(Photo: Jordan Scruggs, 247Sports)
Luke Wafle and Jaimeon Winfield were who we thought they were. Wafle is especially intriguing because he is 6-foot-5, 258-pounds with enough bend and agility to hook into the pocket of pass protection. Granted, against Vlad Dyakonov, Wafle was pushed wide much more consistently. Dyakonov is an athletic 270-pounds, so the speed rushes that worked against the other offensive tackles did not work as well when he was in the game.
While there is talk of Wafle putting on weight and becoming inside pass rusher, his quickness from a two-point stance and ability to redirect his path to the quarterback is at an elite level. He will fit into the rotation immediately with Kameryn Crawford and/or Braylan Shelby. His size suggests that he lines up on the strong side of the formation, but he is not limited as an edge rusher and can play either side. That may be the biggest takeaway from his performance.
On the touchdown pass play to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Wafle peeled off as a pass rusher to cover the running back on the swing pass down the sideline. He moves as well as, if not better, than Anthony Lucas did at that position last season.
Winfield will be an interior defensive lineman that works from the three-technique or one shade. He doesn't have quite the height and range as advertised, but Winfield possesses cat-like quickness and some natural pass rush skills. He will need to string together pass rush moves better at the next level. There were snaps where Winfield's inside spin move failed and he fluttered around without getting upfield.
Winfield and Tomuhini Topui will be more interchangeable in that respect as defensive tackles. Topui is also a plus pass rusher at 330-pounds. With long arms and good lateral movement, Topui rarely stays blocked.
So for those keeping score at home, USC is adding two 330-pound nose tackles that are athletic enough to stay on the field in pass rush situations. That is fairly rare. Instead of Devan Thompkins and Jide Abasiri getting bullied on the interior on 1st down and 10, the Trojans can anchor with Winfield, Topui, junior Jamaal Jarrett or even sophomore Floyd Boucard.
Bouchard and fellow sophomore Jahkeem Stewart can bounce around at different techniques like Abasiri. Although, Abasiri had some impressive flashes playing as a 295-pound five-technique against TCU in the Alamo Bowl. Abasiri at the five-technique, with Stewart or Boucard as a three-technique and Jarrett at nose tackle suddenly gives the Trojans Crawford, Shelby and Wafle rotating off the edge. That's depth on the defensive line Ed Orgeron circa 2002 would have killed for at USC.
On offense, Redeaux and Dixon-Wyatt were solid. Redeaux was the talk of the East practices all week because of his explosiveness and ability to catch the football out of the offensive backfield. When he is healthy, Redeaux brings to the table many of the attributes that made Waymond Jordan so effective for USC last season. That's almost a redundant statement seeing Jordan is coming off of a season-ending injury.
Dixon-Wyatt will find the field early for USC. He has enough size and physicality to run block, which is a hurdle for most freshmen receivers. He popped open a couple of times across the middle of the field before the West found him for a 7-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
That play was made by Dixon-Wyatt having enough awareness to settle his route in the middle of the end zone instead of continuing the route across the field. USC will have to replace wide receivers Makai Lemon and Ja'Kobi Lane's production in the aggregate next season, but Dixon-Wyatt has strong enough hands and enough savvy to catch a contested pass on third down to contribute as a freshman.
Cornerback Brandon Lockhart was quiet Saturday, which is a good thing. The East quarterbacks did not find many opportunities to test Lockhart. Just before halftime, Lockhart did have nice coverage down the sidelines on the wide receiver on a 3rd down and 10. He also had a couple of tackles forcing the ball carrier out of bounds.