Chris Steele

Sophomore cornerback for USC. 2021: 2 interceptions, 3 pass breakups, 33 tackles.

CB · USC · So. · #8

6′1″ · 190 lb · Bellflower, CA

CFB Index 30 · #270 of 321 cornersLow confidenceUSC 2021 alumnus

The story

2 cornerback for USC. 2021: 2 interceptions, 3 pass breakups, 33 tackles.

The record fills in as he plays.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Three seasons at USC, 94 tackles — his college career is complete.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

20206 games

All-Pac-12Second Team

Career arc

Recruit

—

No recruit profile

CFB

College

USC

2019–2021

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

1 honor

🎖

ALL-PAC-12 · 2ND TEAM

All-Pac-12 2nd team (2020)

Coaching lineage · 2019–2021

2 coaches

2019–2020

Clay Helton

USC

2021

Donte Williams

USC

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Clay Helton → Donte Williams. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

2021 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2019USC8-5HC: Clay Helton · Pass-leaning

2020USC5-1HC: Clay Helton · Pass-leaning, fast tempo

2021USC4-8HC: Donte Williams · Balanced, fast tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

30Below cohort / limited sample #270 of 321?

Low confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: qb hurries (24th percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Passes defended#481 / 2743 · 78th pct

Interceptions#126 / 824 · 73rd pct

Sacks#829 / 2743 · 61st pct

1.0

Solo tackles#1208 / 2743 · 55th pct

Tackles#1229 / 2743 · 54th pct

Tackles for loss#1411 / 2743 · 44th pct

2.0

QB hurries#1413 / 2743 · 24th pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	3.6	0.1	0.1	0.3
Road4g	2.0	0.2	0.0	0.2

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	2.5	0.0	0.0	0.2
Weeks 8+5g	3.6	0.4	0.2	0.4

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Lincoln Riley

Pass share

46.0%

97 pass / 114 run

Plays / game

70.3

3 games

Team sack rate

2.0%

102 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

Rotational

Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

30 · #270 of 321 corners

Career stats

Season	Team
2021	USC	33	19	2.0	1.0	3	2	--
2020	USC	26	18	0.0	0.0	4	1	--
2019	USC	35	25	1.0	0.0	5	--	--
Career		94	62	3.0	1.0	12	3	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2021

W 45–14

at Washington State

1 TOT

Dominant 31-point win on the road against Washington State.

With J. Dart — 391 yds · 4 TD · 2 INT · QBR 81.3 · 32 rush yds (6 car) · G. Bryant Jr. — 3 rush yds (1 car) · 1 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 30-7vs San José State	3	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 2	L 28-42vs Stanford	4	3	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 3	W 45-14@ Washington State	1	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 4	L 27-45vs Oregon State	4	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 5	W 37-14@ Colorado	2	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 6	L 26-42vs Utah	1	1	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 8	L 16-31@ Notre Dame	2	1	1.0	0.0	1	1
Wk 9	W 41-34vs Arizona	5	5	0.0	0.0	—	0	Season-high 5 tackles
Wk 10	L 16-31@ Arizona State	3	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 12	L 33-62vs UCLA	5	1	0.0	0.0	1	0
Wk 13	L 31-35vs BYU	3	1	1.0	1.0	—	1
Total		33	19	2.0	1.0	2	3

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Chris Steele

20206 games

2021 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

Rotational

Career stats

Signature game

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Cover Corner

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