Passing of the USC punting torch from Eddie Czaplicki to Sam Johnson

In general, it is a difficult position to be in when following 'the guy.' For current USC punter Sam Johnson, he appears to take the same approach to kicking, regardless if he was following up Eddie Czaplicki or not.

Most recently with Valparaiso, the redshirt senior is going to play an important part in how the Trojans' season will go this year. Special teams can sometimes be too much of an overlooked and underappreciated aspect.

The ability of someone who can flip the field and pin a team deep is what can often prove to be the difference in close games. Consequently, giving up poor field position in the kicking game can be something that spells doom, especially when it becomes a common theme over the course of the regular season.

Ideally, the punter is rarely talked about. Being a special teamer is usually a position where if there is attention around what you're doing, it's not a good thing.

For the Trojans, they will be coming off a tenure in which the best punter, Czaplicki, has now moved on to the NFL. While it's not an aspect that typically engulfs preseason discussion, it is significant.

Even if the coach Lincoln Riley's offense is humming and outperforming expectations, there will inevitably be drives that stall out. Especially on three-and-outs, having someone who can at least reliably ensure that a kick is executed enough to get the ball off is a must.

This is where being able to turn to someone with experience and a lot of collegiate snaps helps. Most recently in the state of Indiana, too, Johnson has faced his fair share of unideal circumstances in terms of weather and field positions.

While that may not be a problem in Southern California, having someone used to punting at a high level in the Big Ten elements is a bonus that goes along with his skills as a kicker.

Johnson knows that he'll have big shoes to fill at USC. Because of how he approaches his job and maintains his mindset, he could be better positioned than most to not let anything, including the prior person in his role, get in his head.