Ykili Ross fueled by perfect preparation in first USC football start

Ykili Ross delivered on his “perfect preparation” against Cal, becoming the latest USC Football backup to step up when the Trojans needed him.

Backups in the USC Football defense do not get many chances to shine, but over the course of the past two weeks, with injury troubles hitting the Trojans hard, backups have had their say.

Defensive lineman Christian Rector took a starring role against Texas. This Saturday against Cal, it was defensive back Ykili Ross who made his mark.

Ross’ big moment came at a critical time for USC.

After Uchenna Nwosu’s fumble recovery at the goal line set up a Stephen Carr touchdown, the Trojans held their largest lead of the game to that point at 23-13. A defensive stop would put USC in firm command of the game.

Cal’s Ross Bowers dropped back to pass on second-and-10. As soon as the play was snapped, Ross knew he would have a chance at an interception if the quarterback threw his way. Bowers did, lobbing the ball up into double coverage and Ross took advantage.

“From that moment on, I was like, this is mine,” he said.

“From that moment on, I was like, this is mine.”

The interception itself was routine. The only obstacle to Ross hauling it in would have been interference from safety Chris Hawkins, had he chosen to make a play on the ball. He left it to Ross and the nickelback made the play much like he has in practice since the start of fall camp.

After being moved from safety to nickelback, Ross was a regular feature on practice reports seeming to catch an interception every week.

He wouldn’t be the first player to shine in practice, largely against the second team, without ever finding a way to break into the lineup or make a real impact during the season. Sometimes those chances simply don’t come, especially on a defense like Clancy Pendergast’s which prioritizes playing time for the starting lineup.

But sometimes they do.

“Really why he hasn’t been on the field more is because we’ve had some other guys executing at a high level,” Pendergast said. “Today he played because of injury to Ajene [Harris] and he seems to have done a nice job.”

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Starting for the first time in his career, Ross was solid in coverage. His interception, which set up USC’s final score and all but sealed the victory, was the least impressive part of his day.

That’s not entirely true. The act of catching a ball thrown by the opposing quarterback was the least impressive part of his day. Returning that interception 49 yards was plenty impressive. It wasn’t an arm punt, but he made it a punt return.

“I’m definitely going to Coach Baxter’s office Sunday,” Ross said with a smile at the suggestion that kick or punt returns might be another avenue for him to contribute for the Trojans.

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The return itself would argue a look at Ross as a special teams weapon. The defensive back caught the ball at the USC 20-yard line. He skirted past a diving defender at the 40, cut back outside at the 45, burst up the sideline to the Cal 40, juked a defender, stiff-armed another would-be tackler and spun out of bounds at the 35.

There he was mobbed by teammates.

“It was one of the most amazing things,” Ross said. “It’s what you love about ball. It’s the brotherhood of it. Coach Helton talks a lot about brotherhood and family. You really feel it in those moments.”

The moment lasted just a few seconds, but it was months in the making and required the redshirt sophomore to elevate his approach after two years in relative obscurity at USC whether because of injury or being buried on the depth chart.

“He’s become a student of the game,” Pendergast said, pointing to Ross’ better understanding of the system in Year 2 and his commitment to being prepared. “He realizes that you can’t just show up and play. He’s got to do the work to study his opponent, study the game plan and be able to execute.”

Pendergast doesn’t put players on the field who he doesn’t trust to get the job done. Harris was healthy enough to return punts on Saturday, but Ross earned his spot in the starting lineup on defense over his injured teammate by practicing hard and studying hard.

“In that moment, my memory went back to all the late nights and all the early mornings and all the hard work and all of that stuff. It was just so much hard work this offseason. Every single day. That’s what went through my mind literally at that moment,” he said.

Pendergast said he was excited by Ross’ performance, but opportunities won’t come flowing like a waterfall from here on out. Harris remains USC’s starting nickelback.

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“Nobody loses their position because of injury, that’s our philosophy. So when Ajene is ready to go Ajene will get his job back. But, of course, [Ross] got valuable experience today and he’s gonna have to help us the year goes on,” Pendergast said.

Ross will simply have to watch out for his next opportunity and rise to the occasion when it comes. He does not plan to sit and wait passively.

“I feel like I proved that I can play, but I didn’t prove that I was great yet,” he said. “My mission is to be great.”

This first step played out just like he planned. On Saturday morning, he tweeted, “Perfect preparation prevents poor performance.”

By Saturday evening, he had delivered on that motto. With similar preparation, he’ll be able to deliver even more when the time comes.

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