Chase Williams Studying USC's 'Whole Defense' in Relief of Talanoa Hufanga

USC is coming off its best defensive effort of the season but lost its two best defensive players in the process. Chase Williams is replacing Talanoa Hufanga at safety. He believes he's ready for the new role.

The Gist

Chase Williams is taking over at safety for Talanoa Hufanga, arguably USC's best defensive player. The redshirt freshman has filled in for him before and it's led to mixed results. This figures to be the first extended stretch for him, as Hufanga will miss multiple weeks with a dislocated shoulder. It helps that Williams has been focusing on the same position for the past month or so after splitting time between safety and nickelback the first few weeks of the season as well as spring practice.

Key Quote

"I think I'm really just starting to get used to the space a lot more because I'm back there all the time," Williams said. "Really just getting a feel of the routes that come, some that go away, some that come back, really just getting used to all the route combinations if I'm playing deep, getting used to coming up on the ball, making tackles, having to fit gaps. ... I just watch the whole defense."

X Factor

Williams is making just his third career start. He had a strong debut at the end of last year versus Notre Dame but struggled a bit this year versus Washington. He takes over for Hufanga, who rated as the team's best tackler. Williams has room to grow there. He could be an upgrade in coverage, especially as he gets accustomed to the angles and his alignments. But the truth is no one player will replace Hufanga (or Drake Jackson). It will have to be by committee.

My hunch is not having them in the lineup, not to mention linebacker Palaie Gaoteote and defensive end Christian Rector, creates a sense of urgency for everyone else. But there's no denying it hurts the unit as a whole. One way to compensate would be playing faster, which is what we saw versus Arizona. Williams said defensive backs coach Greg Burns has been preaching to pursue ball-carriers as if it would net $1 million. "Everybody's chasing their million dollars," Williams said. Not sure if this is a new message, but it's intriguing nonetheless.

The Trojans probably could withstand the injuries if they continue improving in their tackling. Because they don't force a ton of turnovers, it's actually a must. They were much better last week at all three levels of the defense. D-line coach Chad Kauha'aha'a said he's been cutting time out of other periods the past two weeks to emphasize tackling with his group, and he suspected the other position groups were doing the same. Of course, this all would have helped earlier in the season, as these issues surfaced in the losses to BYU, Washington and Notre Dame. But in the interest of focusing on the present, Colorado will test whether USC can simply play well on defense in consecutive games. That hasn't happened in more than a year.

-- Adam Maya is a USC graduate and has been covering the Trojans since 2003. Follow him on Twitter @AdamJMaya.