LOS ANGELES — The USC linebacking corps was asked to step up prior to Saturday’s game against Washington. They were shorthanded, down a middle linebacker in Desmond Stephens II, who was serving a one-game suspension.
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“I felt like, all week, I just attacked everything,” linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson said. “Whether that was getting the call from a safety, getting a call on my own, setting in the front, going to coaches, asking questions if I was unsure of something.”
No. 19 USC (5-1 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) won the game, 25-21, and the position group answered the call well enough to see three linebackers receive game balls.
Robinson, Deven Bryant and Elijah Newby were each recognized after the defense tied a season-high in sacks with five and registered 48 total tackles. Robinson and Newby tied for second-most tackles in the game with six tackles apiece.
“Whether it’s somebody else getting more reps,” head coach Lincoln Riley said, “or it’s just the ability to just simply rotate guys to keep them fresh or using guys different from a package standpoint – we certainly look at it as a positive and feel like we know a little bit more, developed some more depth in that room than maybe we felt 10 days ago.”
There might be increased competition for playing time at linebacker, based on what the coaching staff saw against the Huskies.
“Des is a good player and important part of this football team,” Riley said, “so we view this a lot like we’re coming back off of any normal game, like nothing else happened. We’ve seen how each group has played, and I think what we learned this week is we’ve got a handful of guys in there that can go out there and play really, really well.”
Robinson had his first career start, and started in place of Stephens. It was a long time coming for the senior transfer from Penn State who has dealt with injury throughout his playing career.
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He shined right out of the gate, logging four tackles in the first quarter and sacking Washington quarterback Demond Williams for a loss of 5 yards to push the Huskies back to USC’s 45-yard line.
Newby also recorded a strip sack late in the third quarter, allowing defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart to scoop up the ball and run 48 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
“The linebackers, they did great,” Stewart said. “They’re trusting us for sure, and we just got to trust them. And that’s all it takes, is us just trusting each other, playing as one. And once we do that, we’ll have great things coming.”
COMMUNICATING IN A ‘WHITE OUT’
USC’s offensive line has protected quarterback Jayden Maiava well this season, giving up an average of just one sack per game. It comes down to communicating and ID-ing plays, according to center Tobias Raymond.
That communication will be challenged by the loud environment of the “White Out” game when the Trojans head to Penn State (3-2, 0-2) this weekend.
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Crowd noise and songs like the “Circle of Life” and “Mo Bamba” were blaring from the practice facility’s sound system on Tuesday and Wednesday to get all the USC players, especially the offensive linemen, ready.
“When Jayden gives us a call, it’s all about echoing and like talking back and forth,” Raymond said. “One thing really good about communication and being loud – I feel like it gives confidence to the guys around you … it builds confidence in terms of like man, we’re yelling, we’re getting the juices flowing, and we’re on the same page.”
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