2021 USC Football Preseason Notes
7/26/2021
PRE-SEASON RANKINGS
*The 2021 Trojans are picked to finish in the Top 25 nationally and in the Top 2 in the Pac-12 South standings, according to many pre-season prognosticators. Here are the picks, to date:
| National | Pac-12 South | |
| Pro Football Network | 10th | 1st |
| Sporting News | 12th | 1st |
| Phil Steele | 13th | 1st |
| Pro Football Focus | 16th | 1st |
| CollegeFootballNews.com | 16th | 1st |
| Athlon | 18th | 2nd |
| CBSSports.com | 19th | 1st |
| ESPN.com | 21st | 1st |
| Lindy's | 22nd | 2nd |
PRE-SEASON HONORS
* OLB Drake Jackson (CollegeFootballNews.com) and SNP Damon Johnson (Phil Steele) were named 2021 All-American first teamers. CB Chris Steele (CollegeFootballNews.com) was a pre-season All- American third team pick, while WR Drake London (Phil Steele) and P Ben Griffiths (Pro Football Focus) were third teamers and QB Kedon Slovis (Phil Steele) was a fourth teamer. Jackson, Johnson, London, Griffiths, Slovis, Steele and S Isaiah Pola-Mao were selected to various pre-season All-Pac-12 first teams.
WATCH LISTS
*The following Trojans have made official “Watch Lists” for national 2021 post-season awards, as of July 26:
| QB Mo Hasan | Good Works Team (top community |
| TB Keontay Ingram | Doak Walker Award (top running back) |
| OLB Drake Jackson | Bednarik Award (top defensive player) |
| WR Drake London | Biletnikoff Award (top receiver) |
| TB Vavae Malepeai | Doak Walker Award (top running back) |
| QB Kedon Slovis | Maxwell Award (top player) Davey O'Brien Award (top quarterback) |
| CB Chris Steele | Thorpe Award (top defensive back) |
| WR Tahj Washington | Biletnikoff Award (top receiver) |
2021 SCHEDULE
*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 for USC’s Homecoming game 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.
LAST YEAR
*Troy is coming off consecutive seasons where improvement was evident on and off the field. After a bounceback 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.
RETURNING TROJANS
*USC returns 16 of last season’s starters (8 each on offense and defense, including a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback), plus the punter and kicker.
*The Trojans also signed a Top 10 recruiting class (including the nation’s No. 1 recruit). Among the 34 newcomers--13 of whom enrolled this past spring semester and participated in spring practice--are 10 collegiate transfers.
*In all, 90 squadmen from last year are back, including 12 who are repeating their senior years as allowed by an NCAA rule enacted because COVID-19 shortened the 2020 season. On USC’s 124-man 2021 roster, 66 players saw game action last year and 42 have started at least once in their careers.
*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 rusher along with 8 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. Tailbacks Vavae Malepeai is a 1,000-yard career rusher (1,503 yards with 17 TDs). 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 15 of its top 19 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 and Eli’jah Winston, cornerbacks Isaac Taylor-Stuart and Dorian Hewett, safety Chase Williams, defensive linemen Brandon Pili 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.
GONE FROM 2020
*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. Vera-Tucker (in the first round), St. Brown, Hufanga and Tuipulotu were 2021 NFL draftees as juniors. Others gone include part-time starting tailback Stephen Carr, who had 1,329 career rushing yards with 12 TDs, 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.
CLAY HELTON
*Clay Helton guided the Trojans to a Rose Bowl victory in 2016 and a Pac-12 Championship Game win in 2017 before seeing his team struggle in 2018, but USC rebounded well in 2019 and then won the Pac-12 South in 2020 (his fifth full season at Troy).
