USC vs. Washington Injury Report: Talanoa Hufanga out

Safety Talanoa Hufanga, cornerback Olaijah Griffin and quarterback Kedon Slovis will be unavailable for USC vs. Washington on Saturday.

Spirits are high with USC football coming off an upset victory over a ranked Utah squad in Week 4. If they want to carry over momentum against a ranked Washington team in Seattle, they will have to overcome some serious bad luck.

The Trojans will be without three key starters on Saturday. Safety Talanoa Hufanga, cornerback Olaijah Griffin and quarterback Kedon Slovis have all been ruled out by head coach Clay Helton coming out of Thursday’s practice.

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Hufanga is in concussion protocol and is also dealing with an AC shoulder sprain. He has been arguably the best player in USC’s secondary throughout the season, especially coming off a 14-tackle performance against Utah. His absence is an undeniable blow.

In Hufanga’s place, the Trojans will turn to versatile defensive back Chase Williams, who has served as a backup to Greg Johnson at nickelback while also double-training at safety in case of emergency. That emergency has come.

At cornerback, USC is fortunate to get Isaac Taylor-Stuart back from the concussion which kept him out against Utah just in time to fill the gap left by Griffin because of back spasms. Griffin missed the second half of the game against the Utes while dealing with that injury.

The injury to Slovis came earlier enough in the game against Utah that Matt Fink has already had time to assuage some of the worries over turning to a third string quarterback.

The major concern at quarterback has to do with depth. Fink will be the only available scholarship quarterback for USC in Seattle. His backup is Brandon Perdue, a former Oaks Christian quarterback who converted to safety this offseason.

USC football injury report

• OUT FOR THE SEASON:
  • LB Solomon Tuliaupupu (foot)
  • QB JT Daniels (knee)
• OUT:
  • CB Olaijah Griffin (back)
  • DB Talanoa Hufanga (concussion)
  • DL Jacob Lichtenstein (calf)
  • LB Jordan Iosefa (knee)
  • LB Elijah Winston (turf toe)
  • QB Kedon Slovis (concussion)
  • TE Ethan Rae (knee)
  • WR Kyle Ford (knee)
  • WR Bru McCoy (illness)
• QUESTIONABLE:
  • OL Andrew Vorhees (foot)

Washington football injury report

• OUT: 
  • DL Jon Clark (knee)
  • LB Josh Calvet (knee)
  • WR Ty Jones (wrist)
• QUESTIONABLE:
  • OL Cole Norgaard (ankle)
  • RB Salvon Ahmed (leg)
  • TE Jacob Kizer (back)
  • WR Trey Lowe (infection)

USC isn’t alone in their injury concerns at least.

The Huskies were without starting running back Salvon Ahmed against BYU because of a leg injury. Head coach Chris Petersen described him as “week-to-week” so it’s not clear if he will be able to suit up against USC.