Alex Grinch provides evaluation of defensive tackle De'Jon Benton's development

Alex Grinch turned his attention to USC defensive lineman De’Jon Benton, and had some praise to give to the former three-star recruit.

Benton, a member of the Class of 2019, was the No. 112 defensive lineman in the nation, per the On3 Consensus. Additionally, the hulking lineman was the No. 108 overall prospect out of California, while being ranked No. 1101 nationwide.

Moving forward, Benton is looking to breakout under Grinch’s tutelage — and the USC defensive coordinator is seeing progress.

“Benton’s had a really good camp,” began Grinch. “He showed some flashes in the spring. What does that mean? Does that mean — if you evaluate everybody’s best plays, most of the these kids can make a highlight film of practice and kind of get mesmerized by it. It may not be accurate. So coming back in the fall, I just thought they’re very more intentional about everything that he does. .. He’s got some quickness about him. Some physicality about him. So when he does it, he shows well.

“What happens with guys like that is typically when they don’t, it stands out real clearly too. If you have the quickness and you don’t use the quickness, we call that loafing. .. But I’ve been impressed with him. He’s got to really take advantage of the next couple of weeks.”

While De’Jon Benton hasn’t realized his full potential yet for USC, perhaps Alex Grinch can be the one to get it out of him. It’s evident the talent is there, and the coaching seems to be in place, as well — success could be around the corner for Benton.

Alex Grinch praises USC defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu as scrimmage standout

Following Thursday’s practice, USC’s new defensive coordinator, Alex Grinch, recently took some time to speak with the media about who stood out in the Trojans’ most recent scrimmage on Sunday. He showered junior defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu with plenty of praise and highlighted a few others.

“Standouts going back to the scrimmage. The guy that continues to standout is Tuli [Tuipulotu]. He’s a guy that…A couple of guys have been out. I think he’s played three different spots on our defensive line. You know, all he does is lead from the front. All he does is play hard. So without question, he’s been a real standout. Calen Bullock has had some flash moments for us in camp, as well as Mekhi Blackmon. And there’s several others. We have to make sure the rest of the group kind of raises to their level,” Grinch said.

Tuipulotu has been working at three different positions along the defensive line, including rush end, per WeAreSC’s Erik McKinney. He’ll likely spend the majority of his time at defensive end, but his versatility allows the Trojans coaches flexibility in utilizing him in different ways.

Last season, Tuipulotu racked up 48 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery for the Trojans. He’s expected to be one of the top defensive lineman prospects for the 2023 NFL Draft. In June, PFF’s Mike Renner listed Tuipulotu as his No. 8 interior defensive line prospect for the upcoming draft.