Coach Harvey Hyde on USC’s off-season emphasis on defense and Andy Enfield leaving for SMU

On this episode of the Peristyle Podcasts hosts Ryan Abraham and Coach Harvey Hyde are back together talking about the latest news and notes from USC football spring practices and on the basketball side with head coach Andy Enfield leaving for SMU and the USC women's basketball team making a run to the Elite 8 with a potential Final Four appearance on the line.

The guys start off the show talking about the breaking news that Enfield was departing from USC and taking over the SMU basketball program, leaving a future Big Ten job for a future ACC job. Coach thinks that this move is good for both sides, with Enfield getting an opportunity to start fresh with a big contract and USC able to move on from someone who recruited at a higher level than he won and try to raise the basketball program to the next level.

They also talk about the women's team where head coach Lindsay Gottlieb and star freshman Juju Watkins have advanced to the Elite 8 with a chance to take down UConn and go to the school's first Final Four since the 1980's. Coach thinks the women are catching fire and there is no reason why they can't get back to the glory days of the program where they were competing for national championships.

The guys shift gears back to football, talking about the renewed emphasis on the defensive side of the ball from head coach Lincoln Riley. Coach Hyde likes the moves that have been made for the defensive staff and how the players, especially the defensive linemen, have transformed their bodies and even the push to recruit more highly ranked defensive prospects, but he wants to know why now? What changed? Hyde thinks that it is great Riley is getting more involved in the defense because as the head coach, it isn't the defensive coordinator's defense, it's yours. The head coach has to be a part of the entire program, not just the offense, and Coach Hyde loves that this is happening now for the Trojans. The days of just outscoring people are over, USC is going to try and stop some people as well. Better late than never.

They also talk about a couple of offensive additions, with a commitment from three-star 2024 Tustin (Calif.) walk-on quarterback Jack Stupin and three-star running back from Southlake (Texas) Carroll Riley Wormley.

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