It's a Saturday afternoon inside the Coliseum and USC has just wrapped up the team's final spring practice before the team goes on a 10-day hiatus for spring break.
The linebackers gather around position coach Peter Sirmon and the group breaks the huddle by yelling "L-B-U!"
Among the players in that particular huddle is Su'a Cravens.
In what was one of the larger storylines of the 2014 season Cravens, begrudgingly in the beginning, split time between linebacker and safety. His stance at the time was he came to USC to play safety.
A pick six inside the Coliseum against Oregon State last season was one of the moments that helped Cravens warm up to the idea of playing linebacker. He also had a sack that night and two tackles for loss in the USC 35-10 win.
Cravens says he's still keeping his options open as it relates to playing safety however the move appears to be more permanent this time around than in the past.
"I came here to play safety but I'm a linebacker now so it's LBU and we got to hold down the defense because if they get past that first level we're the run stop," Cravens said. "DB's didn't come here to tackle. They came here to cover. We came here to tackle people so that's what we got to do. If not, you see big plays."
Young defensive players leading way at USC spring practices
Cravens has added weight, he was up to 220 pounds before losing some because he was sick. His goal is to get back to 220.
The versatility is a flashback of sorts to his high school days where he played safety, linebacker, wide receiver, and running back at Vista Murrieta. If he didn't have that to fall back on, Cravens says, he wouldn't have been able to flip between safety and linebacker a season ago.
Last season Cravens led the team with three interceptions and 17 tackles for loss. He's the leading returning sack artist for the Trojans heading into the 2015 season.
"Being closer to the ball helps (to make plays)," Cravens said. "It reminds me of when I was at Vista. I got moved from safety at Vista to linebacker and ended up making a whole lot more plays. Just being able to be closer to the ball and diagnose plays faster just helps me to make plays."
