2021 USC Spring Football Outlook
3/26/2021
If USC football was listed as a stock on the New York Stock Exchange, analysts would slap a BUY rating on it right now. The Trojans are trending up and their prospects for 2021 are bullish.
Troy is coming off consecutive seasons where improvement was evident on and off the field. After a bounce-back 8-win season in 2019, USC started off 5-0 in last year’s pandemic-shortened campaign and won the Pac-12 South Division title before falling by a touchdown in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Since then, USC signed a Top 10 recruiting class (including the nation’s No. 1 recruit) while also retaining 16 of last season’s starters on offense and defense (including a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback), plus the punter and kicker. Among the 26 newcomers--14 of whom are enrolled for this spring semester and will participate in spring practice--are 4 collegiate transfers.
In all, 97 squadmen from last year are back, including 14 who are repeating their senior years as allowed by an NCAA rule enacted because COVID-19 shortened the 2020 season. On USC’s 123-man 2021 roster, 61 players saw game action last year and 41 have started at least once in their careers.
“We were very proud of our team last season, winning 5 games in a row, getting to the Pac-12 Championship Game and being a win away from the College Football Playoff while navigating through the pandemic,” said Clay Helton, now in his sixth full season as USC’s head coach. “But we were sick with the way it ended in that Pac-12 Championship Game. What that did, however, was create a very hungry team and coaching staff for 2021.
“We saw what kind of team we were able to build last season and then in the off-season we saw the results of our recruiting and the staff additions we made. That should lead to a very dynamic 2021 season. It is an exciting time for Trojan football.”
USC’s potent offense—which in 2020 averaged 416.7 total yards per game, including 319.3 passing to rank 11th nationally, and 33.3 points—brings back its top passer and top 2 rushers along with 9 players who caught a pass last year and 4 starting linemen. Quarterback Kedon Slovis, a 2-year starter who has completed 70% of his career passes for nearly 5,500 yards and 50 TDs and already is in the Top 10 on USC’s career completions chart, is a leading Heisman nominee after an All-Pac-12 first team season in 2020 when he led the nation in completions and was in the Top 20 in passing yards, total offense and completion percentage. Wide receiver Drake London, another 2-year starter, will be among the nation’s top receivers; he has 72 career receptions with 8 TDs, including 33 catches for a team-high 502 yards last fall. USC sports a pair of 1,000-yard career rushers in tailbacks Vavae Malepeai (1,503 yards with 17 TDs) and Stephen Carr (1,329, 12). Tight end Erik Krommenhoek has 24 catches and 12 starts in his career. Four-fifths of Troy’s offensive line is back: 3-year starting guard Andrew Vorhees (he was on the left side in 2020), 2-year starting center Brett Neilon, 2-year starter Jalen McKenzie (he was at right tackle last year after playing guard in 2019) and Liam Jimmons, last year’s right guard.
Other offensive players returning with career starts at USC are tailback Kenan Christon, wide receiver Bru McCoy, tight end Josh Falo and offensive linemen Justin Dedich and Courtland Ford.
The Trojan defense, which last season allowed its third fewest average total yards (369.7) and second fewest passing yards (216.3) since 2009 while averaging 2.7 takeaways a game (its best since 2005), welcomes back 18 of its top 21 tacklers from 2020, as well as its leaders in sacks, tackles for loss, pass deflections and forced fumbles. Outside linebacker Drake Jackson, who has 17 career tackles for loss (with 7.5 sacks), is one of the nation’s most dominant pass rushers. Safety Isaiah Pola-Mao has 121 tackles and 5 interceptions in his career, while cornerback Chris Steele—a 2-year starter like Jackson and Pola-Mao—has 9 career pass deflections. Both inside linebackers are back: Kana’i Mauga (116 career tackles), another 2-year starter, and Ralen Goforth. Defensive lineman Nick Figueroa sprang onto the scene last year while leading Troy in tackles for loss (7) and sacks (3.5), as did fellow lineman Tuli Tuipulotu, who was a Freshman All-American second teamer in 2020. Safeties Greg Johnson and Max Williams, who shared starts at nickelback last fall, both return.
