Emmanuel Pregnon awoke Friday morning satisfied that, irrespective of the ache, he was going to play by way of it that evening.
He might need been the one one. Lincoln Riley deemed the Trojans’ left guard “doubtful” for the assembly with Rutgers with a leg harm that had restricted him all week. However actually, given the aches and pains he was coping with, nobody was anticipating Pregnon to offer it a go. Nobody, apparently, however Pregnon himself.
The final yr had modified, in some ways, how he framed that type of considering within the first place. Reality is the senior lineman approached soccer completely otherwise than the participant who had transferred from Wyoming in early 2023.
He was in higher form, having taken his energy coaching extra significantly within the offseason. However the adjustments with Pregnon went deeper than that. His mindset modified. His power was completely different. Now Pregnon approached each scenario, he stated, with a clear slate. And with that got here a psychological toughness he hadn’t identified earlier than, one which had helped flip him into arguably USC’s most reliable lineman this season.
“No matter how hard you hurt,” Pregnon stated, “you’ve got to push yourself to keep going in life.”
That will not have been the case a yr earlier. However Friday evening, Pregnon saved considering he would play till he was out of the blue warming up and cleared to go. And even with an injured leg limiting his mobility, Pregnon nonetheless managed to place collectively one among his greatest video games but at USC. Based on Professional Soccer Focus, it was the very best run-blocking efficiency by a Trojans lineman this season.
“It ain’t nothin,” he stated. “I believe you gotta get the job done, however and whatever it takes. That’s what I did.”
Led partially by Pregnon, USC’s offensive line has stabilized in current weeks, permitting simply 5 pressures towards Rutgers.
After the sport, with the crew gathered, Riley took a second to acknowledge how Pregnon had reached that time.
“I don’t know that he would have been in shape or been as mentally tough [last year] to not just play but play well, and he kind of went in there like it was nothing,” Riley stated. “Like, I’m just going to find a way to overcome it. It was just cool to see, man.”
By the point the ultimate whistle sounded, an aching Pregnon was requested to brandish the sword and lead the USC band, an honor typically bestowed upon the sport’s most crucial participant. However as Pregnon got down to climb the ladder, he anxious he may not make it.
“I was pacing myself,” Pregnon stated. “I was just making sure I got up there safely.”
The adrenaline had worn off. Now he may really feel each step.
“I thought I was gonna fall through that thing,” Pregnon joked.
However he made it to the highest ultimately, the place the band was ready to serenade him for his toughness, a small token within the second to acknowledge adjustments that, for Pregnon, had been many months within the making.
He lifted the sword excessive, an enormous smile stretched throughout his face.
Defensive accidents
After being down most of its beginning secondary towards Rutgers, the group’s standing stays in query forward of USC’s journey to Washington.
Security Kamari Ramsey and cornerbacks Jacobe Covington, Grasping Vance and Jaylin Smith all missed final week with undisclosed accidents and not one of the 4 have been full contributors at apply as of Tuesday.
“I don’t know that we’ll get all of them back,” Riley stated, “but obviously when you have that many at one position, getting anybody would be very, very helpful.”
Washington ranks fifth within the Huge Ten in passing offense and needs to be way more formidable by way of the air than Rutgers, which, till Friday, hadn’t thrown for 300 yards since September 2021.
Its defensive position may be with no key starter as defensive deal with Nate Clifton didn’t apply Tuesday. He left USC’s win over Rutgers after simply 5 snaps and left with a protecting boot on his foot.
