A closer look at the USC football depth chart
Last season was a mess, with a 4-8 record, including home losses to Stanford, Utah and Oregon State. USC had not had such a losing record since 1991 when the Trojans went 3-8.
Then came the offseason. As soon as the hiring of former Oklahoma Head Coach Lincoln Riley was announced, the excitement around campus was palpable. The transfers of high-caliber players such as receivers Mario Williams and Jordan Addison and defensive leaders like Shane Lee of Alabama only continued to feed the national storylines that begged the question: Could USC return to college football relevancy?
USC fans should expect a lot of high-scoring games from their Trojans, as USC touts an offense chock-full of Pac-12 Preseason All-Americans — as well as a defense that could be tested. Let’s dive into each position group, beginning with the man who followed his former head coach to Southern California.
Quarterbacks
In his first and only year at Oklahoma, Caleb Williams earned Freshman All-American honors and bumped former Heisman Trophy contender Spencer Rattler to the bench in the process. Williams came onto the scene with a bang, entering the middle of the Oklahoma-Texas Red River Rivalry down 17-35 before leading the Sooners to a thrilling 55-48 victory with two passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown and zero interceptions. The preseason Heisman contender finished his season with almost 2,000 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns and just 4 interceptions. The dual-threat quarterback used his feet for another 6 touchdowns and 442 yards on the ground. USC has a potential first overall NFL Draft pick in Caleb Williams. Backing Williams up will be sophomore Miller Moss, a pocket-passer with a keen ability to evade pressure and throw the deep ball with accuracy.
Receivers
Just as with the quarterback position, the wide receiver room gained invaluable skill and experience through the transfer portal. Former Sooner Mario Williams joined Riley before Caleb Williams made his decision. Williams averaged 10.9 yards per catch and scored 4 touchdowns for the Sooners last year. His already-established connection with Caleb Williams will certainly help Riley’s offense find its footing.
Jordan Addison, winner of the 2021 Biletnikoff Award for college football’s most outstanding receiver, will also be sporting cardinal and gold this season after transferring from Pittsburgh. Addison had a whopping 1593 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns last season.
Third on the receiving depth chart is Colorado transfer Brenden Rice, whose speed and size are reminiscent of his father Jerry, who played some decent football in the state of California in his hayday. Rounding out the board are returning receivers Tahj Washington, who had 54 receptions for 602 yards for the Trojans last season, and Kyle Ford, who averaged 13.3 yards per catch last year.
Running Backs
Continuing the theme of star players transferring to USC is redshirt senior running back Travis Dye. During his last season at Oregon, Dye rushed for more than 1200 yards and 16 touchdowns. Dye played a key role in the Ducks’ passing game, adding 402 yards and 2 touchdowns on 46 receptions. Dye is shifty and has an innate ability to make tacklers miss in the open field. He can turn on the jets right out of the gate, using his speed to blaze past the defensive line and into the secondary.
Riley has expressed his desire to develop USC’s run game. Last season at Oklahoma, only six teams averaged more yards per carry than the Sooners. The Trojans also added former Stanford senior running back Austin Jones to their backfield. Jones was a solid contributor to a subpar Stanford team with over 500 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. Also in the backfield is returning redshirt USC junior Darwin Barlow, a strong and powerful back good for short-yardage situations.
Tight Ends
Redshirt senior Malcolm Epps is the likely starting tight end, and has received praise from tight ends coach Zach Hanson for his work ethic and impressive plays on the field. Epps was not necessarily a receiving threat last year, with only 10 catches for 173 yards, but with a talented group of wide receivers attracting more attention from opposing defenses, the former Texas transfer could have more opportunities this season.
Joining Epps in the tight ends room is redshirt junior Jude Wolfe and redshirt freshman Lake McRee. Neither bring much receiving experience to the table, but their size will be effective in Hanson’s vision for the tight end position at USC. Hanson, a former offensive line coach, has said his players will be focused on blocking in USC’s new offensive scheme.
Offensive Line
Some blocking assistance from the tight end position might be welcomed by USC’s offensive line, which is perhaps the biggest question mark on the offensive side of the ball. While returning starters redshirt seniors Andrew Vorhees, Justin Dedich and Brett Neilon bring that ever-so-valuable experience to the first unit, there are questions about those further down the depth chart. Vorhees had an excellent season last year, the only lineman in the NCAA who sported a 90+ pass-blocking and run-blocking Pro Football Focus grade. Neilon didn’t allow a single sack in 534 snaps last season.
However, playing in the trenches is no easy task, and USC’s veteran offensive linemen will need relief from the second-string. New offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Josh Henson will be vital in developing solid options for protecting Caleb Williams and USC’s run game. A national champion and former lineman himself, Henson is celebrated as one of the best offensive lineman coaches in college football.
Defensive Line
Last year, USC’s pass rush struggled, allowing 8.77 yards per pass attempt and sacking the opposing quarterback just 1.75 times per game, on average. The return of starting defensive end redshirt senior Nick Figueroa, who had 16 total tackles last year, will help bolster the defensive line. Figueroa’s explosiveness and ball location put pressure on both passing and rushing plays.
Another star of the defensive line is junior Tuli Tuipulotu. The junior had a monster season last year, with 34 tackles, 17 quarterback hurries and 6 sacks. NFL Draft experts project Tuipulotu to have top 50 pick potential and under new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, the defensive lineman native could have another dominant year.
Linebackers
Returning senior Ralen Goforth leads the linebacker room, with 60 total tackles and a forced fumble last season. Alabama transfer Shane Lee adds valuable championship experience to a team that hasn’t been to the Pac-12 Championship since 2020. Lee had a breakout year in 2019, with 86 total tackles and 4.5 sacks, but in the following two seasons made significantly less of an impact on Alabama’s competitive roster. Riley has spoken highly of Lee’s leadership, comparing him to former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts, who transferred to Riley’s Oklahoma team in 2019.
Cornerbacks
The cornerback position, unsurprisingly, benefited greatly from the transfer portal. Former Colorado corner Mekhi Blackmon had 41 total tackles, broke up 4 passes and added an interception last year. The redshirt senior from Palo Alto will be in a position to lead the pass coverage, which has struggled as of late for the Trojans. Redshirt sophomore Joshua Jackson Jr. is the projected starter opposite Blackmon. Jackson Jr. switched positions from wide receiver to cornerback in the spring of 2021, and 9 nine tackles and 1 interception in 7 games for the Trojans last season.
Safeties
Xavion Alford, a redshirt sophomore returning to USC, secured his starter status last season with 31 total tackles and 3 interceptions. The former Texas Longhorn will look to build on what was an impressive first season with the Trojans. As a freshman, Calen Bullock started the season opener and had 8 tackles against San Jose State. Bullock finished the season with 6 starts, 39 tackles and 2 interceptions. Bullock was a Freshman All-American in 2021 and will see a lot of playing time this season.
Special Teams
USC will revamp their special teams, with the loss of punter Ben Griffiths, placekicker Parker Lewis and long snapper Damon Johnson. There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding the punter position, as both walk-on candidates redshirt junior Will Rose and redshirt sophomore Michael McAllister have not seen game action. Redshirt senior Alex Stadthaus will likely be the starting kicker for the Trojans. The redshirt senior is 6-for-6 in his in-game field goal attempts, adding a perfect record on his PATs. Redshirt senior Jac Casasante, junior Daniel Meunier and redshirt sophomore Nathan Weneta will compete for the starting long snapper role.