Tag: Jacobe Covington

Jonah Monheim explains how the Holiday Bowl changed the 2024 USC team

Jonah Monheim sees and feels the difference in this USC team.

With a little over a minute left in the 2023 Holiday Bowl, near the end of a roller-coaster season for the USC Trojans, emotions were flowing. Through all the celebrations in the stands and on the field, one voice came out of nowhere but said it all: “We a team now!” Redshirt junior cornerback Jacobe Covington was voicing the mood of this team which was undefeated and ranked inside the top 10, only to finish the season losing five of the next six regular season games. But somehow, this young team went down to San Diego and beat the No. 15 Louisville Cardinals by two touchdowns despite missing a lot of veteran leadership, their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams, and their starting running back MarShawn Lloyd. Jonah Monheim noticed.

The fifth-year senior felt the change in this team in the lead-up to and then in the aftermath of the bowl game. He explained to Ashley Adamson on the Big Ten Network how this young team came together and new stars emerged for this upcoming season. Monheim recalled:

“That was a great moment for our team at the end of last year showing a lot of the work that those guys [the freshman wide receivers and offensive linemen] had done up to that point to get that break out moment and end the season the right way after the season had not gone the way that we had wanted.  I think building on to this next year, a lot of those guys are going to be significant contributors that we are going to count on day after day and game after game, so it was great for them.”

These same sentiments were shared by USC head coach Lincoln Riley and starting quarterback Miller Moss at Big Ten Media Days.

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Doug Belk USC secondary is underrated by Phil Steele

USC’s secondary has a point to prove.

The USC football team has a secondary which, in the eyes of most fans, should be good this year. Legendary college football magazine publisher Phil Steele isn’t as convinced the Trojans will have a top secondary. He rated the USC secondary at No. 55 in his preseason projections. Doug Belk has a chance to make a statement in response to that ranking.

USC’s Akili Arnold had the fourth-highest coverage grade of any returning safety in the Power Five ranks of college football last year according to PFF. He received All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention in 2023.  PFF recently tweeted out that Akili Arnold has allowed one touchdown in 569 coverage snaps since 2021, which has led him to an impressive 88.1 coverage grade.

Kamari Ramsey, DeCarlos Nicholson, Greedy Vance, and John Humphrey were all added in the offseason to overhaul the secondary. Jacobe Covington will compete for a starting cornerback job with Nicholson and Humphrey, if they can hold off red-hot true freshman (from St. John Bosco) Marcelles Williams, who impressed in spring camp and at the spring game with his ballhawking skills.

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All hands on deck for Notre Dame football against USC

Good news for the Irish ahead of their tilt with USC

Even before [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag]’s matchup against USC, they are hearing good news.

The Irish are completely healthy heading into their prime-time versus the Trojans, which can only be seen as a positive. Notre Dame needs everyone to contribute everything they can to get back into the win column.

Notre Dame football’s PR team’s social media post claimed that “all student-athletes listed on the two-deep for this week’s game are available tonight vs. Southern Cal.”

As for USC, it looks like they will be getting freshman wide receiver Zachariah Branch back, but they look to be without starting cornerback [autotag]Jacobe Covington[/autotag].

Let’s go Irish!

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USC statistical leaders through six games

You probably can name one of these guys offhand.

USC nearly lost its perfect season against Arizona but survived. Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff chances ended with a loss at Louisville. Neither team is coming into their annual meeting with the best momentum. That means talent could be the game’s determining factor.

This is a perfect opportunity for the Trojans to make a statement. They’re catching the Irish when they’re fatigued and struggling. The only thing that could slow them down is the wet conditions forecast for the game, but they’re preparing for that by using water in rather interesting ways in practice. While there’s no way to tell if that will affect anything, it shows they’re not leaving anything up to chance.

As you’re about to see, there are several players responsible for the Trojans’ offense being the country’s highest scoring, not the least of whom is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback. Here he is among the top Trojans players on both sides of the ball:

Christian Pierce, Jacobe Covington make big INTs, receive praise from Lincoln Riley afterward

On a very uneven day for the #USC defense, defensive backs did make 1-on-1 plays on contested catches. That was a plus.

The USC Trojans’ defense was the talking point all last season and even more after the Cotton Bowl loss to Tulane. As such, Alex Grinch has questions to answer and a lot to prove with a target on his back.

However, the Trojans’ defense had its share of moments in the spring game on Saturday. Christian Pierce and Jacobe Covington made huge plays, combining for three interceptions. Lincoln Riley and the Trojans were thrilled with this development.

Yes, it’s just spring ball. However, if the Trojans’ defense can improve and take a step forward, a College Football Playoff trip will be a very realistic goal in 2023 and beyond.

Covington intercepted a Malachi Nelson pass to end the game and give his side the victory.

Christian Pierce also had a huge interception in the second half.

After the game, Lincoln Riley made sure to name drop both Pierce and Covington after strong games from each of them.

With Mekhi Blackmon leaving for the NFL, the Trojans desperately need some help in the secondary, and this is an encouraging sign.

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