This newest USC commit is a versatile player who can play multiple positions with his size and quickness.
As predicted earlier last week, Matai Tagoa’i, the bluechip linebacker from San Clemente, California, has verbally committed to the Trojans. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Tagoa’i is rated the No. 11 linebacker and the No. 80 prospect overall in the 247Sports Composite. In his junior season, Tagoa’i had 73 tackles, six of them for a loss, in 10 games as a sophomore. He recorded an interception and nine pass deflections.
Tagoa’i listed offers from 25 schools, including Texas, Utah, Washington, Alabama, Washington, Auburn, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, Tennessee, and UCLA
Matt Entz might have found a clone for Eric Gentry in Tagoa’i. He is a versatile player who can play multiple positions with his size and quickness, the prototype player for a D’Anton Lynn defense. He played safety, linebacker, and rush end in high school. He is projected as a linebacker in college and would most likely fit the WILL linebacker position with his speed and athleticism. He can drop back in coverage to use his size to be disruptive underneath, causing issues with passing lanes for the quarterback.
How can USC reach its goals, and what do we need to see from this team more than anything else in 2024?
On the Conquest Call-In Show, a weekly caller-driven YouTube show on Friday nights at 6 p.m. Pacific time, John from Detroit chimed in. He said that USC would need to go at least 9-3 in its first season in the Big Ten to be successful.
I explained to John that I don’t have a number. I just want to see measureable and drastic improvement on both sides of the line of scrimmage for USC. Lincoln Riley has put together an outstanding staff with new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn and defensive line coach Eric Henderson joining defensive ends coach Sean Nua. This new staff will try to fix the issue that plagued USC’s defensive line last year. On paper, Lynn was able to turn UCLA’s dismal 2022 defense into a top five defense in 2023. He completely changed the Bruins’ defense in just one offseason, so the Trojans’ hopes ride on him replicating that feat here at USC. His plan at UCLA was to install his defense methodically in the spring and fall, building the fundamentals of the defense early and slowly. This would ensure a deep understanding of the basics of the scheme, allowing him to add additional wrinkles as the season progresses.
The addition of Isaiah Raikes, 313 pounds of quick-twitch athleticism in the middle, and the defensive line room adding 340 pounds in the offseason gives the Trojans the ability to exert the physicality that new defensive line coach Eric Henderson is stressing in the offseason. The added size and attention to fundamentals from Henderson will be tested early in the season as USC faces LSU and Michigan in their first three games of 2024.
Offensively, Josh Henson remains the offensive line coach for the third year at USC. Clay Helton’s offensive line coach, Clay McGuire, had done a great job developing the line and leaving Henson a great foundation to work with, but there was no depth. The addition of Bobby Haskins in 2022 allowed USC’s veteran line to be a strength on the team in an 11-win campaign.
However, the Trojans were unable to overcome the loss of their three-year starting center, Brett Neilon, and All-America left guard Andrew Vorhees; the unit never gelled in 2023. The football team faced significant challenges due to injuries, which included multiple key players. Courtland Ford departed the team through the transfer portal, Ethan White, a transfer from Florida, was unable to join the team due to a medical retirement, and Gino Quinones suffered a season-ending injury early in the season. Relying on multiple transfers who didn’t pan out created a less-than-ideal situation. The line was plagued by miscommunication and protection breakdowns throughout the year.
In 2024, the big and physical 2023 offensive line class has had a year of collegiate weight training, nutrition, and coaching from Henson. Two of the members of that 2023 class, Alani Noa and Elijah Paige, got some starts last year, but this unit has developed together and is expected to play significant roles. Micah Banuelos, who is on his way back from injury; Amos Talalele; and Tobias Raymond all look to push for starting roles in 2024. The left side of the line with Paige at tackle and Emmanuel Pregnon at guard seems to be set. Lincoln Riley and Henson have selected Jonah Monheim to anchor the offensive line at center, but there are questions on the right side. The Trojans will absolutely need someone to step up and take those roles for USC to call 2024 a success.
Isaiah Raikes’ recent comments at USC spring practice should get Trojan fans very excited.
