USC Football: Transfer Defender Adapts to Multiple Roles with Ease
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The USC Trojans in 2022 had one of their best seasons in the past decade. They put their name back on the map of being an elite program, and it was thanks to head coach Lincoln Riley and his dynamic offense.
Although the offense was a well-oiled machine, the defense was fighting for their life. The USC defense was among the worst in the country and the worst for a top-10 team, which they were all of last season.
The Trojans needed to make some changes on that side of the ball in a big way, which is why they got transfer cornerback from Pac-12 foe Arizona, Christian Roland-Wallace.
Roland-Wallace is coming in to Southern California as a redshirt senior from Palmdale. He spent his first four seasons with the Wildcats and is coming off his best season in 2022. The California native is labeled as a defensive back but has been lining up everywhere at fall camp.
The transfer is capable of playing anywhere, and coach Riley doesn't want to disrupt that as he is playing multiple positions in practice, and he could see that translate to when the season starts.
“Christian Roland-Wallace is a fun piece for us because his experience and how smart he is, his skill set, he can play anywhere,” Riley said. “I could foresee him playing corner, you could see him playing nickel, you could see him playing safety, he can play any of the five, which is a great thing.”
The versatility Roland-Wallace will bring to this Trojans defense will be a huge plus and will only make them better. One play, he could be playing cornerback, and the next, he could be in the secondary with safety Calen Bullock.
The great thing about Christian is he doesn't care where he plays as long as he makes an impact and helps improve the Trojan defense.
“You put me out there, I’m going to make it happen,” Roland-Wallace said. “But I feel like me playing multiple positions is helping the team and me individually as well. At the nickel spot, you’ve got to be a little bit more vocal, be making the calls, the checks and different things like that.”
The USC Trojans have a ton of new faces on defense, and Roland-Walalce will be one to keep an eye out for. Beware of number 17.
