USC DL Coach Vic So'oto Talks Defensive Role For Big-Time 2021 Recruit
USC football's 2021 recruiting class features plenty of talented players that the Trojans will bring in this fall.
But there is one player in particular that has the coaching staff and USC faithful excited, that being defensive end Korey Foreman.
Defensive line coach Vic So'oto, who helped recruit Foreman, had high praise for him on Thursday when he appeared on Trojans Live.
"Korey Foreman can be the best player to come through, honestly. He's got all the tools. My biggest challenge for him, you know, is to not be satisfied. I think, you got a kid that's been told he's the best for last few years and you come into SC, you've got to earn it," said So'oto on Trojans Live.
But So'oto alluded that his star recruit won't be able to be part of the rotation right away due to his status. Foreman will have to work his tail off to get the playing time he deserves.
"He understands he's no better than anyone else coming in. He's got to earn his stripes and earn the respect of his teammates, most importantly. And then when it's time to go out and produce he produces and he stays consistent." [So'oto]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trojans 2020 freshman class didn't have any sort of camps or preparation. And this year, it will be pretty similar for guys like Foreman who won't arrive to campus until the summer.
"I think it's a big deal just because you don't have those practices and doing the camaraderie," So'oto said about the freshman enrolling this fall.
"But it's not anything that we can't overcome and we don't talk about often, right? So my job is to get them caught up and I'm pretty damn good at that. So we'll be ready to go in fall camp."
The 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive lineman still has to figure out what position on the D-line he'll be playing. Whether it be the same position that defensive end Drake Jackson plays, or lined up more on the inside, Foreman has the frame and skillset to succeed.
So'oto has the vision of him playing "the hunter" which is similar to how Jackson has performed at USC.
"He's gonna go hunt the ball, wherever the ball is, we're going to send him there to go get it. So the quarterback's got it, he's gonna have the quarterback. If the running back's got it, you're gonna have the running back just like everyone of our defensive linemen," So'oto said.
As for Korey's vision, he's willing to play any position on the front seven, as long as it allows him to utilize his strengths.
"They envision me playing defensive end and doing the best I can to stay as mobile as possible," Foreman said on Thursday.
"[They] can sculpt me into the player that they want me to be. I'm willing to go wherever I fit as long as my main job at the end of the day is to get the quarterback because that's what I want to do."
Foreman ranked as the No. 4 overall prospect by SI All-American for the 2021 recruiting class. Now he will have the chance to validate all of the hype in a Trojan uniform this upcoming season.
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