Why uncertainty could ultimately help USC football this season
This is a theme we have mentioned, and will keep mentioning, in 2023 at USC: Positional uncertainty isn’t necessarily bad.
Positional uncertainty can certainly point to a lack of clear answers on a football roster. It can mean that guys aren’t stepping up. No one is claiming the starting job with a convincing performance in practice. Yes, that is one scenario attached to a lack of an obvious hierarchy on the depth chart.
However, at USC in 2023, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Yes, it’s not clear how a lot of position battles will unfold. Plenty of shuffling and reshuffling is likely to occur on the offensive line, in the secondary, maybe also at wide receiver. Yet, these situations are fluid more because there’s a lot of competition, not because players are failing to respond to the coaches.
USC offensive line coach Josh Henson told 247Sports about these unique dynamics:
“I think we have a lot more fluidity in the depth chart this year than we did last year,” Henson acknowledged. “And that’s a challenge. That’s what makes it exciting. That’s kind of what I’m excited about in fall camp. It’s really that thing that’s like, ‘Hey, we have potential.’ I know that we can be pretty good, but we’ve got a lot of work to do to get there at this point compared to last season.”
Henson continued:
“Last year, we were really just trying to figure out one spot,” Henson reflected. “We kind of knew what the other four spots were going to be. So yeah, it probably leads to I’ll grade more live periods as we move on, so those guys understand where they’re performing and where they’re not and giving those guys immediate feedback.
“It just creates a little more work, but with that work comes more excitement. I’m kind of looking forward to this fall camp because I don’t know how it’s gonna turn out. I don’t know really who’s gonna win that job. I do think we have more guys below the obvious four or five that can get themselves in position to play for us this year than we did last year from a talent standpoint. That to me is an exciting thing.”
The other big reminder here is that USC shouldn’t be severely tested in any of its first six games. The Trojans and their coaching staff should have some flexibility to experiment with lineup combinations through October 7. What matters is having a clear hierarchy with proven starters on October 14 at Notre Dame.
