Alex Grinch explains why USC will be 'the most conditioned defense in the country'

Alex Grinch knows that in the world of fast-paced spread offenses, you need to have a well-conditioned defense. Otherwise, left gassed, you’re going to be left at a disadvantage throughout the season. So, he’s been working with the USC defense to make sure their conditioning is where it needs to be.

While speaking to the media, USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch explained why he feels the Trojans are going to be college football’s best-conditioned unit.

“What you got to protect against as coaches are a bunch of things, put up a PowerPoint and say we’re gonna do all this,” Alex Grinch said. “We’re gonna be the best-conditioned defense in the country and they just hope it happens.”

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“So, these camp weeks are designed to kind of establish who you are and what you are. We don’t play a game on Saturday. We’re supposed to be sore and so we take advantage of the opportunity to do some conditioning during this time of year and the guys, for the most part, responded to it.”

“Then, you know, we’ll add some additional ones if there’s certain moments of practice where we don’t feel like running. So, it’s a run during a run after. There’s some training, there’s some awareness training to it as well. But, no, we do it every day,” Alex Grinch concluded.

Prior to his time at USC, Alex Grinch was on Lincoln Riley’s staff at Oklahoma. Prior to that, he worked on staff at Ohio State and Washington State.

Alex Grinch wants a good practice environment

Along with having USC in as peak physical condition as possible, Alex Grinch also wants to make sure that the Trojans have a good practice environment.

“We’re trying to create an intense environment,” Alex Grinch said. “And really, that’s what this week has been all about for the guys. In particular, do we change when we get to game week? And the answer is no.”

There’s a way we practice. We believe in it, you know. We try to play the game on Tuesday and Wednesday. So the third time we play the game is on Saturday, you know. Some guys believe in practice, some guys don’t. Every coach says they do. The fact is: they don’t, we do. And you earn the right to have confidence walking into a stadium on Saturday. Your logo is not going to get it done. It’s kind of how you can prepare on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, specifically. That’s the physical work. And then the mental work beyond that.”