USC could lose one of its best defensive players for the season before Week 7 matchup with Penn State

USC has struggled to stop the run against Michigan and Minnesota through its 1-2 start to Big Ten play and now the Trojans could be without their best-run defender for the rest of the season. Eric Gentry is second on the team in tackles with 30 through four games, but the senior linebacker has suffered two concussions and is still eligible to redshirt. This week, Lincoln Riley left the door open for the possibility. 

“I think redshirting is always a possibility,” Riley told reporters ahead of USC’s Week 7 matchup with No. 4 Penn State, reiterating that Gentry is out indefinitely after missing last week’s 24-17 loss to the Golden Gophers. “On Eric, no final decision has been made. We’re going to keep evaluating how he’s feeling and how he’s progressing.”

With Gentry having played just four of USC’s first five games, he is still eligible to redshirt and would not need an injury exemption to gain an extra year of eligibility. The 6-foot-6 215-pound Philadelphia product transferred to USC from Arizona State after the 2021 season and posted a career-high 71 tackles in 2022. 

Gentry plays all over USC’s defense, recording 78 snaps in the box, 44 along the defensive line, and 21 in the slot this season. He’s been serviceable in coverage and would at least have the body type to match up with Tyler Warren, Penn State’s 6-foot-6 257-pound tight end, but he’s most valuable against the run, where USC has struggled mightily. 

There were questions about whether the Trojans would have the depth in the trenches to survive in the Big Ten and so far the answer has been a resounding no. USC is 88th in rushing defense and allows an explosive run on over 10% of the opposition’s carries. That depth has been hurt by the opt-out of Bear Alexander, a former five-star defensive tackle who transferred to USC from Georgia after his freshman year in 2022 and is heading back to the transfer portal after this season. 

Alexander is the bigger name, but Gentry would be the more significant blow. Alexander had played the third-most snaps among USC defensive linemen when he decided to redshirt, without having suffered an injury, but Gentry’s snap total was climbing through USC’s first three games before a concussion knocked him out of the Trojan’s win over Wisconsin. 

Gentry leads the Trojans in run game stops with 13 (per PFF), and his average depth of tackle of 2.2 yards is by far the best of any USC linebacker. He is fifth in the Big Ten in stops and as an oversized downhill linebacker, has made a seamless transition to the only conference that still has a run-first identity. 

There were never many reasons for optimism about USC's defense succeeding in the Big Ten, even after Lincoln Riley finally broke his blood oath with Alex Grinch and replaced him with the far superior D’Anton Lynn. Yet, Gentry was one of the few bright spots. 

Preserving Gentry’s final season of eligibility could be in the program’s best interest if he intends to stay in LA. Lynn is leading a defensive overhaul and it’s clear after a 3-2 start with two conference losses, that the problem was far too big to fix in a year. This could be a lost season for the Trojans, which means there is no rush to get Gentry back on the field, and that’s great news for the Nittany Lions. 

Penn State should have Nick Singleton back healthy this week after his missed last week’s win over UCLA, and he and Kaytron Allen should be licking their chops against this USC defense, regardless, but the matchup looks even more appetizing if Gentry cannot or chooses not to return.