Others on defense back in 2021 who own USC career starts are inside linebackers Jordan Iosefa, Palaie Gaoteote IV and Eli’jah Winston, cornerbacks Isaac Taylor-Stuart and Dorian Hewett, safety Chase Williams, defensive linemen Brandon Pili, Caleb Tremblay and Jacob Lichtenstein and outside linebacker Hunter Echols.
Australian Ben Griffiths, whose 46.4-yard punting average was the highest by a Trojan since 2003, is back for his third season as USC’s punter. Parker Lewis, who won the kicking job as a true freshman last year, was 20th nationally in field goals and had touchbacks on nearly 60% of his kickoffs. Damon Johnson, a 2020 Mannelly Award finalist, will long snap for a fifth season.
“I feel really good about our team in all phases of the game,” said Helton, who has coached the Trojans in 5 bowls games, with a Rose Bowl victory in 2016, and 3 Pac-12 Championship Games, including a win in 2017. “Our offense is hard to defend and features one of the nation’s premier quarterbacks, an outstanding receiver corps, some veteran running backs who are now healthy and most of the line coming back. Our defense improved tremendously last year and should continue that way in 2021, with one of the country’s best secondaries, some fierce edge rushers and some solid play up front and at linebacker. Our special teams were terrific last year and we expect more of that this season; the punter crushes the ball and our kicker performed very well as a true freshman.”
Helton added two new faces to the fulltime Trojan coaching staff in 2021: Clay McGuire takes over as offensive line coach after doing similar work in such Air Raid-style offenses as Texas Tech and Washington State and Seth Doege was elevated from offensive quality control analyst to tight ends coach. Cornerbacks coach Donte Williams, voted the Pac-12’s top recruiter the past 2 seasons, was given the added title of associate head coach. The remainder of USC’s assistant coach roster and responsibilities remain intact: Graham Harrell (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks), Todd Orlando (defensive coordinator/linebackers), Sean Snyder (special teams coordinator), Craig Naivar (safeties), Keary Colbert (wide receivers), Mike Jinks (running backs) and Vic So’oto (defensive line).
Helton also brought in Robert Stiner as the director of football sports performance. Stiner helped Notre Dame to a pair of College Football Playoff appearances in the past 3 seasons and also has been on the strength and conditioning staffs at Cincinnati, LSU and Mississippi State.
Although USC lost just 6 starters from 2020, they were impact players (4 were All-Pac-10 first team selections last fall). Safety Talanoa Hufanga, who had 203 career tackles, was an All-American first teamer, the Polynesian Co-College Player of the Year, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and a Lott IMPACT Trophy finalist in 2020 when he led USC in tackles (62), interceptions (4) and forced fumbles (2) to rank in the national Top 20 in those categories. Wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown (11th on USC’s career receptions ladder with 178 catches, including 16 TDs) made the 2020 All-Pac-12 first team after having team highs in receptions (41) and TD catches (7, including an NCAA record-tying 4 in the opening quarter versus Washington State), while Tyler Vaughns (33 grabs with 3 TDs in 2020) finished third on USC’s career receptions list with 222 catches and 20 scores. Alijah Vera-Tucker, a 2020 All-Pac-12 first team choice when he won the Morris Trophy, started at left offensive tackle last year after being the left guard the previous season. Marlon Tuipulotu was a 3-year starting defensive lineman who had 104 tackles in his career, including 23 last fall when he made the All-Pac-12 first team. Olaijah Griffin was a 2-year starter at cornerback with 14 career pass breakups. Others gone include Matt Fink, who completed 67.3% of his passes while serving mainly as the backup quarterback (he had 1 career start), tailback Markese Stepp (505 career yards with 6 TDs) and placekickers Chase McGrath (32 field goals, 118 PATs in his career while starting in 2017 and 2019) and Michael Brown, who filled in when McGrath was hurt early in the 2018 season.
USC, which for the first time since 2009 will play all its regular season games on Saturdays, has a demanding 2021 schedule. Besides playing 9 Pac-12 opponents, Troy’s 3 non-conference foes were ranked in the final AP Top 25 poll last year. The Trojans, however, do play 7 of their 12 contests at home in the Coliseum.
