The Dude List: USC vs. San Jose St. Week
The Trojans and Spartans battled at the Coliseum over the weekend, and while it wasn’t a glorious victory, it was a 30-7 Victory, and the sun did shine brightly on a handful of Trojans who earned Dude status.
So who made this week’s Dude List?
And what if you’re already a resident? Should we start handing out helmet stickers?
Got an idea!; If you’re a Two-Timing Dude, you get your own house chair. Now, this might sound like a fake platitude and a cheap trinket offering. Well, it is! However, if you’ve ever hosted a tailgate, then you know there’s an unwritten rule that states the host should always have a chair available to plop into. And we typically name the Chair of Honor after some random guy who was invited and thinks he’s a dude, but in reality is entirely oblivious. Any familiarity taken from this anecdote is purely fictional, and it comes from the heart.
“We talking about practice. Not a game. Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it’s my last. Not the game. We talking about practice, man.”
No offense to NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, but practice matters, and it’s one of the reasons why Calen Bullock is back on the list, and it’s why Calen will have a chair available to sit down in whenever he wants.
We raved about his practice habits and how when the Texas smoke cleared the air, Calen “Sticks” was standing tall. Those practices paid off. Late last week, the freshman was told that he would be stepping into team captain and starting FS Dude Isaiah Pola-Mao’s shoes. So how did the newbie respond? He responded accordingly by either leading or tying the team in two categories; total tackles with 8 and 4 solo tackles, including one highlight that forced a replay review overturning a 1st down call.
One more footnote on the freshman dude; Calen was the first Trojan to start at safety as a first-year player since Su’A Cravens back in 2013. Cravens also just happened to lead the team out of the tunnel and into battle on Saturday .
Drake London is The Dude. This distinction was reinforced this past Saturday when London had a career-high 12 catch, 137-yard ho-hum performance. Ho-um because Drake did not have a TD catch. But he did catch a lot of balls and a lot of extra attention before, during, and after the play. Football is a man’s game, and “liberties” are taken. But dudes understand that’s part of the territory. Following the game, when asked about all the extra coverage and attention, Drake said, “That’s just part of the game for me right now. I think overall, we tried to go out there and win, and the ball happened to land in my hands a couple of times. I just had to make the most of my opportunities, and I did.” Nice. The Dude is also modest.
The game ball was going to Drake London as long as the Trojans won the game. However, the “glorious victory” was kept in doubt heading into the 4th qtr. That is until some dude named Greg Johnson stepped in front of a Nick Starkel pass and returned the Game Ball 37-yards to the Dude House for pick-6 and 20-7 Trojans’ lead.
Greg’s action was The Play Of The Game, and it also sparked the Trojan offense to add another 10-points to the final scoreboard. In the Dude’s own words, “Coach called a great call and I was just dropping in my zone, and reading the quarterback’s eyes. I noticed that they ran that play earlier in the game, so I just made the most of the opportunity and that’s how I did it.”
And how did it feel running into the endzone?
“Honestly it felt like a dream. It was something that I’ve always dreamt of. Being from LA and playing in the Coliseum in front of all these amazing fans while getting to do that was just great.”
Until the furniture store makes the delivery, this week’s list is reserved for Two-Timing Dudes. Other candidates were ready to gain entry, like Isaac Taylor-Stuart, Ralen Goforth, and Jacob Lichtenstein. But if the selection committee can keep Drake Jackson and his 2nd career interception off the list, those guys will have to understand that Dudes should have a place to sit down.
