First-time LB Jadyn Walker placing his trust in coach Rob Ryan

A lot is expected of all athletes. That is especially the case for a football program with the history and lineage of the Trojans. Playing for USC is hard enough. Then needing to make a position change only makes it that much more difficult.

For redshirt freshman Jadyn Walker, playing at linebacker is a new challenge. While speaking with reporters after practice, he shared that he had not played the position in high school. Due to a lingering shoulder injury last year, it proved difficult for him to further get comfortable at LB.

Now fully recovered, and with a year in the program under his belt, the transitioned linebacker is looking to solidify his spot in the rotation. He shared that in high school his coaches never asked him to line up as an MLB. That, with everything else going on, a student-athlete freshman, admittedly, made it a difficult first year for him at USC. 

Since then, however, Walker appears to be practicing with a full set of confidence and is consistently making plays that stand out to the staff and excite fans when the clips are shared. Particularly for an area of need for the fall season, his renewed level is inspiring.

It should furthermore show that players can have setbacks and see delayed outbursts in their performance. In Walker's case, an injury didn't allow him to showcase his abilities as a freshman. Now, everyone who follows the team year-round is enormously intrigued at him seeing significant snaps on defense. For anyone who waits for late August, they'll see someone ready to stand out and make an impact on his side of the ball.

Coach Ryan making an impact

A lot of times, someone sticking with the process and finding success comes down to coaching relationships, particularly at the positional level. For Walker, the leadership from those at USC has allowed him to feel comfortable while playing through his change. He spoke on his faith in those on the staff, as shared by InsideTroy on YouTube: 

"Having coach Entz here the first year, he was a really sharp guy. So that helped out a lot. But having coach Rob Ryan, that's the man right there. He's helped me a lot."

While coach Matt Entz is now with Fresno State, it appears that the addition of coach Rob Ryan to the Trojan staff has been a welcome sight for the redshirt freshman. Whatever is being said and taught to him, so far it's paying off and showing up on tape. As mentioned earlier, Walker is receiving a lot of earned praise and hype surrounding his potential for the upcoming season.