NCAAF
LOS ANGELES — With spring practice in the books and the transfer portal window closed, we have a good idea of what USC’s roster will look like when training camp opens in a few months.
So let’s project how the Trojans’ depth chart will stack up. We’re looking at USC’s defense today. Here is our projected offensive depth chart from last week.
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Let’s get started.
Starters: Anthony Lucas (Jr.), Nate Clifton (R-Sr.), Bear Alexander (Jr.), Jamil Muhammad (R-Sr.)
Backups: Braylan Shelby (So.), Elijah Hughes (So.), Kobe Pepe (R-Sr.), Sam Greene (R-Fr.)
Lincoln Riley said USC needs help here and so far — even though the program has tried — it’s done little to address the issue through the spring portal window.
Alexander is a stud but everything else in this group has questions. Clifton was productive for a bad Vanderbilt team last season. How will that translate to the Trojans and the Big Ten? Can Lucas unlock his potential and stay on the field after falling out of the rotation last season? Muhammad started strong last year but had an extremely quiet second half. Can he bounce back and be consistently productive for a full season?
USC needs positive answers to all those questions if the defense is going to take a step forward under new coordinator D’Anton Lynn.
The depth along the interior of the defensive line is a major concern. Pepe hasn’t played much in his four seasons on campus and there’s a chance he might be part of the Trojans’ rotation this fall, which is concerning. Hughes showed some flashes as a freshman, so we’ll see what that leads to as a sophomore. Shelby has some solid potential on the edge.
There’s no concrete answer as to where the pass rush will come along the front and it seems like the staff has the same concern, which is why they’ve targeted edge rushers in the portal this spring.
It’ll be worth keeping an eye on true freshman Kameryn Fountain, who was the highest-rated player in USC’s 2024 recruiting class, and seventh-year senior Solomon Tuliaupupu, who is coming off a knee injury, to see how they’ll factor into the defensive line rotation as well.
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Starters: Easton Mascarenas-Arnold (Sr.), Mason Cobb (R-Sr.) or Eric Gentry (Sr.)
Backups: Raesjon Davis (Sr.)
Mascarenas-Arnold, a first-team All-Pac-12 player last year, seems pretty set as a starter. Who lines up next to him remains to be seen. In the spring game, it was Cobb, who was fairly inconsistent last season. Gentry is the other candidate. Gentry looked like an impact player the first half of the 2022 season but suffered an ugly ankle injury midway through that year and didn’t look quite the same. He didn’t have as big of a role last season as the staff sorted through linebacker options.
The potential is there, but we’ll see if the 6-foot-6, 215-pound Gentry can last through the course of a 12-game season in a new conference like the Big Ten where opponents will certainly test him in the run game.
There seems to be a gap between those three and Davis, who missed most of the spring with hand and wrist injuries, which put him behind the 8-ball practice-wise in a new system. Davis was a top-50 prospect in the 2021 recruiting cycle but didn’t receive real playing time until last season and even then, it still wasn’t a ton. So, it’ll be a critical training camp for Davis.
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True freshman Desman Stephens II looks the part physically so he’ll be one to track over the next few years, as will fellow freshman Elijah Newby.
Starter: Jaylin Smith (Sr.)
Backups: Greedy Vance Jr. (R-Jr.) or Prophet Brown (R-Jr.)
This will be intriguing to watch during camp. Smith can line up in several different spots in the secondary, as he displayed when he started at safety and had the best game of his career in the Holiday Bowl.
He was banged up in the spring and didn’t practice much. Brown started at corner in the Holiday Bowl and played well. It seems like he took a step forward this spring. He can play nickel and corner.
USC added Vance, a Florida State transfer, in the spring. It’s not officially known what position Vance will play but the Trojans clearly value height and length at corner so the 5-foot-11, 170-pound Vance might fit the nickel profile better.
He started five games for the Seminoles last season and it’s unlikely the coaching staff would’ve added him this late if they didn’t think he could contribute in the fall.
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Starters: Kamari Ramsey (R-So.), Akili Arnold (R-Sr.)
Backups: Zion Branch (R-So.), Anthony Beavers Jr. (R-Jr.), Bryson Shaw (R-Sr.), Christian Pierce (So.)
The Trojans are deeper here than they have been at any point in Riley’s tenure. Ramsey (UCLA) and Arnold (Oregon State) are two players who joined the program after Lynn was hired. Ramsey played for Lynn last season at UCLA.
The fact Lynn brought both in through the portal makes them the front runners to start, though, we’ll have to see if Branch can make some noise once he’s cleared to fully participate in practice for camp. He has all the athletic ability and the size, but he’s been hampered by injuries his first few years on campus.
Pierce is another young player with promise, He underwent shoulder surgery this past offseason and was a bit limited during the spring.
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Shaw is experienced and has started several games over the past few years. He was clearly trusted by the prior defensive staff but it’s unclear how he factors into this rotation.
Beavers spent his first three seasons at safety but didn’t play much until he earned a start in the Holiday Bowl and performed well. Toward the end of spring, Riley revealed that the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Beavers had also been working a little at linebacker. That development will need to be monitored during fall camp.
Starters: Jacobe Covington (R-Sr.) or John Humphrey (R-Sr.) or DeCarlos Nicholson (R-Sr.)
Backups: Marcelles Williams (Fr.), Maliki Crawford (R-Fr.)
USC’s corners look a lot different this year. There’s a lot more length and size at that position. Covington, Humphrey and Nicholson are all at least 6-foot-2.
Covington is in his third year with the program and has the prototypical size for the position but has been in and out of the starting lineup for one reason or another the past two seasons. He’ll contend with Humphrey, a UCLA transfer, and Nicholson, a Mississippi State transfer, for a starting role.
Humphrey had to miss the final part of the spring because he had shoulder surgery. Nicholson recorded two interceptions in the spring game and displayed his potential.
Williams also recorded an interception that day. He received more hype from USC players than any other true freshman this spring. He’ll likely be in the corner rotation this fall.
Crawford is still a developing prospect. Brown could factor into this rotation if needed as well. As things stand, the secondary is set to be the strength of USC’s defense.
(Top photo of Bear Alexander: Darren Yamashita / USA Today)
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Antonio Morales covers USC football for The Athletic. Previously, he spent three years at the Clarion Ledger in Mississippi, where he covered Ole Miss for two seasons and Jackson State for another. He also spent two years covering preps for the Orange County Register and Torrance Daily Breeze. Follow Antonio on Twitter @AntonioCMorales
