USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch won’t sugarcoat defense’s struggles

Alex Grinch isn’t the type to sugarcoat. It’s a part of the rationale, gamers say, that the USC defensive coordinator instructions respect. He shoots it straight. Even when it means placing himself within the crosshairs.

So when he was requested Thursday to take inventory of what he completed with USC’s protection in his first season as coordinator, Grinch stepped into the road of fireside as soon as once more.

“The reply is, ‘Not sufficient,’” he mentioned. “You’re charged with having a championship-level protection at USC. You signed up for that. We performed ok protection 11 instances. We didn’t play ok protection two instances, however I don’t take a number of solace in that. We had been anticipated to have a championship-level protection, and we weren’t in a position to try this within the ‘22 season.”

These shortcomings had been laid naked in its Pac-12 title defeat as USC gave up 533 yards and a season-high 47 factors to Utah in what was simply its worst tackling efficiency of the season. Ever since, any finger-pointing from exterior this system has skilled on USC’s coordinator and the course he’s taken the Trojans protection.

Grinch may agree with lots of these critiques. Some, actually, he’s most likely made himself.

However by this week, as USC ready to journey to the Cotton Bowl in quest of its twelfth win and Mekhi Blackmon noticed followers calling for his coach’s job whereas scrolling by social media, the senior cornerback couldn’t tolerate any extra criticism.

“I Converse For A Lot Of Individuals Once I Say Grinch A Nice MF Coach,” Blackmon tweeted on Monday.

It was Grinch’s teaching, in any case, that satisfied the cornerback to switch from Colorado to USC a 12 months in the past. Blackmon proceeded to have the perfect season of his school profession, rising as a first-team All-Pac-12 cornerback and soon-to-be NFL draft decide. He says Grinch performed a significant function in that course of.

“Coming right here modified my complete sport,” Blackmon mentioned.

Max Williams says he has witnessed loads of change inside USC’s protection over the past 12 months. The junior USC defensive again remembers the place the group stood final December whereas he watched from the sidelines recovering from an ACL tear. The protection had come aside on the seams, dropping its method over the ultimate weeks of final season.

He wonders if that miserable nadir has been misplaced amid the criticism over this season’s unit.

“Some individuals fail to appreciate, like, the place this protection was finally 12 months and the place this workforce was finally 12 months due to the success we now have this 12 months,” Williams mentioned. “It blinds the actual fact of what occurred final 12 months. We all know we took an enormous bounce.”

These steps aren’t all the time really easy to quantify in terms of protection. Although, this season has made for some noteworthy markers.

USC pressured eight extra turnovers in 2022 on its technique to main the nation in turnover margin. Its protection gave up 4 fewer factors per sport and tallied as many sacks this season (36) because it had within the earlier two mixed.

However tackling was nonetheless subpar. USC was nonetheless rolled over within the run sport, and its secondary appeared to take a step again in the course of the homestretch of the season. Aside from its win over 1-11 Colorado, USC’s go protection allowed 300-plus yards and three-plus touchdowns in six of its final seven video games.

“It’s not all the time linear,” senior linebacker Shane Lee mentioned. “[Progress] doesn’t all the time look the best way you need it to look.”

It actually didn’t this season at USC, the place the Trojans protection appeared to take one step ahead one week solely to take two steps again the following.

“For those who’re not cautious, you default to simply being OK,” Grinch mentioned. “It pains me to say that that’s the place we’ve been the majority of the 12 months. We’re nonetheless studying. You attempt to bend actuality to the scenario you’re in. We had a possibility to play for a championship, and we couldn’t bend actuality far sufficient to get that factor performed.”

However simply because USC fell wanting a championship doesn’t imply Grinch plans on doing any bending along with his defensive philosophy.

“By way of how we follow, what we preach, what we do, we gained’t change a lick,” Grinch mentioned. “For those who name your self coach, you need to imagine within the belongings you’re teaching.”

That perception paid off at his final cease, the place Oklahoma’s protection improved considerably from his first to his second season, permitting six fewer factors per sport. The distinction, Grinch mentioned, was the adversity the Sooners had skilled the season earlier than.

“You need to skip steps,” Grinch mentioned, “and I do know coaches like to speak like this and imagine me, I’m not attempting to spin a story right here, however that’s truth. You take a look at these applications and the way they get to the place they acquired to — properly, they went by some issues. They performed within the sport and located that it takes slightly bit extra from a preparation standpoint. It’s combating by some stuff.

“It’s getting knocked down and getting again up.”

As Grinch sees it, USC is properly on its technique to the second step.

“That’s what this previous month has been about,” he mentioned. “We’ve flat gotten after it.”