Following practice on Wednesday, Sept. 30, No. 18 USC Trojans' redshirt-senior safety Prophet Brown opened up about linebacker Desman Stephens II, how the defense learned from their game film versus the No. 15 Oregon Ducks and defensive coordinator Gary Patterson's message following the loss.
When asked about linebacker Desmond Stephens II, Brown shared that he has spoken with the team and that they will continue to support him during this trying moment.
Oregon wide receiver Messiah Hampton shoves off USC linebacker Desman Stephens II after a late hit on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore as the Oregon Ducks face the USC Trojans on Sept. 26, 2026, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
"Oh yeah, Dez is around and with us. We're supporting him," Brown said. "You know, we're praying for him in this situation. It's really tough as a student athlete, and he's been going through a lot but I just support him. We're all here for him."
In the second quarter of the Oregon game, Stephens committed a targeting foul which knocked Ducks quarterback Dante Moore out of the game with a concussion. While the slide or hit remains a contentious topic, it was Stephens actions and behavior after the play that painted the junior backer in a bad light.
Following a public statement and apology, Stephens will serve a one game suspension , missing the Trojans's second conference game versus Washington (Oct. 3).
Oregon running back Dierre Hill Jr., left, celebrates a long run as the Oregon Ducks face the USC Trojans on Sept. 26, 2026, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
"Yeah, defensively a lot of stuff we could just did our 1-11, that would really be a lot of problems. And so, you know, just watching it and going over it like it's nothing super major that's impossible to fix. It's a lot of very fixable mistakes. And so it gives us confidence head into the next games."
"I feel like we mesh really well and when we're doing good, we're doing really good. But when stuff doesn't go bad, we kind of got to raise our floor a little bit better, you know what I'm saying? So, I think we we got a lot of potential that just needs to bring our bad plays to not so bad place, you know what I'm saying? But yeah, we're we're staying together through this whole process."
"Yeah, like I said earlier, just about doing our job. Just people doing different stuff. Me personally, there's a couple plays out there where I normally wouldn't do that in practice or in scrimmage or anything. And so just just going back to our base fundamentals and re-assessing."
Sep 4, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans defensive coordinator Gary Patterson during the game against the Fresno State Bulldogs at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
"Really we just got to keep trusting it. It's a long season and with the way college football is nowadays, our season's definitely not over," Brown said about Patterson's message to the defense. "This is everything ahead of us. So, just trusting our process, our preparation, trusting our techniques, trusting our calls, just all that stuff. Just trusting it more to give it a result."
"Yeah, just being a little quicker, having a more sense of urgency. A lot of times, you could look and we're kind of methodical coming back and stuff. We got to we got to hurry up," Brown said about Patterson's critique of the on-field communication. "Especially in college football nowadays, tempo is a very big thing. A lot of teams go tempo. So, really just making sure everybody's on the same page, communicating with the group and that clean up a lot of self-inflicted wounds in the communication."
"Yeah, for sure. We haven't changed too much. It's a lot of stuff we've done in previous weeks. So it's just looking back on the film like why change it now? Let's just get back to our basic fundamentals and do what we do best."
Sep 26, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans defensive end Kameryn Crawford (1) celebrates with safety Christian Pierce (6) after a defensive play against the Oregon Ducks during the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Through five games, senior nickelback Christian Pierce has racked up a total of 26 tackles - second on the team - an interception and two pass breakups.
"Oh, no. He's a he's a great player. He's my partner in crime, so you know, he's he's in the fit a lot. He plays fast. He's a very physical safety. So when he gets opportunities to make tackle, he's coming up."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/usc as USC Safety Prophet Brown Doesn't Hold Back in Support of Desman Stephens II .
