When was the last time, truly, a USC football team flirted with immortality?
Was it the Sam Darnold-and-Clay-Helton-led Rose Bowl win in 2016? The peak of the Lane Kiffin era, with Matt Barkley slinging passes to Robert Woods and Marquise Lee? Or, by current quarterback Caleb Williams’ definition – the undefeated 2004 national championship run, clouded years later by the Reggie Bush investigation?
Define that as you may. But expectations haven’t boomed this loud for the Trojans in a long time, heading into the second year of the Lincoln Riley-Williams combination, bolstered by a slew of new faces and some of the best position-wide depth on campus since the Carroll days. And internally, USC hasn’t been shy about its goal of history.
Of – as Williams defines it – immortality.
“Immortality comes from championships, and things like that, and I haven’t reached one here in college,” Williams said. “And, you know, we got a special moment here this year to be able to go reach one.”
After a turnaround that put the nation on notice last year, from a 4-8 slog in 2021 to an 11-3 juggernaut in 2022 under Riley, USC enters this season with its highest ranking in the AP preseason poll – sixth – since 2017. They are the overwhelming favorites to win the Pac-12, a championship that would likely seed them for the first time in a long-desired College Football Playoff bracket.
And when asked this week what difference he saw between last year’s team and this year’s entering the start of the season, Riley spoke with tongue firmly in cheek: “More good players. Less bad players.”
He continued on, though, to praise that program depth, bolstered in the offseason by aggressive recruiting and picking off transfer-portal standouts like a kid running through a field of daisies. After battles galore during fall camp, here’s a position-by-position preview of USC’s difference-makers in 2023.
Quarterbacks
For as long as reigning Heisman Trophy winner Williams chooses to wear cardinal-and-gold – and, heck, it might be into next year, if recent comments to ESPN are any indication – he’ll keep freewheeling behind center for USC.
Redshirt sophomore Miller Moss, who has seen bits and pieces of playing time across the past couple of years, was unsurprisingly named Williams’ backup in USC’s first public depth chart. Freshman Malachi Nelson was one of the top 2023 quarterback recruits in the nation and still stands as the eventual heir apparent to Williams, but he has been limited by injury and inconsistency at times through the spring and fall.
Running backs
Less cut-and-dry than the QB spot. Both Riley and running backs coach Kiel McDonald have been mum as to how the returning Austin Jones and South Carolina transfer MarShawn Lloyd will be used in USC’s offense.
Jones stepped seamlessly into the starting role last year after starting RB Travis Dye went down with a season-ending injury, while Lloyd is a bowling ball of sinew who broke out at South Carolina last season. Both have similar frames and similar profiles as pass-catchers, and both are listed as potential starters, so their deployment is a point to watch Saturday against San Jose State.
Behind redshirt senior Darwin Barlow, too, keep an eye out for freshman Quinten Joyner, a game-breaker at Manor High in Texas who has turned heads in camp.
Wide receivers
Will USC have the best receiver room in the nation this year?
“We better,” outside wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons said.
No embellishment. It’s quite possible. The Trojans didn’t miss a beat when last year’s leading receiver Jordan Addison graduated, as Arizona transfer Dorian Singer and his 1,105 yards last season join three players – Mario Williams, Tahj Washington and Brenden Rice – who racked up 600-plus yards for USC last year. Zachariah Branch, one of the best recruits in the country regardless of position, joins the fray as a true freshman, and his sheer talent will likely translate to significant snaps as the season progresses.
And perhaps the biggest standout of all from fall was redshirt sophomore Kyron Hudson, who has been listed as a potential starter for Week 0 and who Riley called the “MVP” of camp.
Tight ends
The “silent-hero” group of the team, as returner Jude Wolfe put it, USC’s tight ends are more used as blockers in Riley’s scheme. Wolfe is back from a season-ending foot injury last year, but redshirt sophomore Lake McRee has been tabbed as the starter.
Offensive line
Get this: exactly none of USC’s planned O-line starters for Saturday played the same positions in college last year.
Jonah Monheim, an All-Pac-12 honorable mention last year, is shifting from right tackle to left tackle. Justin Dedich fills the hole left by graduated Brett Neilon at center. Transfers Jarrett Kingston, Michael Tarquin, and Emmanuel Pregnon will slot in at right guard, right tackle and left guard, respectively – all of whom played primarily on opposite sides at previous stops.
It’s a fluid situation in front of Williams’ prized right arm that Riley is hopeful “will settle,” he said Thursday, by the end of the year. The line is backed up by strong depth, though, with versatile redshirt senior Gino Quinones; redshirt sophomore Mason Murphy, who pushed Tarquin in camp; and freshman Alani Noa, who has been so impressive that he’s a candidate to start over Pregnon at left guard.
Defensive line
Last year’s wrecking ball Tuli Tuipulotu is now making waves with the NFL’s Chargers, which is wonderful for USC’s reputation but less wonderful for its current line group. There’s a ton of new talent here, but a ton of question marks: transfers Anthony Lucas and Bear Alexander figure to play major roles at rush end and nose tackle, respectively, but both dealt with struggles during their freshman years at Texas A&M and Georgia.
A major key here will be the play of transfer Kyon Barrs, who said the room has “looked to me like the vet” despite entering his first season at USC from Arizona. Returner Solomon Byrd, too, has been a steady and improved presence in camp at rush end.
Linebacker
Perhaps the strongest point of depth on USC’s defense, the Trojans return major pieces in Eric Gentry and co-captain Shane Lee. Both have been temporarily leapfrogged, though, by a pair of new faces: Mason Cobb, a transfer from Oklahoma State who made such an immediate impression he was selected by Riley to represent USC at Pac-12 media day, and true freshman Tackett Curtis, a hard-hitting Louisiana kid set to become an instant fan favorite.
Secondary
USC has plenty of experience here – but experience that will need to take major steps to fulfill championship aspirations.
Junior Calen Bullock, a first-team All-American last year, and redshirt seniors Max Williams and Bryson Shaw are relative locks for solid seasons at safety, while Zion Branch made a huge impact in camp and should earn significant snaps after an injury derailed his freshman year.
At cornerback, Riley and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch are betting on the progress of Ceyair Wright and Domani Jackson, the latter of whom the staff is high on after an injury-plagued freshman year. Returner Jaylin Smith has shifted from safety to nickelback, and Arizona transfer Christian Roland-Wallace is listed as a backup on the team’s first depth chart but figures to earn plenty of playing time as a “Swiss Army Knife,” as defensive backs coach Donte Williams said.