Cal's pass defense is atop the Pac-12

LOS ANGELES — Freshman quarterback JT Daniels made a successful return from a concussion last week at Oregon State.

Daniels passed for 177 yards and one touchdown as USC managed a 38-21 win.

This week presents a more difficult test.

When the Trojans host Cal on Saturday, Daniels will face the best pass defense in the Pac-12, a unit that holds opponents to an average of 184 passing yards per game.

Former USC defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox is in his second season as the Golden Bears' head coach, and coaches and players remarked this week that Wilcox's fingerprints are all over the group.

“In general, I'd say I'm excited for the challenge,” Daniels said. “Cal is a really good defense, just from watching a couple games that I've seen so far. I think Coach Wilcox is a defensive mastermind. His players are well-coached and they execute. It’ll definitely be a good challenge.”

The Golden Bears’ defense has already made life difficult for some of the conference's top passers this fall. Washington benched senior quarterback Jake Browning during its 12-10 loss at Cal two weeks ago. Gardner Minshew, Washington State's Heisman Trophy hopeful quarterback, failed to throw multiple touchdowns last week, though the Cougars prevailed in a 19-13 win.

“Scheme-wise, it’s a nightmare for a quarterback,” USC coach Clay Helton said.

Helton remarked that former quarterback Sam Darnold had “probably” his toughest game last season against Wilcox’s defense due to disguised pass coverages that put him under duress throughout the game.

“They do a tremendous job of showing you one thing and bailing to another,” Helton said, “showing Cover 0 and bailing to (Cover) 2, showing you Cover 2 and then all of a sudden here comes pressure.”

Wilcox is the defense's primary play-caller, while former Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter is the defensive coordinator.

“Their scheme is as good as we've seen,” said Bryan Ellis, USC’s quarterbacks coach. “They give you nothing easy, which as a coach, when you’re game planning, that’s the first thing you look for. What formations do I get the simple ones? And there are no simple ones.”

Ellis said he has urged Daniels this week to "trust your eyes, trust what you see," stressing the need to adjust to changing coverages.

“Whatever you see pre-snap is not what you’re going to get post-snap,” Ellis said.

The matchup could serve as a microcosm of Daniels’ freshman season, an ongoing adjustment to college football after graduating a year early from high school.

At times, his performances have been humbling. Daniels is 11th among Pac-12 quarterbacks in pass efficiency and has completed 56.6 percent of his passes for 1,806 yards, nine touchdowns and seven interceptions this season.

“What he’s learned is college football is a little faster and a little harder than he thought it was going to be,” Ellis said.

On the other hand, he has responded well.

“He still is confident, which is a good thing,” Ellis said. “I think it shocked him a little bit. The difference in college is the disguising of the coverages and how fast the D-line gets to you. It doesn’t matter who you are. Everybody has good Dlinemen. When you play Division I linemen each week, you don’t have five or six seconds anymore to throw the football. No matter who you play, you get three seconds. You better make a decision, you better make it timely and you gotta be accurate with the football.”

Few teams have more advanced defenses than Cal, making Saturday's game a barometer of his progress.