LOS ANGELES — He has heard the word many times over many months and tried as hard as he might to live up to its weighty label, but eight games into a standout junior season, Tuli Tuipulotu still isn't entirely comfortable acknowledging it out loud.
"I don't think I'm a leader," USC's star defensive end declared this week.
His coaches and teammates wholeheartedly disagree. The stats tell a similar story, as his seven sacks through the Trojans' first six games led all of college football at the time. Tuipulotu's tear has slowed somewhat since with offenses setting out specifically to stop him. But as USC enters the stretch run of its first season under Lincoln Riley, with California awaiting Saturday, there's a convincing case to be made that no Pac-12 defensive lineman has been more disruptive than the 6-foot-4, 290-pound Tuipulotu.
