It took a while, but the long-rumored re-hiring of Pendergast is happening, which will bring back a familiar defensive scheme to the Trojans.
With the base 5-2 in hand, USC looks to poised to achieve the success they had three years ago, when they led the Pac-12 in total defense. And considering that Pendergast led the conference in defense in three of four years he was a defensive coordinator, the scheme bodes rather well.
Let’s walk through the defense and what USC fans can expect in 2016.
Say hello to the base 5-2 defense
Much like Justin Wilcox’s hybrid 3-4 defense that used a rush end in place of a defensive end, Pendergast’s 5-2 base defense aligns players similarly to the 4-3 at times.