USC opens in the Coliseum on Sept. 4 of Labor Day weekend against defending Mountain West champion San Jose State. The teams last met in 2009. The Trojans remain at home the following week to start Pac-12 play with a visit from Stanford on Sept. 11. It will be the Pac-12’s first game of the 2021 campaign. USC then travels to Washington State on Sept. 18, its first trip to Pullman since 2017. Troy returns home on Sept. 25 to host Oregon State. The teams have not played since 2018 (and not in the Coliseum since 2017). The Trojans begin October play by traveling to Colorado on Oct. 2, then are back in the Coliseum on Oct. 9 to battle Utah. Following a bye week, USC returns to action on Oct. 23 when it goes to South Bend for its traditional intersectional clash with Notre Dame, a 2020 College Football Playoff semifinalist. Arizona comes to the Coliseum on Oct. 30 before the Trojans embark on a two-game road trip to open up November, playing at Arizona State on Nov. 6 and at California on Nov. 13. USC concludes its regular season with a pair of home contests, first facing crosstown rival UCLA on Nov. 20 and then independent BYU on Nov. 27 of Thanksgiving weekend. It will be the first time since 2009 when it played Arizona that USC will end its regular season against a team other than UCLA or Notre Dame and the first since 1999 (when it hosted Louisiana Tech) doing so against a non-conference foe other than Notre Dame. The Pac-12 Football Championship Game will be on Friday, Dec. 3, in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev.
“Between the always-tough Pac-12 opponents and 3 outstanding non-conference teams, this schedule gives us an opportunity to create an unbelievable resume,” said Helton, who has guided the Trojans to 12 victories over AP Top 25 teams in his 68-game career, including 3 in the Top 5. “Each week will be a challenge. We’ll need to bring our ‘A’ game every time we take the field.”
OFFENSE
Starters return at 8 positions on offense from 2020: quarterback Kedon Slovis, wide receiver Drake London, co-starting tailbacks Vavae Malepeai and Stephen Carr, tight end Erik Krommenhoek and offensive linemen Brett Neilon, Jalen McKenzie, Andrew Vorhees and Liam Jimmons. Other offensive players back with starting experience at USC are tailback Kenan Christon, wide receiver Bru McCoy, tight end Josh Falo and offensive linemen Justin Dedich and Courtland Ford.
USC’s Air Raid-style offense averaged 416.7 total yards in 2020 under second-year offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, including 319.3 passing to rank 11th nationally (Troy’s second highest average since 2005). The Trojans scored 33.3 points per outing and ranked in the national Top 20 in completion percentage (.672) and fourth down conversions (.667). USC’s leading passer, top 2 rushers, 9 players who caught a pass and 4 starting linemen from last year are back. But the rushing average of 97.3 was the program’s lowest since 2001 (for the third consecutive year) and was the eighth lowest in the nation last year.
QUARTERBACKS
Junior Kedon Slovis (177-of-264, 67.1%, 1,921 yds, 17 TD, 7 int in 2020), a bull’s-eye accurate passer who is a leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy, will start for his third season in 2021. In his career, he has hit 70%--above the school record--of his 656 passes for 5,423 yards with 47 TDs and 16 interceptions to rank ninth on USC’s all-time completions list and 10th in total offense. He was the All-Pac-12 first team signalcaller last fall when he topped the nation in completions (29.5) and was in the Top 20 in passing yards (320.2), total offense (310.7) and completion percentage (.670). In 2020, he calmly led the Trojans to a trio of comeback victories in the games’ final 2 minutes and he twice threw 5 TDs in a game.
With the graduation of Matt Fink, the backup quarterback the past 4 seasons, there will be a battle for the No. 2 job. Senior Mo Hasan has the most experience, having completed 11 passes with a TD while at Vanderbilt in 2018 and 2019 (he started once there, leading the Commodores to a victory). He did not see action last year at USC, sidelined most of the season with a leg injury. Walk-ons Brad Aoki, a junior who originally was a wideout, and redshirt freshman Isaac Ward have yet to play at USC.
A pair of gifted freshmen who graduated a semester early from high school and enrolled at USC this spring also will jockey for the role: Jaxson Dart (Corner Canyon High in Draper, Ut.), who was the National High School Player of the Year last season when he threw for 4,691 yards and a state-record 67 touchdowns while completing 69.6% of his aerials and ran for another 1,195 yards, and Miller Moss (Bishop Alemany High in Mission Hills, Calif.), who hit 67.4% of his throws for 3,118 yards and 28 TDs as a prep junior in 2019.