*The 49-year-old Helton, who has been at USC since 2010, is 45-23 (.662) as the Trojan head coach, with 12 victories over AP Top 25 teams, including 3 in the Top 5 and 4 in the Top 10. He was 5-1 in a pandemic- shortened 2020. He was 8-5 in 2019, with wins over No. 23 Stanford and No. 10 Utah (for which he was named the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week), was 5-7 in 2018 with a win over No. 19 Colorado, 11-3 in 2017 with wins over No. 14 Stanford twice (including in the Pac-12 Championship Game) and No. 23 Arizona, 10-3 in 2016 with wins over No. 4 Washington, No. 5 Penn State in a legendary Rose Bowl and No. 21 Colorado, 5-4 in 2015 with wins over No. 3 Utah and No. 22 UCLA, and 1-0 in 2013, beating No. 21 Fresno State.
*He was the first USC head coach to have 10-win seasons in each of his first 2 full seasons and he had more wins (21) in his first 2 full seasons than any USC coach. He led USC to a 19-game home winning streak from 2015 to 2018 (its longest since 2001-04), a 14-game Pac-12 home game winning streak from 2015 to 2018 (its longest since 2001 to 2004), a 13-game overall winning streak from 2016 to 2017 (its longest since 2003-04) and a 13-game winning streak over Power 5 opponents from 2016 to 2017. He is 24-4 in the Coliseum. He is 36-13 (.735) versus Pac-12 foes, including 24-4 (.857) against the Pac-12 South. Two of his career losses came while serving as USC’s interim head coach.
*His 2020 Trojans won their first 5 games in the COVID-19-shortened season and played in the Pac-12 Championship Game as the South Division representative, finishing 5-1 (USC opted out of a bowl game). The Trojans staged 3 dramatic comeback victories, all in the final 2 minutes: over Arizona State (game-winning score with 1:20 to go), Arizona (0:25) and UCLA (0:16).
*His 2019 Trojans, with only 4 senior starters and despite being marred by injuries in which 26 starters or key backups missed action, rebounded well from a down 2018 season. USC won 5 of its last 6 regular season games to go 8-5 overall and 7-2 in the Pac-12 South, qualifying for the Holiday Bowl. The Trojans gave Utah its only regular season loss. Two of USC’s losses were by a field goal, including one in overtime on the road. Troy did this despite starting 3 different quarterbacks and entering games down to a fourth-string tailback or with 4 defensive starters out or missing both starting cornerbacks or starting defensive ends.
*His 2018 Trojans--which featured young players in key spots--were 5-7 overall, with the last 4 losses all by 7 points or less, and 4-5 in Pac-12 play.
*In 2017, his Trojans were 11-3 (ranked No. 12) despite playing all 12 regular season games without a bye. He led USC to an 8-1 Pac-12 record (the loss was by 3 points on Friday night on the road on a late field goal) and its first Pac-12 title since 2008 by winning the Pac-12 Championship Game (the first ever by a South Division team). Troy played in the Cotton Bowl Classic. He was the 2017 AP Pac-12 Coach of the Year and Athlon Pac-12 Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award (the second consecutive year he was a finalist). After the 2017 season, Helton had his contract extended through the 2023 season.
*After his Trojans started off 1-3 in 2016 in his first full season as head coach (all 3 losses were to AP Top 25 teams away from home), USC closed with a 9-game winning streak (its longest since 2008-09) while rising to a final No. 3 national AP ranking (USC’s highest since 2008 and the highest ever of any 3-loss team) and earning a berth in the Rose Bowl (finishing second in the Pac-12 South at 7-2) as it played a schedule ranked among the 10 most difficult in the nation. He was named a finalist for the 2016 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award and won the Football Writers First Year Co-Coach of the Year Award.
*He guided the 2015 Trojans to 5 wins in the last 6 regular-season games (including victories over No. 3 Utah and No. 22 UCLA), the co-championship of the challenging Pac-12 South Division, a berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game and a trip to the Holiday Bowl. He was named the 2015 Los Angeles Sports Council Coach of the Year.
*After starting the 2015 season as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, Helton was named USC’s permanent head coach on Nov. 30 of that year, dropping the interim head coach title he had held for USC’s final 7 regular season games.
*Helton joined the USC staff in February of 2010 as the quarterbacks coach. He added the passing game coordinator role in 2012 and became the Trojans’ offensive coordinator in 2013 (he served as USC’s interim head coach in its victory over No. 21 Fresno State in the 2013 Las Vegas Bowl).
