LOS ANGELES — The USC football coaching staff has a “GP” and a “PG.”
It’s how players sometimes refer to defensive coordinator Gary Patterson and safeties/defensive pass game coordinator Paul Gonzales. And their similarities go further than near-identical initials.
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“They just know each other too much,” cornerback Jontez Williams said with a smile.
The two coaches reunited at USC after previously working together for 13 seasons at TCU when Patterson was the head coach of the Horned Frogs. They oversaw some of the best secondaries in program history.
Six of the safeties who Gonzales and Patterson coached at TCU went on to have NFL careers. When Gonzales was the cornerbacks coach in 2015, the Horned Frogs ranked first in the Big 12 Conference in opponent completion percentage (49.8) and fewest touchdown passes allowed (17).
“They obviously have some chemistry there,” cornerback Chasen Johnson said, “and they have some trust in each other. Whether it’s coverage messed up or the coverage needs some tweaking, they can get in there. They can get in that film room together, and they can fix it together.”
Anticipation is mounting to see the Trojans’ new-look defense in Saturday afternoon’s season opener against San Jose State. Patterson hasn’t coached a college game since 2021, but Gonzales remained in the game and was the cornerbacks coach at Baylor last season.
Any questions as to whether Patterson can still coach or not after spending five seasons away will soon be answered. His players, however, have undying confidence in him and his coaching partner.
“Just the chemistry they got and how they’ve been like with each other for so long, it kind of rubs off on us, and they bring that energy to us,” Williams said. “The way they just vibe off each other and feed off (each other) helps us out as well.
Williams and Johnson could also help their defensive coaches look good, as well. They’re forging a strong bond, especially since they’re both coming off of injuries and are ready to pick up where they left off.
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The former had 46 total tackles, five pass breakups and four interceptions as a sophomore in 2024, and the latter had 14 tackles and two pass breakups as a freshman in that same season.
They’re also both from Florida, which gets them plenty of attention from their SoCal teammates.
“They be trying to get us on the Cali lingo and things like that, but it’s been fun for sure,” Williams said, “just having different insights and backgrounds from everywhere, just being able to come together.”
PENN STATE GAME TIME IS SET
Kickoff for USC’s Oct. 10 road game against Penn State will be at 4:30 p.m. PT, and the game will be shown on NBC (Ch. 4) and Peacock.
The Trojans’ trip to State College is the Nittany Lions’ annual “White Out,” which is considered by many to be one of the loudest and most challenging college football environments to play in.
Last season’s “White Out” game against Oregon drew an attendance of 111,015 fans, which is the second-largest crowd in the history of Beaver Stadium.
An extra layer of excitement surrounds this particular “White Out” game. New Penn State head coach Matt Campbell hired former USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn in early January for the same role with the Nittany Lions.
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