RUNNING BACKS
USC has a full stable of talented running backs, led by a pair of seniors who both have run for 1,000-plus yards in their career and shared starts in 2020: Vavae Malepeai (54 tcb, 238 yds, 4.4 avg, 3 TD in 2020, plus 16 rec, 64 yds, 4.0 avg), who has 1,503 career yards with 17 TDs along with 49 receptions, and Stephen Carr (46 tcb, 176 yds, 3.8 avg, 2 TD in 2020, plus 10 rec, 64 yds, 6.4 avg), who has tallied 1,329 rushing yards as a Trojan with 12 TDs plus 57 receptions. Malepeai led USC in 2020 with 238 rushing yards, including the late game-winning 8-yard TD at Arizona, and added 16 catches. Carr was second on the Trojans with 176 rushing yards and 2 scores along with 10 clutches.
Junior Kenan Christon (10 tcb, 70 yds, 7.0 avg in 2020, plus 2 rec, 0 yds, 0.0 avg) adds blazing speed to the backfield. He is the fastest Trojan (he sprints for USC’s track team and has a lifetime best of 10.30 in the 100 meters that he posted when he won at the 2019 California state meet). He has 443 career yards on the ground, including 70 in 2020. Senior Quincy Jountti (2 tcb, 4 yds, 2.0 avg in 2020, plus 1 FR) has seen limited action on offense, but contributes on special teams.
Senior Grant Jones and redshirt freshman Matt Colombo, both walk-ons, have yet to see action on offense. Jones will be slowed in 2021 spring practice due to a knee injury.
Joining the running back corps this spring are senior Keaontay Ingram, who transferred to USC from Texas where in his 3 seasons he rushed for 1,811 yards and 11 TDs and caught 67 passes with 6 scores, and freshman Brandon Campbell (Lamar Consolidated High in Rosenberg, Tex.), who graduated a semester early from high school where he totaled 1,555 yards and 23 TDs in 2018 and 2019.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Two of the finest wide receivers in USC history are gone, leaving big shoes to fill in 2021. Amon-Ra St. Brown, who declared for the NFL Draft after his junior campaign, ended up 11th on the USC career receptions ladder with 178 catches, including 16 TDs. He was selected to the 2020 All-Pac-12 first team after leading Troy in receptions (41) and TD catches (7). In the first quarter of last year’s Washington State game, he tied an NCAA record with 4 TD grabs. Tyler Vaughns finished his Trojan tenure ranked No. 3 on USC’s career receptions list with 222 catches and 20 scores. Last fall, he had 33 receptions with 3 TDs.
Despite these losses, the Trojan wideout room remains deep and talented. Start with ultra-athletic junior Drake London (33 rec, 502 yds, 15.2 avg, 3 TD in 2020, plus 1 tac), a 2-year starter who is one of the college game’s premier pass catchers. He already has 72 career receptions with 8 TDs, including 33 catches for a team-high 502 yards last fall. He pulled down the game-winning 21-yard TD pass over 2 defenders late in the Arizona State opener and had a highlight reel 65-yard catch-and-run TD at UCLA where he bulled through most of the Bruin defense. He also played basketball as a freshman at USC, but is now focusing solely on the gridiron.
A number of tested returnees will battle for starting roles, including sophomores Bru McCoy (21 rec, 236 yds, 11.2 avg, 2 TD in 2020, plus 1 FR), Gary Bryant Jr. (7 rec, 51 yds, 7.3 avg in 2020, plus 8 KOR, 210 yds, 26.2 avg and 1 tcb, -6 yds, -6.0 avg), Kyle Ford and Munir McClain and junior John Jackson III (1 rec, 23 yds, 23.0 avg in 2020). McCoy, who sat out the 2019 season, made an immediate impact in his Trojan debut in last year’s Arizona State opener when he caught a 26-yard TD off a tipped ball on fourth down with less than 3 minutes to play and then recovered the ensuing onside kick that led to USC’s game-winning scoring drive. The elusive Bryant, whose team-best 26.2-yard kickoff return average was 22nd nationally, will be remembered for his 56-yard kick runback at UCLA in the game’s final minute to put the Trojans in position for the game-winning score. Ford (knee injury that could limit him in 2021 spring drills) and McClain (suspended) missed last season.
