The 2025 season has been a roller coaster at best, and a disappointment at worst, for the USC defensive unit. The Trojans are ranked 70th in the FBS in total defense. They have dealt with a handful of very key injuries, but even aside from that have generally performed below expectations in D’Anton Lynn’s second season as defensive coordinator.
Yet, even though USC should be unsatisfied with its overall effort, just because the team is doing poorly defensively doesn’t mean every single player has had a bad season. A solid handful of Trojans are doing their jobs well and look like future college stars or NFL draft picks. They couldn’t have won 5 games without at least a few defensive studs.
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Just past the halfway mark of the season, who has been USC’s defensive MVP?
Here is every player who has a case to be considered USC’s best defensive player, followed by my pick for the entirely hypothetical midseason award.
Eric Gentry, linebacker, No. 18
Let’s start with the obvious pick, who most Trojan fans would likely consider the defensive MVP. Gentry leads the Trojans in total tackles with 48, including 39 solo tackles.
He has also been a major factor in the pass rush this season. He is tied for second on the team with 3 sacks.
He has even served as the de-facto nickel cornerback at times due to injuries at the position and has registered a pass breakup. Finally, he has also caused plenty of chaos for opposing ball carriers, leading the Trojans with 3 forced fumbles.
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Trojan fans are undoubtedly thrilled to have him back on the field after injuries limited him to 5 games in 2024. he continues to be one of the most fun to watch, fan-favorite Trojans as well. Standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing only 200 pounds, he looks too skinny to compete at the collegiate level, but he continues to prove his doubters wrong again and again.
The only drawback for Gentry has been that his worst two games have come in the Trojans’ two losses of the season, against Illinois and Notre Dame. He did not record a tackle for loss in either game and looked overmatched at times against the Illini and Fighting Irish offensive front.
Bishop Fitzgerald, safety, No. 19
The interception machine. Fitzgerald leads not just the Trojans, but all of the FBS with 5 interceptions on the season.
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But interceptions are not Fitzgerald’s only strength. He is great at being in the right place at the right time on errant quarterback throws, but also has great anticipation when it comes to bringing down the opposing ballcarrier. Fitzgerald is second on the Trojans behind Gentry with 40 total tackles.
He also has a sack and 2 pass breakups on the season. One of his interceptions was returned for a touchdown.
Both he and Gentry were recently named semifinalists for the Lott IMPACT trophy, awarded to the nation’s best defensive player that exhibits characteristics of Ronnie Lott on and off the field. So the college football world obviously thinks both are very valuable to the Trojans.
The main argument for Fitzgerald as defensive MVP over Gentry has been his ability to take his game to the next level in big moments.
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Fitzgerald’s best game of the season came in the Trojans’ 31-13 win over Michigan, the biggest win of the season and one of the biggest wins of the Lincoln Riley era. He had 5 tackles, a sack, and two interceptions. He was just all over the field.
Fitzgerald also shined against Purdue, USC’s first true Big Ten conference road win, with 5 tackles and 2 interceptions, both in the red zone. He also stepped up against Notre Dame with 10 total tackles, tied for most on the team, and a pass breakup. He made a handful of key tackles on third down to end Fighting Irish drives as well.
Devan Thompkins, defensive tackle, No. 8
Devan Thompkins is the best all around player on the best position group on the USC defense, and even just for that reason, he deserves consideration for the defensive MVP award.
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He is sixth on the Trojans in total tackles with 20, but ranks first out of all the defensive linemen. He’s also tied for second on the team with 3 sacks, is first in sack yards with 23, and has 5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a forced fumble. Like Fitzgerald, he came up big against Michigan with 2 sacks.
He can do it all on the defensive line: rush the quarterback from the tackle position and clog up the run game.
The Trojan veteran in his fourth season at USC is the most reliable player on the defensive line and the defacto leader on such a young, inexperienced unit. Trojan fans certainly hope that the injury that limited him against Notre Dame is not long term.
DeCarlos Nicholson, cornerback, No. 17
Nicholson’s case more about the eye test than anything. His stats don’t jump off the page. He has 18 total tackles on the season, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup and 1 interception.
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But he has been far and away the best cornerback for the Trojans on a defense that needs good cornerback play desperately.
And it’s just about Nicholson’s style of play as well. He flies around the field, giving everything he has to try and disturb wide receivers and make important tackles.
It hasn’t been a perfect season for Nicholson. He’s had his share of mishaps. And like I said, he hasn’t stuffed the stat sheet.
But his effort and relative reliability are a massive help to a cornerback room that is impacted by injuries and massively struggling. So perhaps he hasn’t earned the defensive MVP award, but he definitely deserves a look for the hardship MVP award.
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Braylan Shelby and Kameryn Crawford, defensive ends
Being tied for the team lead in sacks with 3.5 has to count for something. And Braylan Shelby showed Saturday he is more than just a pass rusher, picking off a CJ Carr pass in the red zone.
Shelby is not necessarily defensive MVP yet, and neither is Kameryn Crawford. But if USC’s defense is great in 2026, they will be two of the biggest reasons why. Put them down on the hypothetical future defensive MVP watchlist.
My pick: Fitzgerald
Leading the country in interceptions has to count for something, and I really like how Fitzgerald has consistently stepped up in big games.
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I also just think that as a former JUCO player and 2025 transfer portal acquisition by the Trojans who was somewhat of an underrated commodity amongst USC coming into the season, he deserves to be recognized for his efforts.
Gentry was someone USC fans expected to lead the team in tackles and be one of the best players in the country if he was healthy heading into the season. As a linebacker he should rack up the tackle numbers, and he has shown plenty of flashes of superstar play in a Trojan uniform in the past. He still deserves plenty of credit for his efforts.
Fitzgerald has quietly been so good in so many facets with tackling from the safety position and pass defense being two areas that especially stand out. But of course, Gentry and Thompkins are both great picks for defensive MVP as well.
Trojan fans, who do you think is the defensive MVP so far this season?
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Ethan Inman’s midseason defensive MVP pick for USC football team
