Inside its meetings rooms, USC doesn't use the verbiage "free safety or a strong safety." There are two safety spots, one of which John Plattenburg feels belongs to him.
That's the mindset the sophomore carried into the spring.
"It's mine for the losing," he said of the position.
It's that sense of ownership, coupled with his cerebral approach, that has made Plattenburg one of the stars this spring for the USC defense.
He's manned the back of the USC secondary like, well, he owns it.
Our defense pulled through today and showed a lot of heart. Something we will definitely need this season. #FightOn pic.twitter.com/uu9ddOxP3o
— Steve Sarkisian (@CoachSark) April 8, 2015
"(I think I'm) stepping it up another level," Plattenburg said, who started six of the final seven games last season at safety for USC last season. "(I'm) just trying to better myself at little, different aspects -- my conditioning, my confidence in making calls, communicating, talking, just trying to be a natural leader ... I think I'm doing a great job with that."
Plattenburg had 32 tackles and five deflections in 10 games last season as a true freshman. The 2014 Trojans were a young team and the secondary was no different.
Like most in the Trojans secondary, a season ago, Plattenburg, too, had his bumps. He also showed knowledge and a resolve that resulted in him eventually breaking into the starting lineup. That experience he and others gained in 2014 should be a plus in 2015.
"Our youthfulness from a year ago became invaluable experience that is now helping us," USC head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "The reps they got a year ago and some growing pains that we had to endure a year ago is making us a better defense today."
In those reps, Plattenburg demonstrated a football IQ that proved to be extremely beneficial when he had to bark out calls to different levels of the USC defense.
"We rely on those guys to communicate a bunch," Sarkisian said of the team's safeties. "They make a lot of the calls for us based on the formations that we get, based on the personnel groupings that we get on the field. We count on the safety to make specific calls to adjust the defense to fit what we're getting at a specific time."
Although he's been recognized for his play this spring by the coaches, Plattenburg is continuing to push the envelope so he doesn't end up on the losing end of a position battle.
"It's always room for improvement," he said. "When (the coaches) tell me 'Good job,' I say 'Thank you' and stuff like that but I know the next practice I have to do even better. I got to set the bar for myself each practice (and) set the bar for other people each practice. That's the big thing for me."