There also are 4 walk-on wide receivers--junior Zach Wilson, sophomore Chase Locke and redshirt freshmen Danny Ryan and Ty Shamblin--but none has caught a pass and only Wilson has seen brief action.
Senior K.D. Nixon, who transferred from Colorado this spring, figures to make an instant and significant contribution to the offense. He caught 104 passes for 1,250 yards with 7 TDs in his 4-year Buffalo career while starting 23 times and he also returned 33 kickoffs for a 23.0 average. He ranks in CU’s all-time Top 20 in receptions, receiving yards, kickoff returns and kickoff return yardage. His 96-yard scoring catch against Nebraska in 2019 set a school record.
Three touted freshmen pass catchers will battle for playing time: Michael Jackson III (Desert Pines High in Las Vegas, Nev.), a 2020 prep All-American who graduated early from high school to enroll at USC this spring, plus fall enrollees Joseph Manjack IV (Tomball Memorial High in Tomball, Tex.) and Kyron Ware-Hudson (Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif.).
TIGHT ENDS
USC has a nice mix of experienced returners and promising newcomers among its tight ends roster.
Senior Erik Krommenhoek (9 rec, 59 yds, 6.6 avg, 2 TD in 2020), who has 24 catches and 12 starts in his career, returns as the starter. Other veterans here are fellow senior Josh Falo, who has 18 career catches with 3 TDs and 5 starts, and sophomore Jude Wolfe (2 rec, 5 yds, 2.5 avg in 2020), who is coming off a broken foot late in the 2020 season.
Soph Ethan Rae has yet to see action at USC due to a lingering knee injury. Also available are walk-ons Sean Mahoney, a sophomore, and senior Kohl Hollinquest.
Then there is a pair of talented freshmen in Lake McRee (Lake Travis High in Lake Travis, Tex.), who enrolled at USC this spring after graduating high school a semester early, and Michael Trigg (Carrollwood Day School in Tampa, Fla.), who comes aboard in the fall.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
USC’s offensive line returns nearly intact. But there are some high-potential players looking to break into the rotation.
The one starter who must be replaced was a really good one: Alijah Vera-Tucker, who declared for the NFL Draft. He was a 2020 All-Pac-12 first teamer and won the Morris Trophy while starting at left tackle. In 2019 as the left guard, he was ranked as the Pac-12’s top guard by Pro Football Focus.
The four returning starters are 3-year starting guard Andrew Vorhees (he was on the left side in 2020 after previously playing on the right), 2-year starting center Brett Neilon, 2-year starter Jalen McKenzie (he played right tackle last year after being mostly at right guard in 2019) and Liam Jimmons, last year’s right guard.
Pushing them will be juniors Justin Dedich (3 career starts at center), Liam Douglass (he has seen action in 8 games in his career) and AJ Mageo (he has yet to play at USC) as well as Frank Martin II and Bernard Schirmer (both have seen brief action at USC, but opted out of the 2020 season), along with sophomores Jason Rodriguez (he has appeared in 5 career games) and Gino Quinones (he hasn’t played yet as a Trojan).
Several offensive linemen in last year’s large freshman crop gained valuable experience in 2020 and any of them could contend for playing time as redshirt freshmen in 2021. Courtland Ford started—and showed well—at left guard against Washington State, while Jonah Monheim saw significant action at right guard in that game. Casey Collier at tackle and Andrew Milek at center also got into the WSU game briefly. Andres Dewerk and Caadyn Stephen did not play last fall.
Three walk-ons who have yet to get onto the field at USC are also available: senior Damian Lopez and juniors Joe Bryson and Mark Zuvich.
Three freshmen linemen, who each stand 6-6, will join the Trojans in the fall: prep All-American Mason Murphy (JSerra Catholic High in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), as well as Ty Buchanan (Calallen High in Corpus Christi, Tex.) and Maximus Gibbs (St. John Bosco High in Bellflower, Calif.).
DEFENSE
USC’s defense has starters returning at 8 positions from 2020: outside linebacker Drake Jackson, safety Isaiah Pola-Mao, cornerback Chris Steele, inside linebackers Kana’i Mauga and Ralen Goforth, defensive linemen Nick Figueroa and Tuli Tuipulotu and safeties Greg Johnson and Max Williams, who split starts at nickelback. Other defensive players back with career starts at USC are inside linebackers Jordan Iosefa, Palaie Gaoteote IV and Eli’jah Winston, cornerbacks Isaac Taylor-Stuart and Dorian Hewett, safety Chase Williams, defensive linemen Brandon Pili, Caleb Tremblay and Jacob Lichtenstein and outside linebacker Hunter Echols.