In anticipation of joining the Big Ten in the 2024 season, USC recognized the urgent need to bolster its interior defensive line with experienced players. One of those roles was filled by Isaiah Raikes, formerly of Texas A&M. Raikes brings valuable experience and talent, helping to solidify USC’s defensive line in the upcoming season. He talked to the media after practice on Thursday. He explained why he chose to leave Aggies and join the Trojans. He elaborated on what he needs to improve to take his game to the next level.
Standing at 6’1″ and weighing 313 pounds, Raikes is a strong and athletic defensive lineman who can stack and shed blockers, causing havoc and collapsing the pocket. He is similar to Antwan Woods, who played in the middle of the line in 2015. While Woods wore the defensive line No. 99, Raikes wears No. 2, which is dwarfed by his large frame. Despite his size, Raikes moves exceptionally well and is a space-eater in the middle of the defensive line.
As he continued to talk, we again heard the two words every USC coach and player has echoed all offseason: “versatility” and “development.” Raikes shared how defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn told him during his recruitment that he could use his versatility on the line and develop him for the NFL. Raikes explained that he had one year left in his career. He wanted to play somewhere he could develop as a player and showcase his abilities for NFL scouts.
“I knew their defense had a need for defensive linemen, and I wanted to come into somewhere where I felt like I could make a difference right away,” Raikes said candidly. “Once I found out they were hiring Coach Lynn, that was definitely a big factor.”
On this, Raikes was clear: “I know he can show me exactly what I need to do, and know exactly what he wants to see out of me to get drafted as high as possible.” Lynn wants him to work on his consistency and controlling the line of scrimmage; he needs to play with more physicality (another theme shared throughout the first five practices).
Many fans were clamoring about a lack of toughness on the line after a dismal defensive performance in 2023. Raikes listed a couple things the defensive line is focusing on in camp that should address their concerns:
“Physicality is a big thing we got to be physical at the point of attack. We got to dominate, just taking over as a defensive line,” he said.
Kyle Ford visited USC’s spring practice on Thursday. Everyone was — and is — talking about it.
Last year Kyle Ford shocked USC football fans when he transferred. It wasn’t the fact that he wanted to get an opportunity to get more playing time, but where he wanted to do it. Kyle Ford stopped by USC’s fifth practice of spring camp on Thursday, which obviously gained a lot of attention. Is something about to happen?
Ford, if he does transfer back to USC in a few weeks (the spring portal window opens on April 16), would be the third Bruin this offseason to join (or in Ford’s case, rejoin) the Trojan roster. Both safety Kamari Ramsay and cornerback John Humphrey followed D’Anton Lynn from UCLA to USC.
Ford signed with the Trojans in 2019 after suffering a knee injury and missing the final five games of his senior season at Orange Lutheran. He played in just four games late in the year before suffering a second season-ending knee injury during the summer of 2020. He had limited receptions in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but saved his best for last. Late in the 2022 USC-UCLA game, Ford caught a fade pass from Caleb Williams for the game-winning touchdown.
There seemed to be no ill will with USC, and it is notable that Ford shared a moment with Lincoln Riley during this Trojan practice on Thursday. If the interest is mutual, USC could use another veteran receiver on the team with just six returning scholarship wide receivers and true freshman Xavier Jordan available in 2024. Of that group, only redshirt junior Kyron Hudson and the redshirt senior transfer from Tufts, Jaden Richardson, are upperclassmen.
Lincoln Riley has received a fresh injection of optimism about the direction of USC football. No derailment. The train is on the tracks.
Earlier this week, Connor Morrissette of USCfootball.com (247Sports) asked Lincoln Riley at a media scrum about the vibe around the USC program coming off a massive recruiting weekend. On Sunday, five defensive recruits committed to the Trojans. Three of them were four-star athletes. One was five-star prospect Justus Terry, who was committed to the Georgia Bulldogs for over a year.
“I think it’s validity to some of the decisions that we’ve made around here,” explained Riley. “You know, both recently, and I just think even for you know looking big scope, just even in the last couple of years … I mean to be able to have a weekend like we did last weekend is a big deal. I mean, there’s no question about it.”
