Youngsters Fall in Line for Trojans

All night long, Shaun Cody worked the inside rush and got pretty much nowhere. Not until the final moments of the game did the freshman defensive tackle try something different, faking inside and spinning out. Suddenly, he was in the backfield.

“I saw the quarterback and my eyes got humongous,” he said. “I was thinking, ‘This is my chance. Don’t miss him.”’

Cody didn’t miss. His sack with a minute remaining sealed USC’s victory at Arizona last weekend, another highlight in what has been a crash-course season for three young players along the Trojan defensive line.

Coaches prefer to give their newcomers slow, steady educations but injuries and a lack of depth have pressed Cody and Mike Patterson, another freshman, into action at tackle. Kenechi Udeze, a redshirt freshman, has simply proved to be the best option at end.

The youngsters have persevered through slips, missed assignments and the occasional wrath of their line coach, the gravel-voiced Ed Orgeron. But they have also played beyond their years, helping make USC the second-ranked defense in the Pacific 10 Conference.

Cody had five tackles at Washington, six at Notre Dame. Patterson had a sack and forced a fumble against Arizona State. Udeze has started six games, making 23 tackles, four for losses. The numbers don’t surprise Orgeron, who spotted qualities in each of the players during summer camp.

Udeze has long arms and the size to fight off double teams. Patterson is built low enough to get leverage on larger opponents, a living example of the football axiom: “Low man wins.” And although opposing coaches inevitably mention Cody’s physical skills, Orgeron noticed something else.

“Savvy,” the assistant said. “Maturity.”

One thing applies to them all: Orgeron has always believed freshmen can make an immediate impact on the defensive line.

“With just a few techniques, they can line up and do it,” he said. “You just have to keep things simple.”

It helps that the unit is anchored by a senior, Lonnie Ford, who ranks at or near the top of the conference in sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles this season. He has served as mentor by offering advice in the film room and setting an example on the practice field.

Of the young linemen, Udeze faced the least adjustment, having practiced with the team while sitting out last season. The big change for the player everyone calls “BKU”--as in Big Kenechi Udeze--was slimming a physique that ballooned to 355 pounds last season. Getting down to 295 took a lot of running and lifting over the summer. It also took fewer sodas and midnight feedings.

“Man, I’d call up Pizza Hut just before they closed at 11:30 or eat my mom’s leftover tuna casserole,” he said. “Not anymore.”

Said Orgeron, “He’s a different football player than he was before. He never gets tired.”

Patterson has also lost weight, albeit unintentionally, in the process of adjusting to the speed and skill level of the college game. A highly regarded recruit from Los Alamitos High, he no longer can take plays off or get by on talent alone.

“You’ve got to go all out,” he said. “You’ve got to use your hands. The guys are bigger so you have to stay low.”

The Trojans have eased him into the rotation more slowly than the others, playing him 10 to 20 snaps a game, just enough to show his potential. “His technique is way ahead of where you would think a young nose tackle would be,” Coach Pete Carroll said.

But the unquestioned star of the underclassmen has been Cody. It’s no surprise because he was considered a recruiting coup for the Trojans, rated among the best high school players in the nation. It’s just that everyone expected him to play end.

That changed at midseason when nose tackle Bernard Riley suffered a knee injury and Cody was asked to switch inside at a relatively light 255 pounds. In one of his first games, an opposing lineman saw him and said, “Look at the skinny little freshman.” Cody had to compensate with speed, hands and attitude.

“It’s all in the mentality,” he said. “I’ve got to be tough in there.”

His three sacks rank second on the team and he has 18 tackles in all.

Though the Trojans have struggled against the run, surrendering 170 yards a game, his play has drawn praise from coaches such as Notre Dame’s Bob Davie and Oregon State’s Dennis Erickson.

As recruiting coordinator, Orgeron had a hand in assembling USC’s young line, which also includes Jason Wardlow, another impressive freshman who has missed games because of injury.

Now, the assistant cannot help but think what the new class might be like after an off-season of lifting weights and studying films under his supervision.

“We’ll start understanding the blocking schemes and the defense,” he said.

“We’re nowhere near as good as we can be.”