'He's a baller.' Revamped USC defense showcases versatile linebacker Eric Gentry

Ever since spring, when the foundation of USC’s new defense first was built, Eric Gentry hadn’t made much effort to hide how happy he was with the overhaul. He was thrilled with the new scheme, which seemed to fit his unusual skillset as a 6-foot-6 linebacker, and thrilled with the new coaches, who actually seemed to understand him.

It didn’t take long during Sunday's 27-20 win over Louisiana State to see exactly why the gangly senior linebacker has been in such a good mood.

Few defenders had a bigger impact on a play-by-play basis in USC’s season-opener than Gentry, who played just 29 of 64 snaps on defense, but still wrangled seven tackles, including one in the fourth quarter that saw him sprint off the edge on third-and-one and stop a critical LSU drive dead in its tracks.

“About time that the world is able to see what Eric Gentry is all about,” defensive end Jamil Muhammad said. “We all knew that he’s a baller. He’s always been a baller. It’s just about that luck piece. He’s been preparing. He’s been a warrior.”

It doesn’t hurt, either, that in defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn , Gentry has found a coach determined to use his full complement of skills. Against LSU, Gentry lined up all over the defense, spending 15 snaps in the box at linebacker, 10 on the edge as a rusher and four more in the slot.

That was the sort of role Gentry played as a standout high school pass rusher in Philadelphia, where his coach was so convinced of his talent that he assured in 2022 that Gentry “could potentially change the game.” So when he first transferred to USC , Gentry expected to occupy a similar role.

It didn’t exactly work out that way, even as former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch regularly applauded his versatility. Gentry played just 9% of his snaps (41 total) on the edge in 2022, then 7% (23 total) in 2023.

Lynn and linebacker coach Matt Entz had both said in the lead-up to the season that they planned to lean more into Gentry’s varied skillset. They delivered on that promise Sunday.

“He’s a guy that can do a lot of things,” Lynn said. “So each week, it might look a little bit different. But you can do just about anything with the guy, his size and speed.”

Gentry may find himself thrust into a more traditional linebacker role this week against Utah State if Mason Cobb is unable to suit up. Cobb was not seen at practice on Wednesday, but Lynn declined to address his status, deferring instead to coach Lincoln Riley, who did not speak to media.

Up against a Utah State offense that rushed for more than 300 yards in its opener, USC could certainly use its full complement of linebackers. But with a stalwart showing against LSU, the Trojans have shown their run defense has taken a major step forward.

Gentry has an inkling of why.

“Our coaches,” Gentry said, with a smile and a shrug.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .