Galippo's Back

WeAreSC.com

Chris Galippo probably won’t change USC’s linebacking number of note from 55 to 54 this year. He probably won’t lead the team in tackles. Heck, he probably won’t even start a game in 2008. But whatever you do, don’t tell him any of that.

You see, Galippo also wasn’t supposed to be 100 percent healthy for spring practice. Instead, he spent much of the session with the first-team defense, dominated the final scrimmage to the point where videographers were actively searching for ways not to include yet another Galippo highlight, and turned in arguably one of the best overall performances of the spring.

After a back injury and mid-season surgery ended Galippo’s 2007 season before October, the USC coaches and trainers felt it would be in everyone’s best interest to ease the second-year linebacker into his first spring session. After all, he’d shown the coaches enough last year to earn playing time on special teams, and it’s not as if middle linebacker is a spot the Trojans are worried about. Both Rey Maualuga and Luthur Brown are fourth-year players who could easily handle the responsibilities of the position.

The effort wouldn’t have been surprising without the back injury. After all, Galippo was one of the most highly-recruited members of the 2006 class and was ready to contribute as a freshman.

But Galippo hit the field and never once looked back this spring. And perhaps more importantly, none of the trainers ever once looked at his back.

“It was just playing it by ear,” Galippo said of how his injury situation was handled. “Everything was based off of how my back was feeling.”

After the first few days of practice, everything was still feeling fine for Galippo. And when Maualuga sat out for more than a week with some nagging injuries, Galippo was able to log some time with the first-unit defense. While he had been playing well enough to merit minutes as a second-team star, it’s doubtful that Galippo would have seen as much time with the starters if not for Maualuga’s absence.

Due to liberal substitutions and the coaches searching for the right combinations, there’s not a huge difference in the first and second-unit teams during spring. But being “the guy” at middle linebacker for a big chunk of practices helped Galippo gain confidence in his abilities.

“I feel really comfortable,” Galippo said of playing middle linebacker. “I worked really hard during the spring and it paid off. I wouldn’t say it was a surprising spring, but I didn’t expect to do as well as I did.”

As a freshman last season, Galippo had a ways to go in order to catch up mentally with some of the linebackers who had been a part of the defense for multiple years. It was made all that much more difficult with the injury keeping him out of practice and game situations as well. But with the increased playing time, Galippo’s confidence within the system has grown tremendously.

“I wouldn’t say I’m 100 percent there mentally, because I don’t think you can ever know this game 100 percent,” he said. “But I think I always know where I’m supposed to be, and now it’s just a matter of getting there.”

While most people view Galippo as the Trojans’ middle linebacker of the future, the playing time he’s looking for isn’t necessarily that far down the road.

“I really do expect to contribute a lot,” he said of the upcoming season. “I’m up to par with the mental aspect, and it’s going to come down to making plays based on experience. That’s the edge that Ray has right now as a three-year starter. He knows how to make certain plays.”

Even though Galippo isn’t about to call out the possible All-American, he knows that competition is the backbone of this recent Trojan run. And leave it to him to understand the importance of a healthy backbone.

“It’s been phenomenal to play with these linebackers,” he said. “We’re not just out there competing as the defense against the offense. We’re also setting benchmarks for each other. Coach Norton pushes us to a level that’s unlike anywhere else in the nation.

“Hopefully it’ll come down to which one of us linebackers is playing the best.”

And while practices and scrimmages don’t count the same as game action, it was tough to not come away impressed with Galippo after The Huddle, spring’s final full-team scrimmage.

He finished with a game-high nine tackles, three sacks, two fumble recoveries and scored the only defensive touchdown of the game. It may have all come against the second-team offense, but no matter who they came against, those are first-rate numbers.

“I think we did awesome. We played really well,” Galippo said of his defense, despite coming out on the losing end.

Though his squad lost the game and bragging rights to the first-team linebackers, nothing could ruin what Galippo had accomplished in just 15 practices.

“It feels great,” he said of both his back and his situation. “It ended up being an awesome spring for me.”