For USC Football Pass Rusher, Patience Is Key And Timing Is Everything

Patience is key and timing is everything. Anthony Lucas has found his home with the USC football program.

When Anthony Lucas transferred to USC in 2023, it felt like the Trojans landed a sure home run hitter off the EDGE. It was everything but that.

The former five-star recruit out of Scottsdale, Arizona entered the transfer portal seeking a new and fresh start with the USC Trojans but quickly found himself in the dark once again.

The 2023 Alex Grinch-led defense was a disaster, and Anthony Lucas was one of many who seemed to be underutilized in the Grinch scheme, it felt like Lucas was quickly becoming a non-factor at USC.

After the 2023 season, it seemed as if Lucas was a top candidate to enter the transfer portal and look for yet another fresh start after a lackluster season, and poor performance after, poor performance from the Trojans’ defense as a whole.

Lucas stayed.

For USC Football Pass Rusher Anthony Lucas, Patience Is Key And Timing Is Everything

On December 1st, 2023, USC announced the hiring of new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, and as much as Trojan fans were excited about the hiring, no one was more excited than Anthony Lucas.

Through two weeks of the 2024 season, Anthony Lucas is off to a strong start. “He has a high ceiling,” Lynn said on Trojans Live . “He showed flashes, and that’s something we challenged him with. Like listen, you need to do that every play… He had a great spring, but an even better (fall) camp.”

There’s no doubt Anthony Lucas has accepted the challenge from Coach Lynn and the USC staff. Through the first two games of the season, Lucas has 4 total tackles and 2 assisted tackles, but the stats don’t show it all.

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Lucas continues to make his presence felt on the field, by creating chaos in pass rushing, and in his rush defense. He continues to show strong gap assignment football while continuing to flash his burst and athleticism.

Against LSU he was credited with 3 hurries and was the 3rd highest-graded defender, and 2nd highest-graded run defender, per PFF .

All may have felt lost for Lucas in his first two years of college football, but under the tutelage of Coach Lynn, Coach Nua, and Coach Henderson, Anthony Lucas looks like he has found himself.

“They’re allowing me to play fast,” Lucas said. “I’m just making sure I’m focused on destruction across the line of scrimmage.”

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Through two weeks Lucas looks comfortable, fast, and physical and is definitely causing destruction.

The 2024 USC Trojans defense is off to a strong start. Having flashes of elite defense that used to be played here during the glory days of USC football. The coaches are coaching, and the guys are flying around, and with his confidence through the roof, Anthony Lucas is back in the light.

Lucas is starting to blossom into the player expert analysts thought he would be coming out of high school. He has found his home in Southern California, and the scary part is, he is just scratching the surface of the player he can become.

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