Jawanza Starling came to USC to play football for Pete Carroll and baseball for Chad Kreuter. Only a sophomore, the two-sport star is now breaking in two new head coaches.
"You don't see that a lot. You've got to accept your coaching staff. Do what you gotta do, take care of what you can control. Do what you need to do on the field and the rest will take care of itself," Starling said after practice yesterday.
Starling has had some time to adjust to Lane Kiffin and his staff, but the news of Kreuter's firing is fresh in the outfielder's mind.
"I hate to see Coach Kreuter go, but I wish Coach Cruz the best. He's more disciplined oriented, so it'll be less slack than last year," Starling commented.
New head baseball coach Frank Cruz is excited about Starling's potential. In turn, Starling believes the hardball team will welcome this positive change.
"We know what to expect out of Coach Cruz because he was there last year. I think it will be easy for us to adjust to him."
Starling hit .300 last season in limited action, while he concentrated more on developing his football talent. Now, he's an important starter at safety in Monte Kiffin's "Tampa Two" defense, but he still believes that he's more innately gifted on the diamond.
"In all honesty, baseball comes more naturally. If I were to do one specifically beginning when I was younger, it would definitely be baseball. I would be better at baseball than I am at football."
Soon enough, Starling will have a choice to make. Does he want to be Torii Hunter or Ed Reed?
"Right now football. Football is more physical, but baseball you have to do everything right just get a lot, a lot of reps to get muscle memory. It just takes a lot more time. I've put more time for football than I have necessary for baseball."
Of course, he could push the limits and be Deion Sanders?
"I could be Deion. I've been blessed with the talent. It's all about how much work I put into it."
Work is something the Tallahassee, FL, native does not shy away from. Playing two sports at a tradition rich Division 1 university plus putting in the academic hours would stretch anyone's limits.
"It's been tough. During spring semester it's tough, baseball season is a little longer and you've got to worry about travel and missing class. You've just got to stay focused on what you came here to do and that's get a degree."
Starling is expected to start alongside T.J. McDonald in the defensive secondary, which will feature four new starters. He understands the legacy that he's inherited with Taylor Mays, Darnell Bing and Troy Polamalu as the most recent stars in a long line of great Trojan safeties.
"Just trying to fill the shoes of T. Mays and Will, just trying to do what I've got to do and minimize the errors. Make plays when I need to be making plays, do my job and the defense will be better overall because of that."
He's not doing any baseball work right now, but it's still in the back of his mind.
"I need to get in the cages and do a little swinging."
Right now, he's taking his cuts at receivers that dare cross his path.
In Kiffin's defense, the names of the safety positions are reversed. Starling is called the strong safety, but McDonald is the one who plays closer to the line of scrimmage.
Starling's role is to roam centerfield in the Coliseum and chase down everything in his area. Wait, what sport are we talking about again? I'd say he's qualified either way.
"You don't see that a lot. You've got to accept your coaching staff. Do what you gotta do, take care of what you can control. Do what you need to do on the field and the rest will take care of itself," Starling said after practice yesterday.
Starling has had some time to adjust to Lane Kiffin and his staff, but the news of Kreuter's firing is fresh in the outfielder's mind.
"I hate to see Coach Kreuter go, but I wish Coach Cruz the best. He's more disciplined oriented, so it'll be less slack than last year," Starling commented.
New head baseball coach Frank Cruz is excited about Starling's potential. In turn, Starling believes the hardball team will welcome this positive change.
"We know what to expect out of Coach Cruz because he was there last year. I think it will be easy for us to adjust to him."
Starling hit .300 last season in limited action, while he concentrated more on developing his football talent. Now, he's an important starter at safety in Monte Kiffin's "Tampa Two" defense, but he still believes that he's more innately gifted on the diamond.
"In all honesty, baseball comes more naturally. If I were to do one specifically beginning when I was younger, it would definitely be baseball. I would be better at baseball than I am at football."
Soon enough, Starling will have a choice to make. Does he want to be Torii Hunter or Ed Reed?
"Right now football. Football is more physical, but baseball you have to do everything right just get a lot, a lot of reps to get muscle memory. It just takes a lot more time. I've put more time for football than I have necessary for baseball."
Of course, he could push the limits and be Deion Sanders?
"I could be Deion. I've been blessed with the talent. It's all about how much work I put into it."
Work is something the Tallahassee, FL, native does not shy away from. Playing two sports at a tradition rich Division 1 university plus putting in the academic hours would stretch anyone's limits.
"It's been tough. During spring semester it's tough, baseball season is a little longer and you've got to worry about travel and missing class. You've just got to stay focused on what you came here to do and that's get a degree."
Starling is expected to start alongside T.J. McDonald in the defensive secondary, which will feature four new starters. He understands the legacy that he's inherited with Taylor Mays, Darnell Bing and Troy Polamalu as the most recent stars in a long line of great Trojan safeties.
"Just trying to fill the shoes of T. Mays and Will, just trying to do what I've got to do and minimize the errors. Make plays when I need to be making plays, do my job and the defense will be better overall because of that."
He's not doing any baseball work right now, but it's still in the back of his mind.
"I need to get in the cages and do a little swinging."
Right now, he's taking his cuts at receivers that dare cross his path.
In Kiffin's defense, the names of the safety positions are reversed. Starling is called the strong safety, but McDonald is the one who plays closer to the line of scrimmage.
Starling's role is to roam centerfield in the Coliseum and chase down everything in his area. Wait, what sport are we talking about again? I'd say he's qualified either way.
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