The Trojan defense in 2020 allowed 369.7 total yards (its third fewest since 2009), including 216.3 passing yards (its second fewest since 2009), and averaged 2.7 takeaways a game (its best since 2005). Its 26.0 scoring defense was its best mark since 2016. The defense, under new coordinator Todd Orlando, was dramatically improved from 2019 when it allowed 408.7 total yards (246.2 passing) and 29.4 points. The Trojans’ 16 takeaways in the shortened 6-game 2020 season equaled their total in 13 games in 2019. Eighteen of USC’s top 21 tacklers from 2020 are back, as are its leaders in sacks, tackles for loss, pass deflections and forced fumbles. However, opponents rushed for more than 150 yards per game against USC for the fourth consecutive year (153.3 in 2020), something before then that had happened only 1 year since 2001.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
USC lost an elite defensive lineman from 2020 when Marlon Tuipulotu declared for the NFL Draft. The 3-year starter had 104 tackles in his career and made the All-Pac-12 first team last season when he notched 23 stops.
But there are plenty of high-level returnees on the line along with some exciting newcomers.
Senior Nick Figueroa (20 tac, 7 for loss, 3.5 sack in 2020) had a breakout year in 2020 when he led the Trojans in tackles for loss (7) and sacks (3.5). He could be slowed in 2021 spring practice while recuperating from shoulder surgery. Fellow starting lineman Tuli Tuipulotu (22 tac, 2.5 for loss, 2 sack in 2020), a sophomore (and Marlon’s younger brother), also was impressive in 2020 when he earned Freshman All-American second team acclaim.
Seniors Brandon Pili (5 tac in 2020) and Caleb Tremblay (3 tac, 0.5 for loss in 2020) and junior Jacob Lichtenstein (he did not see action in 2020 after opting out of USC’s first 4 games) are tested veterans who have combined for 10 career starts, 85 tackles and 13 tackles for loss. Then there are five underclassmen with promise but who have played sparingly to date: sophomores De’jon Benton, Stanley Ta’ufo’ou (1 tac in 2020) and Maninoa Tufono and redshirt freshmen Kobe Pepe (3 tac in 2020) and Jamar Sekona.
This spring, soph Ishmael Sopsher joined the Trojans after transferring from Alabama, while freshman Jay Toia (Grace Brethren High in Simi Valley, Calif.) enrolled after graduating a semester early from high school, where he was a prep All-American. A leg injury could limit Sopsher in 2021 spring drills.
Bolstering the d-line unit this fall will be incoming freshmen Korey Foreman (Centennial High in Corona, Calif.), ranked as the nation’s No. 1 recruit, and Colin Mobley (DeMatha Catholic High in Hyattsville, Md.).
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS
USC is well-stocked at the outside linebacker spot. In fact, the Trojans sport one of the nation’s most dominant pass rushers in junior Drake Jackson (20 tac, 5.5 for loss, 2 sack, 1 int in 2020), who has 17 career tackles for loss (with 7.5 sacks).
Seniors Hunter Echols (15 tac, 0.5 for loss, 1 dfl in 2020), who has appeared in 26 games in his career (with 4 starts), and Juliano Falaniko, who has played in 28 games as a Trojan, are plenty experienced.
Walk-on juniors Bryce Matthews (1 tac in 2020), who has played on special teams, and Peter Esparza (he has yet to play at USC) also are available.
This fall, highly-regarded Raesjon Davis (Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif.) joins the outside linebacker mix as a freshman.
INSIDE LINEBACKERS
Inside linebacker is another position where USC is in good hands.
Both of last year’s starters return: 2-year starting senior Kana’i Mauga (41 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 1 int in 2020), who has 116 career tackles and was second on the Trojans in stops (41) last year, and junior Ralen Goforth (38 tac, 3 for loss, 2 dfl in 2020).
