Romello Height getting up to speed at USC

It’s not hard to guess the most important quality for a defensive player to possess if they want to excel in Alex Grinch’s Speed D. When it comes to new addition Romello Height, that worked in two ways for the USC Trojans.

The first came with the speed Height worked his way through the transfer portal. He entered it on January 13 after spending two seasons at Auburn. When the call eventually came from USC head coach Lincoln Riley, Height said he knew then he was headed West to join the Trojans. It eventually took 10 days from entering the portal to committing to the Trojans. But he said it took just two or three once he heard from Riley, to officially announce his decision, which he did following an official visit to USC.

“Once I got that call from coach Riley, I was getting out of the portal then,” Height said. “As soon as he called me, I got out here and made my decision.”

The second way Height’s speed will be utilized will be far more important this fall. He gives the Trojans a potential or likely starter at the RUSH position in this Speed D scheme. That’s an important spot in this defense, made more so by the fact that the Trojans lacked any depth at all coming into the spring.

Drake Jackson likely would have filled the role had he returned rather than declared for the NFL Draft. USC’s backups to Jackson last season, Hunter Echols and Juliano Falaniko, both entered the transfer portal this offseason. Korey Foreman has not been healthy enough to fully participate in spring ball to this point. And USC’s other RUSH linebackers have all dealt with significant injury issues during their USC careers. That includes Solomon Tuliaupupu, Tayler Katoa and Eli’jah Winston.

Enter Height, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound impressive physical player, who said the USC coaches pitched him on one thing when it comes to playing the position.

“Speed,” he said. “They told me they love my speed. They were telling me I have speed off the edge that they can use….This is a speed defense. You have to play with speed, and that’s me. I love playing with speed.”

Height’s Path to Los Angeles

As a high school prospect, it looked unlikely Height would ever play college football out West. A Georgia native, Height’s recruitment was dominated by Auburn, Georgia Tech, Kentucky and Miami. He said last week that he always dreamed of being in Los Angeles and on the West Coast, but had never made the decision or followed through to come out here.

“It’s been great,” Height said of his time with the Trojans. “I love it out here.”

As far as sightseeing goes, he’s made it into the Hollywood hills and took his first trip to the beach as part of a USC team event.

Riley’s call might have sold Height on USC, but the school’s pedigree played a role as well.

“This is a big-time program,” Height said. “Anybody would want to come to USC. It’s USC. I mean, I came here because there’s a lot of history behind this school. You’ve got plenty of Hall of Famers that came to this school. I want to be a part of that.”

USC’s RUSH ‘Backers

Grinch and outside linebackers coach Roy Manning are looking for USC’s version of Nik Bonitto, the former Oklahoma star likely to go within the first two rounds of the upcoming NFL Draft. In three years in Grinch’s defense, Bonitto totaled 118 tackles, 19.5 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He was a Bednarik Award semifinalist and an All-Big-12 Second-Team selection in 2021.

Height doesn’t bring a ton of on-field experience with him to USC. He saw action in 10 games and recorded 19 tackles with the Trojans. But that’s enough to be considered a front-runner for the position right now. Developing depth, whether through other players on the roster or another transfer portal addition this offseason, is important at this spot.

“We’re working hard as a group,” Height said. “We come out here every day working hard. Our coach is big on doing it full speed…I mean, we still have work to do. But right now everyone is looking good in the position group.”