Ahead of football’s season opener on Saturday, star junior receiver Ja’Kobi Lane said his foot was feeling “better than ever” after breaking it in May and being cleared to practice only about two weeks before USC’s first game. When asked whether the injury limited him in the offseason in a post-practice news conference on Wednesday, Lane told reporters that he was “focused on this game.”

In an Aug. 21 virtual news conference, Head Coach Lincoln Riley said Lane was fully cleared for the last two weeks of preseason practice after being limited throughout most of the summer and would be ready for the team’s opening bout against Missouri State University, which he said was “ahead of schedule.”

Redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava said on Tuesday that Lane is looking “pretty 100%.” 

In his breakout 2024 sophomore campaign, Lane led USC in receiving touchdowns with 12, the fifth-highest total in Division I and the second most in the Big Ten. Lane appeared in all 13 games for the Trojans last season, including eight starts, after only appearing in six games the year before. 

Of the 19 players with the most receiving touchdowns in Division I last season, Lane was the only receiver with less than 1,100 receiving yards. He finished the season with 525 yards on 43 catches.

Lane’s season was highlighted by a 10-reception, 105-yard game against Wisconsin in September and back-to-back three-touchdown performances to close the season, one of which led the Trojans to a 35-31 win over Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl. For his performance, Lane earned the game’s MVP award and made the Associated Press’ All-Bowl Team.

After his impressive display last season, Lane has quickly built up stock as a potential top pick in next April’s NFL Draft. In June, ESPN Analyst Jordan Reid picked Lane as his top receiver in the 2026 draft class, but whether or not Lane’s recovery impacts his performance will likely play a major role in his draft placement should he declare.

Maiava, who also stepped into a larger role for USC in 2024 after replacing Miller Moss midway through the season, said having a talented receiver like Lane back made his job “real easy.”

“He makes it simple out there, just being able to know I’ve got No. 8 out there to throw the ball to, regardless of who’s defending,” Maiava said in a post-practice news conference Tuesday.

While Riley said on Tuesday that he is confident in Lane’s ability to perform in the first game, he called Lane’s recovery a “work in progress throughout the year.” 

“He was pretty limited early on at camp, but it’s gotten better fast,” Riley said in a post-practice news conference on Tuesday. “Even a guy that has played that much, [when] you miss that amount of time, you’ve just got to work your way back into the playing shape and locking in all the fine details and playing the position.”