Two seniors with loads of starting experience could help in 2021 if they make it back. Palaie Gaoteote IV (9 tac in 2020), who in his career has 105 tackles and 14 starts, started USC’s first 2 contests of 2020 before suffering a season-ending concussion. At season’s end, he entered his name in the transfer portal, but has not yet decided on a destination, if any. Jordan Iosefa, who has 16 career starts at inside and outside linebacker (with 78 tackles), has missed the past 2 seasons with a knee injury and likely will be slowed with it in 2021 spring practice.
Also battling for action will be senior Micah Croom (1 tac in 2020), a converted safety who played often on special teams in 2020, juniors Raymond Scott (7 tac, 1 for loss, 1 sack in 2020), Eli’jah Winston (he missed 2020 with a broken ankle), Solomon Tuliaupupu (foot and knee injuries have prevented him from playing yet at USC and he could be limited in 2021 spring drills while recuperating from last year’s knee injury) and Tayler Katoa (he also has not played yet at USC due to a knee injury and a 2-year Mormon mission) and and sophomores Tuasivi Nomura (4 tac in 2020), a key special teamer in 2020 and soph Kaulana Makaula (1 dfl in 2020), a converted safety.
Then there are a trio of walk-ons: junior Spencer Gilbert, soph Clyde Moore and redshirt freshman Danny Lockhart Jr. Only Gilbert (on special teams) has seen extended action.
Freshman Julien Simon (Lincoln High in Tacoma, Wash.) graduated from high school a semester early and joined the Trojans this spring.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
USC lost a pair of standout starters in the secondary, so replacing them will be critical. Safety Talanoa Hufanga was an All-American first teamer, the Polynesian Co-College Player of the Year, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and a Lott IMPACT Trophy finalist in 2020 when he led USC in tackles (62), interceptions (4) and forced fumbles (2) to rank in the national Top 20 in those categories. He notched 203 career tackles. Olaijah Griffin was a 2-year starter at cornerback and had 67 tackles and 14 deflections in his career. Both declared for the NFL Draft after their junior seasons.
Senior free safety Isaiah Pola-Mao (40 tac, 2.5 for loss, 5 dfl, 3 FR, 1 int in 2020), who has 121 tackles and 5 interceptions in his career, is USC’s most experienced returning defensive back. The 2-year starter led USC last year in deflections (5) and fumble recoveries (3) while recording 40 tackles.
Junior cornerback Chris Steele (26 tac, 4 dfl, 1 int in 2020), who has 61 tackles and 9 deflections in his career, is another 2-year starter.
Senior Greg Johnson (15 tac, 1 for loss, 1 dfl in 2020) and sophomore Max Williams (22 tac, 2.5 for loss, 0.5 sack, 1 dfl in 2020), safeties who shared starts at nickelback last fall, both return.
Junior cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart (5 tac in 2020) has started 9 times in his career (including most of 2019) and will look to assume Griffin’s spot. Other returnees looking to break into the lineup at corner are juniors Dorian Hewett (2 tac in 2020) and Jayden Williams (1 tac in 2020), soph Adonis Otey and redshirt freshman Joshua Jackson Jr. (who converted from wide receiver this spring).
Among the returning safeties aiming to fill in Hufanga’s position are senior Chase Williams (4 tac, 1 FR in 2020), who owns 4 career starts, and junior Briton Allen (3 tac in 2020). There also are walk-on safeties Jordan McMillan, a junior, and redshirt freshman Tommy Maurice.
Redshirt freshman safety Xavion Alford transferred to USC this spring from Texas, where he made 4 tackles as a backup last season. Three freshmen safeties enrolled at USC this spring after graduating a semester early from high school: Anthony Beavers Jr. (St. Bernard High in Playa del Rey, Calif.), Calen Bullock (John Muir High in Pasadena, Calif.) and prep All-American Xamarion Gordon (Warren High in Downey High in Downey, Calif.).
Then in the fall, another 3 freshmen will come aboard: prep All-American safety Jaylin Smith (Bishop Alemany High in Mission Hills, Calif.) and cornerbacks Prophet Brown (Monterey Trail High in Elk Grove, Calif.) and Ceyair Wright (Loyola High in Los Angeles, Calif.).
SPECIAL TEAMS
USC brings back all but its punt returner on special teams. The Trojans have their punter (Ben Griffiths), placekicker (Parker Lewis), long snapper (Damon Johnson) and primary kick returner (Gary Bryant Jr.) from 2020.
