Lincoln Riley assesses USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch

No. 6 USC hasn’t been the most stout defensive team in the country, but the Trojans have managed to get the job done when and where it matters most in a 4-0 start. Head coach Lincoln Riley has been very pleased with USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

Grinch, who has some previous Pac-12 experience from a three-year stint as Washington State‘s defensive coordinator from 2015-17, has helped produce a defense that leads the country with 14 takeaways.

“He’s done a great job,” Riley said on the weekly Trojans Live program. “We’ve had to move some pieces around. We’ve had to try to find the right combinations, and we feel like we’re starting to get a better feel for our personnel and how we can utilize them and how we can attack people defensively.”

There are definitely still areas USC can improve.

The Trojans rank just 100th in rushing defense nationally, currently allowing an average 171.0 yards per game on the ground. That’ll have to improve if USC hopes to win its first Pac-12 title since 2017.

The good news? Grinch won’t hesitate to share that with his guys.

“I don’t feel like he’s a guy that puts on a different face for different people,” Riley said. “What you see is what you get with him. I think our players and our staff respond to that. He’s a very consistent guy. He’s got a high standard. He doesn’t sugarcoat things with players and I think they see him for that.

“I mean he’s real. If he doesn’t like something he’s going to tell you. If he likes something he’s going to tell you. But it’s always going to be very direct. I think as a player you always appreciate knowing where you stand and knowing that the guy’s going to be fair with you, and he’s certainly those two things.”

Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch learning USC’s personnel

Naturally there’s been a bit of an adjustment period for Grinch in learning USC’s personnel.

The Trojans have given up at least 14 points in every game so far this season, not quite putting the clamps down all the way despite being so opportunistic. As noted above, there are definitely areas that can improve.

But Riley doesn’t seem worried about that.

He’s seen the kind of units Grinch is capable of producing. After all, Grinch was his defensive coordinator at Oklahoma from 2019-2021, when the Sooners won a pair of Big 12 titles.

“I mean we’ve said it before, this guy has obviously done this many times,” Riley said. “This is not his first time around the block turning something around. So he and our defensive staff know what to do. And I think what our player are seeing is the more and more they stick to the script, the more and more they do exactly what they’re being told to do you’re going to get more results like we did Saturday night.”