Riley credits breaking ground on USC’s new football only facility and his assembly of elite defensive coaches as catalysts in the apparent turnaround for high school recruiting in the 2025 class. “You know one thing is an idea, but when you come here and you see construction and you actually sit down with all these staff members, you see kind of where all these things are headed.”
Riley reminisced on USC’s great past and its difficulties playing consistent, championship football the past decade and a half. He projected where the program is headed.
“It’s not hard to pick out the trajectory, and I think more and more people across the country, when they get on our campus, are seeing that and it’s a reminder that this place is–like what we have to offer kids– is different that anywhere else and it’s a lot of things that money can’t buy,” Riley pointed out. “It’s a great reminder, no matter what’s happened the last 10 or 15 years, man, like this thing’s still awesome. It’s going to get back to being awesome, and I think more people are seeing that and I think being reminded of that. The areas where we needed to improve (and) we need to step up, those things are happening. Weekends like that, if we continue to push, will continue to happen.”
We know that USC is going to play solid offense under Riley. We know that construction on state of the art athletics facilities has begun and will be completed in 2026. If the defense under D’Anton Lynn can replicate what he did last year at UCLA, it is also likely that we can count on more recruiting weekends like this past weekend.
Bennie Wylie and D’Anton Lynn are newsmakers this week at USC.
The USC Trojans are offering their fans reason to be optimistic as spring practice continues. USC football appears to be making real gains in the weight room and at the meal table, with players adding weight, muscle and size. Going into the Big Ten, USC needs to be rugged, muscular, and nasty. The Trojans are making progress and are getting closer to where they need to be. Bennie Wylie and Lincoln Riley are both pursuing a philosophical change. They are leaving behind their finesse-oriented ways and are making what seem to be necessary adjustments. D’Anton Lynn has to like that.
Lynn has discussed the versatility of his defensive scheme. USC fans have to like what they see in the Trojans’ new defensive coordinator, who tries to create the appearance of complexity but wants the scheme to be simple for his players. That is the exact approach USC has needed. It might finally be here.
I talked about these and other topics with callers on the USC Conquest Call-In Show at The Voice of College Football. Subscribe to, like, and share the USC YouTube channel at The Voice of College Football.
🌴✌️Special guest USCJ joins tonight as Matt gets the night off. . We will be talking ⚔️ Bennie Wylie supersizing the roster ⚔️ D'Anton Lynn's love of versatility and much more. It's you show, call in and you choose the topic! ✌️🌴 🕕Tonight 6pm PT 📺https://t.co/bs6CnhONv9pic.twitter.com/2a0RtvBxpl
Trojans Wire’s Tim Prangley gathered quotes from D’Anton Lynn after USC spring practice on March 21.
USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn recently talked at spring football practice about how much he values versatility.
When he was asked about ideal traits he is looking for in possible secondary transfers, Lynn explained, “Playing experience, you know, speed. We like guys that can stay on top on the outside. Size. We wanted to get some more length on the outside, and then we just want to keep improving our versatility. There’s obviously going to be some guys who play corner only, but the more guys you can have that can do both the better.”
Consider Eric Gentry’s place in Lynn’s USC defense.
Lynn has explained in the past that he sees Eric Gentry as a guy who can play all three linebacker positions: MIKE, SAM and WILL.
When he was asked on Thursday after practice about how he sees Gentry in the defense, Lynn shared this:
“Never coached a guy like him before but I’m excited, you know. He’s a guy that when the pads come on we’re excited to see what he does, and that’s on us to try to find ways to get him to make plays on the field.”
Lynn added this on Jaylin Smith, who figures to be an important piece of the puzzle in the USC secondary:
“He’s a unique guy, he really is a defensive back,” Lynn said. “He’s a guy that can play safety, he’s done that in the past. He can play nickel. He can play corner, so right now we’re kind of moving him around at a couple spots trying to find exactly what’s going to be his home, but he’s definitely going to be a guy that doesn’t just do one thing.”
With constant coaching changes in the NFL, teams need to be on the lookout for talent. The Rams have a ascending one in their backyard.
