within USC’s Twitter fingers for months.

There is new linebackers coach Matt Entz, a no-nonsense stickler for technique with vocal cords of sheer gravel, stepping into a positional role after running an FCS powerhouse at North Dakota State.

There is new secondary coach Doug Belk, working alongside Lynn after running his own units at Houston, quieter and analytical when in front of a camera but bringing a “South juice” to USC’s practice field, as defensive back Jaylin Smith described.

After two years of a unit too porous to truly elevate USC among the top teams in the country, head coach Lincoln Riley made clear in the offseason that every decision, from a program standpoint, was going to be done with a defensive focus first. And that began with a whiteboard wheeled into Riley’s office and a brainstorming session that centered around, as the head coach said after Lynn’s hire, building the “best defensive staff in America.”

“Our goal in the beginning was we had to find the right coordinator and then we want to have the best developers – who do we think are, like, the best developers of defensive talent, culture, all of that, who are the very best?” Riley said in February, in a press conference with USC’s new defensive hires.

Lynn, Henderson, Belk and Entz have had eight months to prove they are indeed the best USC could find, a wealth of new faces and veterans alike at their disposal. And given a new staff and new pieces, USC will almost assuredly improve from a program that ranked 116th in the FBS in total defense in 2023. The question is how much.

Here’s the breakdown on USC’s defensive groups entering Week 1 against LSU.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Technically, Henderson serves as USC’s defensive-line coach, while Shaun Nua – the only survivor from USC’s 2023 defensive staff – works with the edge rushers. Both, though, have been seen working side-by-side with USC’s larger defensive front throughout spring camp.

“If you have humility, and you understand that the team is first and foremost, I don’t look at it as unique,” Nua said of he and Henderson’s overlap. “I think it’s necessary.”

It speaks, in largest volume, to their emphasis on versatile bodies up front. At 6-foot-5, Anthony Lucas, who faltered in 2023 but has been widely praised for his motor since the spring, is chief among those plans. Vanderbilt transfer Nate Clifton is another piece who can play tackle or defensive end. Senior Jamil Muhammad and sophomore Braylan Shelby, meanwhile, have put on 10 and 20 pounds, respectively, since last fall.

The key to the group’s success entering the Big Ten, however, will lie directly up the middle. Returning defensive tackle Bear Alexander is entering the biggest season of his career, challenged by coaches in his consistency throughout fall camp. After seemingly striking out on several defensive tackles in the spring portal, meanwhile, USC finally added veteran transfer Gavin Meyer from Wyoming, who drew praise in fall camp.

“It’s very apparent that he’s going to have an opportunity to make a big impact for us,” Riley said of Meyer, who had 25 tackles last year at Wyoming.

INSIDE LINEBACKER

From the minute he arrived from Oregon State, transfer Easton Mascarenas-Arnold saw an immediate opportunity to fill a leadership role in the middle of USC’s defense – and has taken that mantle squarely in the months since.

“I’ve been busting my tail in the weight room, on the field, trying to earn the guys’ respect,” he said in the spring.

He’ll be a massive piece for the Trojans’ plans in 2024, totaling 106 tackles as a junior and named an All-Pac-12 First Team selection. His presence, in turn, has alleviated the weight on returning middle linebacker Mason Cobb, who led USC in tackles but also missed tackles in 2023. Veteran playmaker Eric Gentry, too, is back and the 6-foot-6 senior has appeared more comfortable under Entz, after receiving inconsistent snaps throughout last season.

The lingering question mark comes with senior Raesjon Davis, who has seemed an afterthought in the program’s plans for much of his USC career and wasn’t much-discussed with coaches through the fall.

“He got better over June and July, and he had a great camp, so we’re excited to see what he does,” Lynn said Wednesday.

SECONDARY

There isn’t a deeper room on USC’s roster than the glut of cornerbacks and safeties under Belk’s watch, but LSU in Vegas will prove a test of the cream that’ll rise from a wide crop. Transfers DeCarlos Nicholson, John Humphrey and Greedy Vance Jr. add significant veteran depth at cornerback and nickel, and program veterans Jacobe Covington and Prophet Brown should earn significant snaps. Senior Jaylin Smith, who’s been working at every spot imaginable since a standout Holiday Bowl, could find plenty of time at cornerback, too.

Safety is just as complex, with UCLA transfer Kamari Ramsey adding a hand-in-glove fit with a year of prior experience in Lynn’s scheme, and Akili Arnold – Mascarenas-Arnold’s older brother – filling a quarterback-type role in the secondary. Redshirt sophomore Zion Branch, who showed flashes before another season-ending injury in 2023, will look to stay healthy and find a breakout. Senior Bryson Shaw, one of the oldest players on USC’s roster, should find plenty of snaps.

Keep an eye on freshman cornerback Marcelles Williams, who will be hard-pressed to find consistent time in a loaded group but has shown through the spring he’s more than capable of making an immediate impact as a true freshman.

SPECIALISTS

Riley was blunt in his evaluation of USC’s kickers in 2023: They simply hadn’t performed well enough.

“We missed some kicks that we need to make, we were not good in the kickoff department,” Riley said in the fall. “I mean, honestly, our 10 guys on the kickoff team last year did a hell of a job, considering how few of touchbacks we had. And so, yeah, neither one was good enough to play at the level that we expect to play.”

A competition brewed, quickly, within a crowded room. Transfer Michael Lantz, who nailed 23 of 28 field goals last year at Georgia Southern, is most likely to start this fall. Last year’s starter Denis Lynch, too, is back after going 14 of 20 in 2023. True freshman Ryon Sayeri has been determined to win the job, too, from the minute he’s arrived at USC.

Eddie Czaplicki, who averaged 43.3 yards on his punts in 2023, will likely serve again as USC’s starting punter entering the fall.