Chris Steele on USC’s Depleted Secondary: 'We Don't Believe in Problems Here, It's Just All Opportunities'
With six games and two starts under his belt, true freshman Chris Steele will be the veteran of the USC cornerbacks this week. It's a role that would seem to suit him anyway given his savvy on the field and demeanor off of it.
"He came in with a different calm and feel to it, like this wasn't too big," defensive backs coach Greg Burns said. "It's almost like he came in like, yeah, I belong. And that confidence is just how his style of play is."
Steele's role has steadily increased this season, as has his impact. He recovered a fumble two weeks ago versus Washington and was a willing tackler in the run game against Notre Dame. His primary contribution was in coverage, as he and the rest of the USC secondary limited both Jacob Eason and Ian Book to less than 200 yards passing.
This week's test will be a bit different for Steele on multiple fronts. For starters, he likely won't be joined by starters Olaijah Griffin and Isaac Taylor-Stuart, and nickelback Greg Johnson has already been ruled out.
Enter fellow true freshmen Dorian Hewett, Jayden Williams and Max Williams, who Steele says he's been mentoring throughout the week. Steele himself is typically the first DB off the bench but is a lock to start against Arizona.
"A lot of people may look at it as a problem. But we don't believe in problems here, it's just all opportunities," Steele said. "... I've been talking to Max, Dorian and Jayden a lot, just about staying patient, just trusting their game, trusting their technique, trusting what the coaches are teaching us, just believing that they're going to put us in the right position to make plays."
Steele has typically made them. He's allowed only nine receptions for 110 yards on the season, while being targeted 18 times. Griffin leads the starters in the secondary with one less reception allowed and three fewer yards, but he's also missed a game. Looking ahead, the Trojans are facing an improved Arizona aerial attack that ranks second in the conference in passing yards per game (300.0).
The first order of business, of course, is corralling Wildcats senior quarterback Khalil Tate, who will be making his fourth start against USC.
"He's the most athletic person we're going to play all year," Steele said. "He tries to create time scrambling around in the pocket to get his receivers open downfield. Just staying on our man is going to be real key this week. Everybody keeping contain on their blitzes."
USC wasn't able to do that when it needed late in the fourth quarter against Book, whose two runs on the Fighting Irish's final TD drive sealed their win. Defensive tackle Brandon Pili noted after the game the D-line didn't employ the right call on either play, which gave Book enormous lanes to glide through. The Trojans' issue more often has been wrapping up quarterbacks in the backfield and while on the run, especially on the perimeter.
This is where Tate could cause the most havoc for USC's young secondary.
"It's something that we work on every day, so it’s just going to come down to trusting our technique,” Steele said. “We're always in the right position. We just have to finish. ... If we're there to make the play, there's no excuse, we got to make them."
Not doing so would open the door for the upset.
-- Adam Maya is a USC graduate and has been covering the Trojans since 2003. Follow him on Twitter @AdamJMaya.
