He’s USC’s best at getting to the QB. Something will be different this year

The station South Carolina pass rusher D.J. Wonnum has reached required it. But he was not a fan.

“I don’t do planes,” Wonnum told a news conference full of reporters and TV cameras at SEC Media Days in Atlanta.

To do the team’s day trip to the event, he had to fly. He had teammates taking videos of him looking nervous as the plane took off.

It speaks to the level he’s reached that he was asked to come on the trip at all. USC brought only one defensive player to the annual event. Last year, the team brought none.

So it says something about where the coaches see him in the hierarchy of the team, or at least how they want the oft-soft spoken junior to be a public-facing voice for USC.

“I was shocked,” Wonnum said of getting picked.

His coach, Will Muschamp, shed a little light on what he means for USC.

“D.J. is as good a young man as you’ll meet,” Muschamp said. “Very consistent in everything he does with his body. Off the field, football, in the meeting room, in the weight room, you know exactly what you’re going to get every single day from D.J. Wonnum.”

That’s one of those things coaches hold dear. In a job with a sometimes absurdly wide range of responsibilities, especially with wrangling 18- to 23-year-olds, a player who doesn’t have to be worried about stands out.

Wonnum was one who stood out early when he arrived on campus. After his first practice, Muschamp mentioned him. After a few games in the regular season, he was the No. 2 at the Buck position and a rotation regular.

Last season, he grew into a steady, reliable starter. This year, he might be able to make another jump to become an elite pass rusher.

But his approach never changed. A year after coming to camp as a presumptive starter, he’s now considered a leader, and he attacks it the same way.

“I probably never imagined all the things that I’m doing, going to do,” Wonnum said. “Coming into camp, my main focus was just to work hard. Do things on your own was probably one of my biggest things.”

Last fall, he made 57 tackles, fourth on the team. He had 13 tackles for loss, six sacks, both team highs.

Both he and Muschamp mentioned his biggest strides coming in the weight room. He came to USC as an undersized and probably underrated three-star prospect out of Stone Mountain, Ga. He’s up 18 pounds (240 to 258) and stronger at the point of attack against the run.

And he boasts another skill Muschamp puts a premium on.

“The thing about D.J. is you tell him it once and it’s done,” Muschamp said. “You don’t have to repeat it over and over again. It’s not Etch A Sketch with this guy.”

This year, he’ll be asked to be a little more, as a voice and a leader. USC lost a couple key faces from the defense, including Skai Moore, Chris Lammons, Dante Sawyer and Taylor Stallworth.

So now, the big stage is his.

“You’ve got to give your best every day so those guys will follow in your footsteps,” Wonnum said. “So I’d probably say that’s the biggest, hardest thing. Just having those guys, looking up to you, it’s pretty fun.”

This story was originally published July 26, 2018 at 12:02 AM.