“I’m on a new level!”
Those lyrics of A$AP Ferg’s 2015 hit could be heard throughout Howard Jones Field when the horn blew to begin USC football’s practice this Wednesday. For a team that underwent one of the largest personnel overhauls in NCAA history this offseason, the song choice is almost symbolic.
Last November, USC shocked the college football world by hiring Lincoln Riley as head coach, hoping he could restore the program’s former glory. After he made the move, coaches and players from schools all across the country flocked to Southern California to join him, including current Trojan quarterback and captain, Caleb Williams.
The end result: the best 2022 transfer class in the country, a freshmen class including a former five-star and multiple four-stars and a 2022 roster that returns only eight starters. Yes, you heard that right. Eight returning starters.
While they still don the classic Cardinal and Gold, this is by all means a new Trojan team led by a new regime. In the season opener against Rice last weekend, USC entertained a Coliseum crowd of over 60,000 by routing Rice for a 66-14 victory. While the Trojans were a heavy favorite, this win was nothing short of a statement that this new team is, as A$AP Ferg proclaims, on a new level as well.
One of these new additions, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, spoke to reporters following Wednesday’s practice wearing a shirt that read “STRAIN” across the chest, an element he stressed as a prime focus of the new coaching staff.
“[Football] requires elite focus from a mental standpoint and elite effort from a physical standpoint,” Grinch said.
He continued to say that the coaches emphasize to their players that, “when we can’t stress you physically, we are going to stress you mentally.” This mentality paid off for Grinch’s defense last Saturday when they took three interceptions to the house, scoring one third of the Trojans’ touchdowns against Rice.
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Kyron Hudson echoed his defensive coordinator’s remarks.
“It’s a whole different type of momentum.. Just a different vibe,” Hudson said. “We’re just a hungry group excited to play each and every day so that’s the difference.”
One of the issues the immense turnover could have created was a disruption in team chemistry, but, according to senior running back Austin Jones, gelling was not a problem for this team.
“Coming in I think everybody had the same thought process,” Jones, who transferred from Stanford prior to this season, said. He continued to state that the team was on the same page last spring, all deciding to “trust each other right away, regardless of how we feel about it… We bonded in the spring and that led into the fall.”
That bonding carried over to the returning players from last year’s squad as well, who essentially joined a new program themselves. Hudson, a returner, reiterated not only the warmth he felt from the new players, but the coaching staff as well.
“They told us as a whole team, everyone is here because we believe in you,” Hudson said. “We trust you. Since day one we just believe in each other.”
After re-announcing themselves to the college football landscape last weekend, the Trojans will be looking to use this new energy, intensity and team unity to prove they are really on a new level this season as they make the trip up to Northern California this weekend. USC faces off against Stanford on Saturday night at 4:30 p.m., seeking their first win against the Cardinal in Palo Alto since 2014.