
Under a new coaching staff, USC defensive lineman Korey Foreman says he must learn a new playbook that has been “tricky”. (Young Kwak / Associated Press)
There were fleeting moments throughout his frustrating freshman campaign when it felt to the most touted USC recruit in recent memory like the world might be conspiring against him. For Korey Foreman, it sometimes felt like the only explanation.
Months before, USC’s staff had sold him as the Trojans’ next star, welcoming him onto campus with a billboard bearing his name and taking victory laps for reeling in the nation’s top overall recruit. But by the fall, Foreman had barely cracked USC’s defensive line rotation. Injuries nagged. Progress slowed. Assistant coaches grew more and more pointed in their public critiques. Foreman sometimes stewed in the frustration, playing just 113 snaps in his debut season.
“It was probably just being a freshman in college, not seeing how everything is,” the sophomore defensive end said Thursday.
He sees things differently now, though, Foreman assures. He’s learning how to be more patient. To turn more negatives into positives, to see the good in bad situations.
“The world doesn’t move for anybody,” Foreman said, “so you just gotta learn to adapt to any little situation.”
Foreman seems to be adapting just fine to the new circumstances at USC. He described his situation as “a blessing” on seven different occasions Thursday. The new staff, he said, is “amazing.”
It’s not difficult to understand the reasons for his adulation. Arguably no player on the roster needed a fresh start more when Lincoln Riley arrived.
“I told [the coaches] it was kinda like a whole new freshman year again,” Foreman said.
And like his actual freshman year, he’s already dealt with an injury. Foreman missed the start of spring with what…
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