The Houston Texans may have landed a difference-maker when they picked Calen Bullock, because the former USC safety has already carved out a rare niche in the NFL: taking the ball away.
That’s the trait that has pushed Bullock into elite company early in his career. Since arriving in the league, he has been one of the most productive safeties in a key category that can swing games in a hurry - turnovers.
Jeremy Fowler recently dug into how coaches around the league view Bullock, and the feedback was clear. One NFL coordinator pointed to a lingering concern from his rookie season, saying, "Tackling was considered an issue in his rookie year, but he improved his physicality somewhat in Year 2.
"He's probably an adequate-to-average tackler, but his range is elite," an NFL coordinator said. "So I value that superpower. I'd rather you take the ball away and just be an adequate tackler than the other way around."
That’s the tradeoff with Bullock right now. He may not be a finished product as a tackler, but his ability to create turnovers is exactly the kind of skill that changes a defense. He has already shown he can end games with an interception, including in a game against the Buffalo Bills.
For Bullock, the formula is straightforward: keep erasing possessions for the other team, and keep tightening up the tackling. If that improvement keeps coming, he has a real chance to grow into one of the league’s best safeties.
In Other News...
USCs Top Freshman Is Already Getting The Welcome Fans Wanted
Luke Wafle is already getting a taste of what comes with being USCs highest-profile freshman, and it is happening well before he takes a snap in cardinal and gold. The five-star defensive end, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2026 class, took part in the Sack Summit event hosted by NFL players, where he crossed paths with former Trojan linebacker Willie McGinest and got another reminder of the standard that comes with wearing the USC name.
McGinest also had reason to talk up the programs momentum, from the new Bloom Football Performance Center to the recruiting haul that gave USC its largest class in program history. Wafle and McGinest even touched on the Trojans 2026 slate, which already looks like a demanding one, and that is part of what makes this early welcome so notable: USC is trying to build something big, and its top freshman is stepping into it with plenty of attention already following him. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Riley's New Ranking Will Sting USC Fans
USA TODAY Sports latest look at the college football coaching landscape landed with a familiar jolt for USC fans: Lincoln Riley, once viewed as one of the sports elite offensive minds, was not treated like an elite coach in the 2026 rankings. The list put Indianas Curt Cignetti at No. 1 after his rapid rise, while Ohio States Ryan Day checked in at No. 3 and Oregons Dan Lanning landed at No. 5, a reminder of how quickly the sports hierarchy can shift.
For USC, Rileys placement is the part that stings. He arrived in Los Angeles with the kind of reputation that usually keeps a coach near the top of these exercises, but this ranking suggests the national perception has changed after his uneven run with the Trojans. The bigger question now is whether USC can change that conversation on the field, because in a sport this competitive, reputation only travels so far before the next season starts rewriting it. [Read more 🡒]
USC Just Lost Another Key Piece Of Its Baseball Turnaround
USCs baseball rebuild has already been moving at full speed, with a roster churn that includes 16 players entering the transfer portal and 10 new transfers committed. The program is also looking ahead to the long-awaited upgrade at Dedeaux Field, with full access to the new facilities not arriving until the 2027 season, so the Trojans are trying to keep momentum in the present while waiting on the future.
Now there is another layer of uncertainty around the turnaround. Hitting coach and recruiting coordinator Travis Jewett is departing after helping shape the offense and the talent pipeline, and head coach Andy Stankiewicz is still under contract through 2030 as he tries to steady a program that has been changing almost as quickly as it has been improving. With the staff continuing to shift and the roster still being remade, USCs next step feels just as important as the progress it has already made. [Read more 🡒]