*He began his 10-year (2000-09) Memphis career as the running backs coach for 3 seasons, then coached the Tigers’ receivers for the next 4 seasons before becoming the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the final 3 years. He served as Memphis’ interim head coach for several months in early 2006 when head coach Tommie West had off-season heart surgery.
*Before Memphis, he was the running backs coach at Houston, his alma mater, for 3 seasons (1997-99) under his father, head coach Kim Helton.
*He began his coaching career at Duke, serving as a graduate assistant in 1995 and then the running backs coach in 1996.
*He played quarterback at Houston in 1993 and 1994, playing for his father both seasons and captaining the Cougars as a 1994 senior. He spent 1991 and 1992 at Auburn, where he earned 1992 SEC All-Academic honors. He redshirted there in 1990. He prepped at Clements High in Sugar Land (Tex.).
*He and wife, Angela, have 3 children. Besides being Houston’s head coach from 1993 to 1999, his father, Kim, was an assistant in college, the NFL and CFL. His brother, Tyson, was USC’s quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator (2016-17) and now is the head coach at Western Kentucky.
ASSISTANT COACHES
*Clay Helton added two assistants to the full-time 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).
OFFENSE
*Eight starters return on offense from 2020: quarterback Kedon Slovis, wide receiver Drake London, tailback Vavae Malepeai, 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 and rusher, 8 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), and was likely going to be No. 2, but he tore knee ligaments in 2021 spring practice and will miss the 2021 season. He did not see action last year at USC, sidelined most of the season with a leg injury. Sophomore walk-on Brendan Costello transferred to USC this fall from Oklahoma State, where he redshirted in 2019. 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 will jockey for the backup 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, despite the loss of 2020 co-starter Stephen Carr (1,329 career rushing yards with 12 TDs and 57 receptions), who was second on the Trojans last fall with 176 rushing yards and 2 scores along with 10 catches, and power back Markese Stepp (505 career yards with 6 TDs).
*Senior tailback Vavae Malepeai (54 tcb, 238 yds, 4.4 avg, 3 TD in 2020, plus 16 rec, 64 yds, 4.0 avg), the other co-starter in 2020, has 1,503 career rushing yards with 17 TDs along with 49 receptions. He led USC in 2020 with 238 rushing yards, including the late game-winning 8-yard TD at Arizona, and added 16 catches.
*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. He spent the spring of 2021 solely with the track team. 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.
*A pair of walk-ons--senior Samuel Oram-Jones, who missed most of last season with a broken leg, and redshirt freshman Matt Colombo-- have yet to see action.
*Joining the running back corps this spring were 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.
*Sophomore Darwin Barlow, who ran for 428 yards with 4 touchdowns last season at TCU, enters the running back mix this fall as a transfer.
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 (he was a fourth rounder), 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. He signed as an NFL undrafted free agent.
*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) and Kyle Ford 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 missed last season with a knee injury.
*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.
*Two other fall transfers who could make an impact are junior Jake Smith from Texas and sophomore Tahj Washington from Memphis. Smith caught 48 passes with 9 TDs the past 2 seasons. Washington was a 2020 Freshman All-American first teamer after getting 43 receptions for 743 yards with 6 TDs. His receiving yardage was the most by any freshman in the nation last fall (he had a trio of 100-yard receiving games).
*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.). Freshman walk-on Josiah Zamora also joins this fall.
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 (he missed 2021 spring drills).
*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 untested seniors Kohl Hollinquest and Grant Jones, who played tailback last season after coming to USC as a linebacker (he was slowed in 2021 spring practice due to a knee injury).
*Junior Malcolm Epps transfers in this fall from Texas, where he had 24 catches for 292 yards and 4 TDs in his 3-year career as a wide receiver and tight end. He had 20 receptions for 232 yards and 2 scores as a wideout in 2019, then added 3 grabs for 42 yards with 2 TDs last season as a tight end.
*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 as a junior and was a first round selection. 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 (he has 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.
