‘She’s my superhero’: USC’s Calen Bullock honors late grandmother through his play
USC was letting star receivers run wide open. The Trojans were getting embarrassed by trick plays. They were being dragged all over their home field.
Down 17-0 against Arizona, Calen Bullock had seen enough.
“Lock! The! F—! In!†the junior safety shouted as he pulled the USC defense together on the sideline. His eyes were wide and fiery. His voice boomed. His teammates had never seen him like this.
“You could tell,†safety Jaylin Smith said, “that they were ready to run through a brick wall for him.â€
Bullock had a reason to be fired up. Memories were swirling in his mind for days. The black ink on his white towel served as a silent tribute. When he flew across the end zone in the second overtime to break up a critical two-point conversion attempt, Annette McDaniels knew exactly the force behind the play.
“That’s your grandma,†McDaniels said, “watching out for you.â€
Maggie McDaniels died Oct. 5, two days before USC’s thrilling triple-overtime win against Arizona. She was 78.
“She’s my superhero,†said Bullock, who wrote his grandmother’s initials on his towel before the game.
Strengthened by family and empowered by teammates, Bullock is soaring to new heights at USC. The Pasadena native is building on his first-team All-American performance on the field by emerging as a vocal leader for No. 24 USC at a critical time as the Trojans (7-2, 5-1 Pac-12) fight to stay in the conference championship race.
USC has already lost its chance for a College Football Playoff spot, but Bullock knows what it’s like to lose something much more important.
The 6-foot-3 junior calls his mother his “best friend.†Annette calls her mother “his heart.â€
After Annette moved to Palmdale seven years ago, drawn by housing opportunities, Bullock lived with his grandmother in Pasadena so he could stay with his friends in the close-knit community. From sixth grade until he moved into his dorm at USC, Bullock spent every day with his grandmother. She took him to school in the morning. She prepared his meals. She kept him on track academically while Annette regularly made the hourlong drive from Palmdale.
“When my mom wasn’t there, she didn’t have something, my grandma had it for us,†said Bullock, who relied on his mother, grandmother and four siblings after losing his father at 10. “[She] made sure I was always good every single day when my mom was out there.â€
Maggie was a strong woman, Annette said proudly. A mother of five, grandmother to 16, great grandmother to 12, Maggie lived a full, happy life getting to see her family thrive over generations. Bullock keeps a video of her, recorded last year, wishing him good luck for games.
After Maggie suffered cardiac arrest and died at the hospital, family members gathered at her home with food, flowers and good memories. Uncles, cousins and siblings shared stories of Maggie. Slowly, laughs filled the room and lifted Bullock’s spirits. Despite the emotional day, he felt ready to lock in for that weekend’s game.
“I knew that she would want me to go out there and dominate,†Bullock said. “I know I had to go out there and play for her.â€
On game day, Bullock called his mother, as he does every week. They prayed together. Annette reassured her son with simple words that put him at ease.
“She was proud of you.â€
When Bullock chose USC from the dozens of colleges that pursued him, Annette cried tears of joy. She was thrilled he would be only 15 miles away from Pasadena. Standing in Bullock’s freshman dorm room after helping him move in, Annette considered just how far those 15 miles felt.
“Coming from where we come from and for you to get a full scholarship to go to a great university like this?†Annette said. “This is a blessing.â€
Bullock keeps a reminder of his roots on his left upper arm, where “Kings Villages†is tattooed in a skinny black type. He grew up in the low-income apartment complex in Pasadena with his grandmother.
Annette kept her kids busy with sports to keep them off the streets. Bullock, the fourth of five kids and the third of four boys, fell in love with football immediately. He became known as “Super Glue†while playing youth football for the Pasadena Ponies because every pass stuck to his hands. At Muir High, some parents affectionately called the four-star prospect “Sticks†because he was skinny.
As Bullock prepared to make the jump to college, Annette worried how her son’s lanky frame would hold up.
“When I seen him play, I was like, ‘Oh my God, he fits right in,’†Annette said. “He was born for it.â€
Bullock was named a freshman All-American in 2021 after tallying 39 tackles, two interceptions and three pass deflections. He showed his maturity and versatility by playing free safety, nickel and cornerback, helping the Trojans play through the constant roster changes during the pandemic-affected season.
Able to settle into his preferred free safety position as a sophomore, Bullock blossomed into a first-team All-American, per Pro Football Focus. He grabbed five interceptions, the most for a USC player in a season since Adoree’ Jackson in 2016.
Bullock is the steadying force for USC’s inconsistent secondary. He and Smith are the only defensive backs to start every game. Bullock has 47 tackles, a team-high two interceptions, including a 30-yard pick six against Utah, and six pass breakups.
Bullock rarely leaves the field because coaches ask so much of him, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. He can defend the short side of the field, line up in the post, help against the run or challenge the opposing team’s best receiver man to man.
The latest thing they’ve asked him to do is speak up in front of his teammates.
“He’s played a couple of years for us now, he knows our defense, he knows our culture, he knows the guys, specifically in that defensive backfield with our secondary guys,†head coach Lincoln Riley said. “So we’ve pushed him. He’s starting to get out of his comfort zone.â€
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1. USC safety Calen Bullock celebrates immediately after the Trojans’ triple-overtime win over Arizona at the Coliseum on Oct. 7. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 2. Calen Bullock returns an interception for a touchdown against Rice in September 2022. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 3. Calen Bullock celebrates with fans atop the USC band director stand following the Trojans’ win over Notre Dame in November 2022. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
When coaches asked him to speak last year, Bullock demurred. He still remembers being a shy underclassman who just wanted to learn from captains such as Tuli Tuipulotu and Shane Lee.
Bullock is humbled to see his teammates respond to him the way he once reacted to veteran leaders. He was one of the leaders to speak during a players-only meeting after USC’s loss to Notre Dame. The Trojans trust him for more than just his play on the field, and Bullock trusted teammates to support him after his grandmother died.
“He’s a hard worker, so I think he put all his pain into his hard work,†Smith said. “I haven’t seen no drop off in his game. I think I’ve only seen him increase.â€
Annette asked coaches to keep a close eye on her son after Maggie died, but the familiar sight of her son roaming the defensive backfield, breaking up passes and wrapping up tackles put her at ease. A white towel tucked in Bullock’s waistband flapped behind him with every step. In black ink, he had written “LLMM.â€
Long live Maggie McDaniels.
USC’s defensive unit under Alex Grinch struggled mightily versus Cal, and the Trojans’ upcoming games against Washington and Oregon offer no relief.
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