USC’s special teams last year—under new coordinator Sean Snyder—were ranked No. 1 nationally by Football Outsider. Troy was 25th in net punting (40.8) in 2020 and its punting average of 46.4 was the highest since 2003. Only 5 of USC’s 18 punts and 6 of its 38 kickoffs were returned last fall. The Trojans were 10th nationally in kickoff return defense (17.0) in 2020 after ranking last in 2019 and their kickoff return average of 23.5 was the best since 2012. However, Troy’s punt return average of 4.3 was its lowest since 1976.
PUNTERS
Junior Ben Griffiths (46.4 P avg in 2020, plus 1 tac), a power punter from Australia who is in his late 20s, is back for his third season as the starter and he is one of the nation’s best. His 46.4-yard punting average last year was the highest by a Trojan since 2003. Half of his 18 punts last fall pinned opponents within the 20-yard line, 7 traveled at least 50 yards and only 2 were touchbacks. He twice had career-long 61-yard boots and he averaged 51.0 yards on his 3 punts at UCLA.
Behind him are a trio of untested walk-ons in sophomores Will Rose and Michael Shahidi and redshirt freshman Michael McAllister.
PLACEKICKERS
Strong-legged sophomore Parker Lewis (9-of-13 FG, 23-of-23 PAT in 2020) is back after winning the placekicking job as a true freshman last year when he beat out a pair of veterans no longer on the Trojan roster: Chase McGrath (32 field goals, 118 PATs in his career while starting in 2017 and 2019) and Michael Brown, who filled in when McGrath was hurt early in the 2018 season (he hit 7 field goals and 32 PATs that year). In 2020, Lewis was 20th nationally in field goals (1.6), had a long field goal of 48 yards, hit all 23 of his PATs, had touchbacks on nearly 60% of his 38 kickoffs and had a pair of successful onside kicks. He nailed 4 field goals against Utah (1 shy of the USC game record), including 3 that were career longs.
The only other kicker on the roster is junior Alex Stadthaus. He handled most of USC’s kickoffs in 2019 after doing so all of 2018 (he has touchbacks on 48.8% of his 123 career kickoffs), but he did not see action in 2020. He has yet to do any placement kicks as a Trojan.
SNAPPERS
Senior Damon Johnson returns for his fifth season as USC’s long snapper, taking advantage of an NCAA rule that permitted players to compete in the pandemic-affected 2020 season without it counting against their eligibility. One of the best and most experienced snappers in the nation (he has snapped in 43 games in his career), he was a Mannelly Award finalist in 2020.
Behind him are walk-ons Jac Casasante, a junior, and redshirt freshman Nathan Weneta, but neither has snapped yet at USC.
HOLDERS
Junior punter Ben Griffiths has been USC’s holder the past 2 seasons and should do so again in 2021. Sophomore punter Will Rose was his backup last year, but didn’t get in.
RETURNERS
Nobody on USC’s 2021 roster has ever fielded a punt as a Trojan now that a pair of tested punt returners—wide receivers Tyler Vaughns and Amon-Ra St. Brown—are gone. Vaughns had 30 career punt returns for an 8.9 average. In 2019, his 10.5 punt return average was 13th nationally and he had an 82-yard TD return. St. Brown, who declared for the NFL, had 19 career punt returns for a 5.6. Cornerback Olaijah Griffin, another early entry into the NFL Draft, also had some returns last year, returning 3 kickoffs for 17.3 yards and a punt return.
Sophomore wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr. (8 KOR, 210 yds, 26.2 avg in 2020) was 22nd nationally in kickoff returns last fall with a 26.2 average on his 8 runbacks. His dramatic 56-yard kick return at UCLA in the game’s final minute put USC in position for the game-winning score.
Bryant was joined deep last year by junior tailback Kenan Christon, but he did not field any kicks in 2020 and has only 1 career return. Senior tailback Stephen Carr has 16 career kickoff returns for a 21.4 average, but none last year. Soph cornerback Adonis Otey also has lined up deep a few times but has yet to record a return.
Senior wide receiver K.D. Nixon, the transfer this spring from Colorado, is in the Buffaloes’ career Top 20 in kickoff returns (33) and kickoff return yardage (758) while averaging 23.0 yards per runback. He also returned 3 punts while at CU.
