How USC's System Prepared Safety Bishop Fitzgerald for the NFL

After going undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft, USC Trojans’ safety Bishop Fitzgerald still has a chance to fulfill his dream of playing in the NFL as an undrafted free agent, signed by the Tennessee Titans.

There’s one question that remains. What aspects of playing at USC helped to prepare Fitzgerald for the NFL?

Big Ten Toughness

One of the biggest things that helps players translate well into the NFL is the competition they faced in college. Having the benefit of playing some of the top talent in college football can help players understand how they stack up to the competition and what they have to change about their game to be successful in the NFL.

Fitzgerald was able to do that in a major way with his experience in the Big Ten this season with the Trojans. As a safety, Fitzgerald had to consistently fill gaps in the run game, take on physical offensive linemen, in addition to making tackles on running backs, receivers, and tight ends in an open space.

This responsibility as a safety takes a toll on players, but Fitzgerald was able to do it well and was constantly a reliable player for USC on defense.

The physicality of teams, like Oregon, Notre Dame, Michigan, and Iowa, begins to add up throughout the season, and Fitzgerald missed three games with a knee injury near the end of 2025. He received an invite to the NFL Combine, but he ended up undrafted after all.

Still, Fitzgerald‘s ability to match the physicality in the Big Ten and stay available was very evident last season, which gives him a great opportunity to succeed in the NFL as the seasons get longer and hits rack up.

Versatility and Production Proven With USC

Added to his toughness, Fitzgerald was able to develop the skill set to be a very versatile piece for USC and was productive in almost every position that he played. In practice, Fitzgerald was tasked with defending former Trojans receivers Makai Lemon and Ja'Kobi Lane, who were both selected in the 2026 NFL Draft.

In the secondary, it is crucial to have players who can cover multiple positions because of how much offenses continue to adapt, especially at the NFL level. In his time with the Trojans, Fitzgerald showed that versatility.

Fitzgerald showed success all over the field, lining up at safety and even spending some time as a nickel corner. In his different roles, Fitzgerald found great production, which is another trait NFL teams love to see.

Last season, Fitzgerald tallied 51 tackles, one sack, eight pass breakups, and five interceptions. Throughout the season, it became clear that Fitzgerald was one of the Trojans' best ball hawks, which gave a significant boost to his draft stock.

As a player with great production in generating turnovers, Fitzgerald was able to develop great coverage instincts during the course of his career. In zone coverage, he understood where quarterbacks were going with the ball, which was a major reason he had so much success making plays on the ball.

In tight-man coverage, Fitzgerald was able to take advantage of tight throws and make plays on the ball, which encouraged quarterbacks to not throw his way very often.

While reading the eyes of opposing quarterbacks, Fitzgerald also had an understanding of route patterns from receivers, which helped him a lot in both man and zone coverages to limit the open space for offenses to work with.

With many defensive coordinators looking for players who can make plays in a variety of positions, Fitzgerald could be a great fit with his skill set to do both.

After signing with the Titans, it will be very interesting to see how he is used and how productive he can be in an NFL defense that will maximize his ball hawk and playmaking abilities.

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