USC Trojans senior defensive back Prophet Brown has been a mainstay in the USC secondary for defensive coordinator Gary Patterson, and Brown stressed the importance of defending Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph and his dual-threat abilities ahead of Saturday's matchup between the Trojans and the Badgers.

Prophet Brown on Quarterback Colton Joseph

The Trojans have the No. 32 rushing defense in the country, surrendering an average of 111 yards per game to opposing offenses. Still, Brown recognizes the importance of accounting for Joseph in the running game, especially against a physical team like Wisconsin. The Badgers average roughly 152 yards on the ground per game, meaning something's got to give Saturday.

"He's an awesome runner," Brown said when asked about Joseph's dual-threat nature. "We got a lot of respect for him. So coming into this game, it’s definitely going to be a challenge for us. Not the first running quarterback we've seen this season, though. So I think our preparation and learning from our past mistakes with those quarterbacks and moving on to this game is going to help us. So yeah, I'm excited for that matchup."

USC's defense held Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. to 26 rushing yards on 13 attempts in the Trojans' 25-21 win over the Huskies. That experience could pay dividends on the road against Wisconsin.

Brown spoke about the unique pressure that a running quarterback can put on a defense:

"Communication is big because with a running quarterback, you need all 11 defenders to defend. You can't have nobody free because the quarterback's basically a running back, which gives them an extra blocker. So just communicating, making sure everybody's gaps down and stuff, and it could alleviate a lot of problems," Brown said.

Here's everything else Brown said before taking on Wisconsin:

Wisconsin Transfer Tucker Ashcraft on Camp Randall

“He's just mentioned how awesome the environment is going to be. So we're all excited and looking forward to playing at Camp Randall, one of the best spots in college football for sure.”

Preparing for Wisconsin’s Environment

“Yeah, just buying into the environment we're going to, trying to give ourselves the advantage as best as possible. Playing on the road is not easy, especially in this conference, so that just all plays a factor into us going on the road and trying to get a dub.”

On Fourth Down Defense

“Yeah, we just got to be more sound and more disciplined on those fourth downs. Something that's very fixable. A lot of stuff is. . . we've seen on film is like more us than them. You know, we know what's coming. So we just got to tighten up a little bit on them fourth downs to finish off drives.”

Excitement Facing Physical Team in Wisconsin

“Oh, no, it's awesome. You know, this is Big Ten. You know, that's Big Ten football. It's going to be physical week in and week out. You're going to play the best O-lines, the best running backs, the best tight ends, all that. So as a defense, we're up to the challenge for sure to display our talents as well.”

Watching College Football During the Bye Week

“Oh, yeah. No, I definitely got to sit back and watch college football. It felt good. I hadn't done that in a few weeks, without having to worry about a game. So yeah, a lot of good games last week. It was really exciting.”

Takeaways From All the Upsets

“Oh, I mean, it's college football, you know, honestly. It's surprising, but it's not surprising. You know, everybody could beat everybody. There's a whole bunch of good teams and with the way the college football landscape is now, like you can't sleep on anybody.”

What Makes Wisconsin Game So Important

“Oh, it's on the road, you know. Road wins in this conference are huge, and it's the next game on our schedule, you know. You got to win this week in order to get to next week with the record we want, so we're excited for it.”

Defending Wisconsin’s Tight Ends

“Just leverage and eye discipline. You know, there's a lot of trickery, a lot of fake blocks and releases, check releases. So as long as we keep our leverage and our eyes right, we should be able to play tight ends well.” 

What He’s Learned About This USC Team

“We're capable of doing it. We've had some tough road fights in us. Obviously, we want games to be blowouts, but they're not always going to be that, especially at this level. And so for us to have that will and finish off games, I think it's given us confidence heading into this next stretch of them.”

Managing Wisconsin’s Crowd

“I mean, I wouldn’t say it's easier, you know. Yeah, the crowd, it does play a partial factor. But when you're on that field, you got to focus in. You can't see the 100,000 people. You got to see the 22 that's on the field and stuff. So you really try to learn to take the crowd out of it, especially being on the road.”

Strides in Communication on Defense

“Oh, yeah, definitely. And I think it's displayed in our play as well. Just looking earlier in the season what we've given up in terms of more recent, it's definitely tightened up a lot. And so I think we're just going to continue to grow in that area. And it's going to help our defense even more heading into this back end stretch.”

Biggest Thing to Bring from Penn State Win

“We stayed in it. We stayed in the moment. I feel like Penn State, there's a lot of ups and downs. It was a very emotional game, like you guys said, with the crowd. But I feel like as a unit, as a team, we stayed focused on that moment. And I think that type of composure is what we're going to need carrying on into Camp Randall as well.” 

How Far Has USC Defense Come

“We got a lot of belief in our defense. I think we've proven that we could catapult this team to wins, which is good. And so when we play complementary football with our offense, it's going to be very special. So we're just continuing to work on ourselves. This bye week was very beneficial for us to tighten up techniques and stuff. So I'm excited for us to display it this weekend.”