Brian Odom, Shaun Nua discuss path forward for the USC defense

The USC defense will line up against one of the best offenses in the nation this Saturday night as the Trojans travel to Eugene to take on the No. 6 Oregon Ducks. And that side of the ball will be under new leadership for the first time this season as linebacker coach Brian Odom and defensive line coach Shaun Nua have been elevated to co-defensive coordinators in the wake of the dismissal of former DC Alex Grinch.

The two coaches spoke to the media following Tuesday’s practice for the first time since the start of fall camp. Neither got too in-depth in the way of discussing strategy, but there will be some changes by virtue of the simple fact that the Trojans will have a new defensive playcaller. Head coach Lincoln Riley didn’t announce which coach will call plays, but Odom does have experience there. He stepped up in place of Grinch for Oklahoma’s 2021 Alamo Bowl game and helped the Sooners beat the Oregon Ducks, 47-32. In that one, Oregon scored just three points in the first half.

USC’s scheme has clearly been difficult for the Trojans to execute at a high level this season, leaving huge holes for the run game and defensive backs occasionally in unwinnable one-on-one matchups. Nua was asked what might be able to change in that regard this late in the season.

“That’s the million-dollar question right now,” he said. “What can we change to help the guys execute at a high level and what can we not? We’ll find out Saturday.”

Odom said it’s not possible to “reinvent the wheel” in a matter of a week. But that doesn’t mean it’ll be status quo for the Trojans when they take the field.

“The goal for the week, obviously is go win a game,” Odom said. “But if we put our guys in position to play fast and things to be simple for them, they’ll make a difference when they’re on the field.”

Odom said he couldn’t put his finger exactly on what has caused the lapses on defense for the Trojans (though he certainly wasn’t going to be upfront about that and go into strategy against of the Oregon game), but acknowledged that “we’ve all seen the issues,” adding that “there’s plenty of them.”

“It’s just been off a little bit for quite some time,” Odom said. “Working to get those issues fixed as much as we can in one week.”

This isn’t a change in the feeling around the defense. Odom said Grinch was “as disappointed as anybody…probably more so than everybody” after the games in which the USC defense struggled. It’ll be tough for the USC defense — which ranks No. 124 in scoring defense and No. 123 in total defense — to get things slipped around in just one week. Odom and Nua are working to affect change, but it’s difficult to do too much when this defense has been in play for two years.

“Schematically, what can we digest?” Odom said. “What do we need to change? What do we not need to change? What do we keep the same? You obviously got to be respectful to the players in terms of allowing those guys to play fast and do what they know. And you don’t want to veer too far off of that, because if you do that, you’re gonna be disappointed. They’ll be very confused and everybody else will be disappointed. We’re trying to keep as much same as we can and be more efficient with it.”

Nua said getting some kind of energy going on that side of the ball was the first thing on the checklist this week in light of the change.

“We’ve got to find a spark, get the guys playing as a unit and executing at a high level,” Nua said. “What we’re trying to do is just increase the intensity and the mindset to just get them to execute at a high level. That’s it. That’s both effort and assignment.”

Nua echoed Odom’s thoughts about the concern that too much change could cause hesitation on the field.

Linebacker Mason Cobb said energy and enthusiasm hasn’t been an issue since the Trojans took the field for practice again on Monday.

“Guys are fighting, grinding,” Cobb said. “I think guys understand that we don’t have many options but to go to work every day.”