Jaylin Smith reveals the main motivating factor for USC entering 2023

Last season USC’s defense was absent most of the time down the stretch. And in their final game of the year, their New Year’s bowl game against Tulane, the Trojans’ defense was non-existent. USC gave up 32 points in the second half on the way to an upset loss to Tulane 46-45.

Trojans defensive back Jaylin Smith says the humiliating defeat has stuck with them throughout the team’s 2023 spring practices and has been a motivating factor for USC.

“Never to feel that feeling again,” said Smith. “We worked that hard to get to that level in the season. Just to never get that gut feeling where you feel like you could do more and you can make plays and be out there with your guys. I just feel like going into it; we all had that feeling. We was all in that locker room at the end of the year. So, I mean, we all had that feeling, and we just all agreed that one feeling, we don’t want to feel like that no more. And that’s just been the goal going forward.

“I looked some tape. I looked at the tape that whole week; the first two weeks, actually. And it sucked to watch, but it was some things to clean up. But once we got back at it, I feel like we just got back to work.”

The Trojans’ defense was the team’s Achilles heel in 2022. And that is why head coach Lincoln Riley and his coaching staff have been putting a ton of effort into rebuilding it this offseason.

Things have looked suitable for USC’s defense during spring practice, and a handful of surprises so far have excited Riley for next season.

Riley raves over Sam Greene’s contributions to USC defense

Spring practice gives early freshman arrivals a chance to show how they can contribute to the team early in their college careers. And arguably, one of the most prominent early contributors from the Trojans 2023 recruiting class during the spring is someone fans might have overlooked.

According to Riley, defensive end Sam Greene has been a pleasant surprise during spring practice for USC.

“Yeah, he was one of the surprises of spring; not necessarily that he wouldn’t play well,” said Riley. “But we recruited Sam thinking he’d probably be in that field defensive end to the three-technique world. And when he came in, we got a chance to obviously be on the field with him (and) kind of see kind of where he was from a body-wise standpoint. You get to really see him athletically. And he ended up being a little bit better fit for us at rush, which was, honestly, again it was a little unexpected. But as we watched him in the offseason, it made the most sense. We moved him there, and he did a great job.”

Greene played high school football at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, MD, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 466 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.