New USC defensive coordinator Gary Patterson can devise the most brilliant scheme and call the perfect plays, but 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 weakness 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 Desman Stephens II
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.”
Defensive tackle Jamaal Jarrett
Everybody who saw the mountain of a man had the same reaction.
Who’s the huge guy wearing No. 0?
He certainly wasn’t wide receiver Zacharyus Williams, nor was he equally wispy cornerback Jontez Williams, the only players on the roster listed with the No. 0.
Those in the know confirmed he was defensive tackle Jamaal Jarrett, a redshirt junior whose listed size of 6 feet 5 and 360 pounds might be underselling him a bit, even after he shed some weight from last season. He’ll wear No. 99 on game days.
Jarrett looks like the sort of guy who will cause problems, commanding double teams and eating up resources on the opposing offensive line.
“Everything about him is so much better than at any point last year,” Riley said, “which is exciting.”
With Stewart sidelined Saturday, Jarrett could be poised for an early breakthrough after missing part of last season due to injury.
Cornerback Jontez Williams
Sometimes reality matches the hype.
That may be the case with Williams, the former Iowa State standout who was one of the Trojans’ most ballyhooed transfers.
After an injury-marred 2025 season, Williams could be on the verge of recapturing — or surpassing — his form from 2024, when he made four interceptions and earned All-Big 12 Conference second-team honors.
“As he gets further and further away from the injury,” RIley said, “his playmaking ability and experience is [evident] — you just feel that, you can tell this guy’s played a lot of ball, you can tell he’s made a lot of plays already at this level ,and his ability to adapt to our scheme pretty quickly has definitely been a part” of his success.
Williams’ arrival could give the Trojans a second lockdown cornerback to go with Chasen Johnson.
Safety Christian Pierce
No stranger to Trojans fans after making nine starts last season, Pierce appears on track to secure an even bigger role in 2026.
He’ll also be part of one phenomenon that will be fascinating to track — how Patterson fares with better talent than he had at his previous coaching stop.
“Coming from TCU, you might not see the players you have at TCU over here,” Pierce said, “so I feel like being able to bring that scheme over here and still dominating where he was at and bring it over here and use the skill and athleticism of all these players, and to bring it to a great scheme, and a great defense, I feel like it helps a lot.”
Linebacker Talanoa Ili
Was all that talk about USC’s top-ranked freshman class justified?
Look no further than Ili for a possible answer.
After graduating a semester early from high school to enroll in the spring, the newcomer has done nothing but impress. Riley mentioned Ili as one of the young players who could contribute — even among a deep position sprinkled with veterans — as the Trojans try to help Patterson assemble the kind of defense that predecessors Alex Grinch and D’Anton Lynn couldn’t put together.
