84 days to USC football: Shaun Cody and Wild Bunch own No. 84

With 84 days remaining until USC football returns, we’re looking back at Shaun Cody and Charles Weaver, while looking ahead to Erik Krommenhoek.

June Gloom can’t really come if Clay Helton’s USC football program keeps having positive developments in the offseason. But transfer portal victories also ramp up the excitement for the season even more.

Saturday marks the 12-week mark to the USC vs. Fresno State game on August 31st. A dozen weeks. Eighty-four days.

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While we sit here eagerly awaiting college football, let’s start the countdown by talking about the No. 84 jersey:

Who wore it best?

Typically associated with wide receivers, the No. 84 belongs to defensive linemen at USC. Two have earned All-American honors with the number on their shirts, with both fittingly being featured as part of USC’s iconic Wild Bunch defensive lines.

In 2003, the moniker came with No. 84 Shaun Cody alongside Kenechi Udeze, Mike Patterson and Omar Nazel. The quartet was ruthless in getting to the quarterback and shutting opposing run games. They allowed just 60.2 yards per game and an unconscious 1.8 yards per carry on the ground. Both still stand as USC season records to this day.

Cody had 10.5 tackles for loss in 2003, followed by an All-American senior season in 2004 that saw him register 13 for a staggering 96 yards lost, while leading the team with 10 sacks. The dominant defensive tackle capped off the year winning a second-consecutive national championship as Pete Carroll’s first transcendent recruit.

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Decades earlier, it was Charles Weaver wearing the No. 84 as part of the original Wild Bunch in 1969. The nickname was coined when he, Al Cowlings, Jimmy Gunn, Bubba Scott and Tody Smith wrecked havoc like the blockbuster western of the same name.

A year later, Weaver became a team captain and consensus All-American defensive end. He went on to be drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 1971 NFL Draft, before ultimately being inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.

Other notable Trojans to wear No. 84 include 2008 sack leader Kyle Moore —hello, random trivia answer— and freshman-year Darreus Rogers.

Who wears it now?

Tight end Erik Krommenhoek dons the No. 84 jersey for the Trojans going into the 2019 season. He’s been a sound reserve blocking tight end for USC thus far, but look for his role to expand following the graduation of two-year starter Tyler Petite.

The junior from Danville has four catches in 26 career games, with his biggest highlight being a converted 4th down run on a fake punt against UCLA last season. Krommenhoek took the direct snap as the up-man and eeked out the first down, which set up a 44-yard touchdown pass from JT Daniels to Amon-Ra St. Brown on the very next play.

Stats to know: 84

• Heisman running back Charles White was USC’s 84th All-American in 1978, when led the Trojans to a split national title with Alabama on the back of a 1,859-yard season.
• USC allowed just 84 total points during the 1967 regular season, on their way to John McKay’s second national championship. The defense registered two shutouts. They held four more teams to single digits, including 24-7 win over No. 5 Notre Dame in South Bend.
• Marcus Allen led the Trojans in scoring with 84 points as a junior in 1980.
• Reggie Bush’s longest career punt return at USC came at Washington in 2005. It went for 84 yards.
• USC beat UCLA 26-13 in 1943 to clinch a perfect 5-0 record in the PCC. The game featured Bruin defender Dave Brown returning a lateral 84 yards for a score. It’s the longest such play allowed by USC in school history.
• Ted Tollner led Troy to his only Pac-10 crowd in 1984. The Trojans finished the season at 9-3 after beating Ohio State in Pasadena, 20-17.