USC football has what it needs on D to pile up Ws under Gary Patterson

New USC defensive coordinator Gary Patterson can devise the most brilliant scheme and call the perfect plays and it won’t mean diddly without one thing.Dudes.Fortunately for the Trojans, they appear stocked with difference-makers on the side of the ball that’s been their biggest defect under coach Lincoln Riley.Riley has expressed supreme confidence in every position group, saying the depth and talent on the defensive line is the best it’s been since his arrival.He seemed equally positive about the linebackers and secondary, meaning maybe, just maybe, this really will be the dream defense he’s sought as part of a run to the College Football Playoff.“I feel like we’ve got some [standouts] at all levels,” Riley said.

“I think it’s just going to be more about our group just continuing to come together to play great team defense to complement one another.”One possible star will be sidelined for at least the season opener against San Jose State on Saturday after Riley confirmed that defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart would be sidelined with a foot injury.But his absence will open the door for others to emerge.Here are five potential playmakers on the Trojans’ defense:Linebacker appears to have gone from a question mark to a strength for the Trojans based on the stockpile of high-level talent at the position, even if much of it is on the younger side.If he can make another leap like he did from his freshman season to his sophomore season, when he started every game and made 89 tackles, then Stephens could become an unstoppable force at middle linebacker.“He’s much more physical at the point of attack than he was last year; you kind of feel that on how he’s taking on blocks, how he’s disengaging,” Riley said.

“I think he’s a smarter player than he was at any point last year, and his ability to diagnose what the offense is doing and what we need to do to stop it has been pretty impressive.”Everybody who saw the mountain of a man had th...