It can not be disputed that the NFL is a cutthroat business and job security seems like a word of fiction for an institution that has a coined term for its yearly firings titled “Black Monday.”
I say this with respect to Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. Shula was an in-house hire, taking over defensive play-calling duties from the departing Raheem Morris. Shula, a member of the Rams’ coaching staff since 2017 and the grandson of the legendary Don Shula, has never held a coordinator position before this year. In a league with star players and evolving schemes, perhaps Shula may struggle. Perhaps he may need more time as a position coach.
If Shula struggles in his new role, the Rams need to be in a position to make a quick hire in a few years before top candidates get taken off the free-agent market. Someone that the Rams should be monitoring is USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn.
Lynn, the son of former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn, enters his first season with the Trojans. Lynn made a shocking move this offseason from UCLA and is quickly making a name for himself on the collegiate circuit. Lynn was hired by UCLA in 2023 from the Baltimore Ravens, where he served the AFC North franchise as their safeties coach from 2021-2022.
At UCLA, Lynn excelled. His defense played lights out in the points-happy Pac-12 conference. Averaging only 18 points surrendered per game on defense, Lynn’s squad was firing on all cylinders. They held the expected No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft, Caleb Williams, to 20 points in the Victory Bell. They held then Heisman candidate Cam Ward to 17 points in the Bruins; upset victory over the No. 13-ranked Washington State Cougars. Ward the previous week threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns in the Cougars’ victory over No. 14 Oregon State. UCLA held teams to 14 or fewer points on five occasions.
Lynn is now inheriting one of the worst defenses in college football. In 2023, USC surrendered 28 or more points per game 11 times. They played 13 games. If Lynn turns them around, that would be two Power Five program revamps in two years. As a player developer, both expected first-round pick Laiatu Latu and his pass-rushing partner Gabriel Murphy will be drafted this year. He has it all.
Lynn also comes from the Baltimore school of defense, an organization pumping out defensive minds like crazy. Mike Macdonald was a longtime Ravens position coach who got his opportunity with the Michigan Wolverines as a play caller and is now the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
Jesse Minter, another Harbaugh football disciple, was a longtime position coach with the Ravens before he replaced Macdonald at Michigan. Minter follows Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers as his defensive coordinator.
God forbid anything happens that would require the Rams to move on from Shula, Lynn is currently making a name for himself. With Sean McVay’s track record of hiring coaches from college, Lynn is a name for the future.
The Lynn-Bieniemy showdown will be an interesting battle to watch with both guys having NFL experience and being one of the best in their respective roles.
Oddly enough, both Lynn and Bieniemy were on opposite sides of a crucial playoff game a couple of years ago, as Matt Zemek of Trojans Wire notes:
One specific reason this coaching matchup could really pop — spicing up the USC-UCLA football rivalry — is that Bieniemy and Lynn stand on different sides of the game which decided the AFC championship this past NFL season.
Bieniemy coming from the Andy Reid head coaching system with the Kansas City Chiefs, and Lynn coming from the Baltimore Ravens, creates an extension of the Chiefs-Ravens clash of contrasts in the NFL. The Chiefs have set the standard for offensive creativity in pro football, while the Ravens have become the hot defensive model for how to stop elite offenses in football. Michigan’s national championship team in 2023 used plenty of Ravens-centric concepts.
The ties between the Los Angeles coordinators just continues to grow.
Look at Eric Bieniemy’s play design and structure. D’Anton Lynn has a new homework assignment at USC.
Eric Bieniemy is UCLA’s new offensive coordinator, as UCLA Wire has noted. USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn will need to study Bieniemy when the Trojans meet UCLA late this season. It’s going to be a fun meeting of the minds in Los Angeles and the Big Ten.
Bieniemy wrote about his decision, as reprinted by UCLA Wire and as told to ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Adam Schefter:
“Southern California. I attended high school there. I started my career in the league here [with the Chargers]. It’s obviously great to be back with the Bruins, where I was previously employed.”
Now that Bieniemy is in Los Angeles with the Bruins, what should D’Anton Lynn and USC look for when studying this offense? Let’s go to Bieniemy’s play sheet for a few examples:
