Days before USC football’s season opener against Missouri State University, redshirt sophomore left tackle Elijah Paige said the “sky was the limit” for the Trojans’ offensive line.

That line, though, has hardly played together in full after multiple key injuries left the unit battered.

USC’s preseason starters were Paige, Tobias Raymond at left guard, Kilian O’Connor at center, Alani Noa at right guard and Justin Tauanuu at right tackle. 

At various points, O’Connor, Paige and Noa have all gone down with injuries, forcing Raymond and Tauanuu to switch positions at times. The line’s unofficial sixth man, Micah Banuelos, was also hit with the injury bug last week.

Depth on the O-line was a major concern coming into the season — especially after USC’s presumed starting left guard was denied an eligibility waiver by the NCAA — but multiple preseason backups have stepped up big time. Even though the line doesn’t look like what it did to start the season, the team hasn’t lost confidence, according to Head Coach Lincoln Riley. 

Many Trojans, including redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava, Riley and Paige, have attributed much of the offensive line’s depth and mentality to first-year Offensive Line Coach Zach Hanson, who took over the group in December after previously serving solely as the tight ends coach.

“Continuity is bad. The ability to overcome it has been really good,” Riley said of the offensive line in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “We’ve had some warriors that have hung in there, and then some of the guys that maybe weren’t a starter in the beginning, but when their opportunity came up, they were ready.”

Now, after missing three games and two bye weeks, Paige, who started every game last season and was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention, is back — and he hasn’t missed a beat. 

Paige shaking off ‘rust’

Despite being listed as questionable on the Big Ten’s Availability Report before Saturday’s 21-17 win over Nebraska, Paige still showed out, earning Pro Football Focus’ highest pass-blocking grade of the week at 90.8, which is considered an elite performance on PFF’s scale. He also didn’t allow a single quarterback pressure.

“It felt great; it was a blessing to be out there,” Paige said in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “I couldn’t wait to get back out there.”

While Paige thrived in parts of his game, Riley said the veteran showed “a little bit of rust,” though he continued to be a strong physical force.

“As the game kept going, he got a little bit better and got more settled in and mentally was pretty good as well,” Riley said. “It was a solid performance, and as he gets back into it, we’ll definitely expect — and he’ll expect — better.”

Paige said he has “a ton of things” to work on after the Nebraska game in both his pass and run blocking. He mentioned getting back to game speed after limited practices before the Nebraska game, as well as fixing technical issues that arose due to his time off.

“It just takes a second,” Paige said.

Riley said practice will be critical for Paige to shake the rust off since he hasn’t been able to get many “high-level” reps recently, though Riley said he expects the left tackle to continue getting back to pre-injury form.

Kaylon Miller steps up at guard position

In the week leading up to the game against Nebraska, redshirt freshman walk-on lineman Kaylon Miller had only taken reps at center in practice despite already being a backup guard. So, when Noa went down in the first quarter Saturday, Miller had to step in at right guard after playing a different position in the practices leading up to just his fourth game appearance of the season. 

Miller said learning from and competing for the starting spot with Noa, who has played in more than 20 games for USC, helped him develop into the player he is, saying he looks up to the junior guard.

“I had to feel it out the first couple plays,” Miller said of his performance against Nebraska in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “But, obviously, I was able to get back into my comfort zone a little bit and fall back in line.”

Miller’s lack of reps hardly showed, as his PFF pass-blocking grade ended up just narrowly behind Paige’s at 88.2, first among all guards in the Big Ten. After practice, Riley praised Miller’s physicality and knowledge of his assignments on any given play.

“Thoroughly impressed,” Riley said of Miller’s performance. “It’s not like he just came in and kept it together; he came in and really played at a high level.”

‘This is the best line I’ve ever seen’

On Tuesday, Riley said O’Connor was “getting better” after getting injured midway through a 34-32 loss to Illinois, though he did not give a timetable for his return, meaning redshirt senior center J’Onre Reed will likely still start against Northwestern on Friday.

After losing a tight battle for the starting spot in fall camp, Riley said multiple times that Reed would still play a big role on the line. Though he made a costly penalty filling in for O’Connor during the loss to Illinois, Reed has otherwise performed well as the starter.

“I’ve been in the back taking more mental reps, hav[ing] my head deep in the playbook and stuff like that,” Reed said ahead of his first start the week after taking over against Illinois. “They always told me, ‘Just be ready, man. The time will come, and whenever it do come, you’re going to be prepared.’ And when the time came, they had no doubt about it.”

Multiple linemen, including Kaylon, have called the line extremely close and have said they work well together and continue to help one another, which has helped new guys step up amid the many injuries. 

“This is the best line that I think I’ve ever seen,” Kaylon said. “I have 100% confidence in every single one of them.”