University Southern California Trojans
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Photo by: John McGillen
Unplanned Leadership
October 12, 2024 | Football
Senior linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold wasn’t actively seeking a leadership role at his new school, but naturally found one in the USC locker room.
It's a college football Saturday night, and the fans can barely sit in their seats. The teams are on their respective sides, hungry for a battle. An impending victory is looming in the air. Five USC captains walk their way to center field to meet the ref for the coin toss. But in this game, two of the five captains are a special pair of brothers.
Senior linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold made his Trojan debut against the LSU Tigers in Las Vegas this September. It didn't take long for the world to catch on to unique spark he has when he steps on the turf.
USC head coach Lincoln Riley chose to appoint captains on a game-by-game basis for the 2024 season. The role is given to players who earn it each week. Mascarenas-Arnold has been awarded this role for three out of six games so far.
"You find out the night before. I knew for the first game I was going to be a captain but the other two, I had no idea," said Mascarenas-Arnold. "I was lucky; I did not think I was going to be captain again."
Despite being surprised, the linebacker innately knew this responsibility meant giving all he had to his teammates, hell or high water.
"Being a captain is a lot more than just about yourself, especially when people are looking up to you or looking for you when times are getting tough," said Mascarenas-Arnold. "You go through a lot of things yourself, but you always have to put others before yourself."
The Mission Viejo native is once again back home here in California at USC, but he recently transferred here this past spring after three years at Oregon State. It's naturally a difficult process to fit into a new school and new team. But even more so, coming in and taking a leadership role might not be received well. Not the case for Mascarenas-Arnold; the team immediately embraced his leadership.
In his 3-year career at Oregon State, he collected 159 tackles, including 13 for loss of 53 yards, 3 INTs, 3 QBHs and 3 PBUs. So far at SC he has recorded 56 tackle, including 3 for loss of 11 yards (with 1 sack for minus 5 yards), 2 INTs, 2 PBUs and 1 QBH.
"I still don't think I've reached my full potential, but it's been a good season with a new team that welcomed me in really well," said Mascarenas-Arnold. "It's pretty cool still playing with my brother, and I think we're both doing well. But I think the sky's the limit for this team and for myself."
Trojan redshirt senior safety, Akili Arnold, is the other half of this unstoppable duo. The two brothers have remarkably played football alongside each other from high school to Oregon State and now USC.
"When Akili and I hit the portal, the main priority was to go as a package deal so we could stay together for our last year," said Mascarenas-Arnold. "But we understood that if a school needed a safety, but they didn't need a backer or vice versa, we would split up."
Fortunately, the story of the stepbrothers lives on here at USC. But why did they choose USC? Coach Riley and Coach Lynn sealed the deal.
"We wanted to go somewhere where we were needed, not somewhere we were wanted," said Mascarenas-Arnold. "Coach Riley made a heavy point that he needed us, and that he didn't want us just for our play, but he wanted us for our character. That really spoke to us. Then meeting Coach Lynn and seeing his defense, it all just felt like the right place."
Brothers could naturally be competitive over their experiences, or perhaps wanting to make a name for themselves on their own without their sibling treading on their success. Not these two. In fact, they embrace the journey together.
"In the last game, I looked back before we started a drive, and said, 'I love you.' And he said 'What?'. I responded, 'I love you.' And he said, 'I love you too,'" said Mascarenas-Arnold. "That was the first time I've ever done. In that moment, in a big game, I looked back, and I was playing with my brother. So, I think that was a moment that it really hit me."
The human we see on the field wearing football pads draped in cardinal and gold and making game changing plays is a warrior. But if Mascarenas-Arnold could choose what the world speaks of him beyond the lined field, he hopes it would this:
"I'm hoping that people just see me as someone with good character and somebody that is inspiring. That's really what I'm trying to do through this whole process, especially talking about being a leader. This has been a good year for me in terms of self-reflection and seeing who I am as a person. As I'm getting older, I'm realizing that I'm going into the real world in a couple months. So, I'm just hoping that I left a good trail for the guys next year -- especially the young guys in my room – I'm hoping I set a good example."
Senior linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold made his Trojan debut against the LSU Tigers in Las Vegas this September. It didn't take long for the world to catch on to unique spark he has when he steps on the turf.
USC head coach Lincoln Riley chose to appoint captains on a game-by-game basis for the 2024 season. The role is given to players who earn it each week. Mascarenas-Arnold has been awarded this role for three out of six games so far.
"You find out the night before. I knew for the first game I was going to be a captain but the other two, I had no idea," said Mascarenas-Arnold. "I was lucky; I did not think I was going to be captain again."
Despite being surprised, the linebacker innately knew this responsibility meant giving all he had to his teammates, hell or high water.
"Being a captain is a lot more than just about yourself, especially when people are looking up to you or looking for you when times are getting tough," said Mascarenas-Arnold. "You go through a lot of things yourself, but you always have to put others before yourself."
The Mission Viejo native is once again back home here in California at USC, but he recently transferred here this past spring after three years at Oregon State. It's naturally a difficult process to fit into a new school and new team. But even more so, coming in and taking a leadership role might not be received well. Not the case for Mascarenas-Arnold; the team immediately embraced his leadership.
In his 3-year career at Oregon State, he collected 159 tackles, including 13 for loss of 53 yards, 3 INTs, 3 QBHs and 3 PBUs. So far at SC he has recorded 56 tackle, including 3 for loss of 11 yards (with 1 sack for minus 5 yards), 2 INTs, 2 PBUs and 1 QBH.
"I still don't think I've reached my full potential, but it's been a good season with a new team that welcomed me in really well," said Mascarenas-Arnold. "It's pretty cool still playing with my brother, and I think we're both doing well. But I think the sky's the limit for this team and for myself."
Trojan redshirt senior safety, Akili Arnold, is the other half of this unstoppable duo. The two brothers have remarkably played football alongside each other from high school to Oregon State and now USC.
"When Akili and I hit the portal, the main priority was to go as a package deal so we could stay together for our last year," said Mascarenas-Arnold. "But we understood that if a school needed a safety, but they didn't need a backer or vice versa, we would split up."
Fortunately, the story of the stepbrothers lives on here at USC. But why did they choose USC? Coach Riley and Coach Lynn sealed the deal.
"We wanted to go somewhere where we were needed, not somewhere we were wanted," said Mascarenas-Arnold. "Coach Riley made a heavy point that he needed us, and that he didn't want us just for our play, but he wanted us for our character. That really spoke to us. Then meeting Coach Lynn and seeing his defense, it all just felt like the right place."
Brothers could naturally be competitive over their experiences, or perhaps wanting to make a name for themselves on their own without their sibling treading on their success. Not these two. In fact, they embrace the journey together.
"In the last game, I looked back before we started a drive, and said, 'I love you.' And he said 'What?'. I responded, 'I love you.' And he said, 'I love you too,'" said Mascarenas-Arnold. "That was the first time I've ever done. In that moment, in a big game, I looked back, and I was playing with my brother. So, I think that was a moment that it really hit me."
The human we see on the field wearing football pads draped in cardinal and gold and making game changing plays is a warrior. But if Mascarenas-Arnold could choose what the world speaks of him beyond the lined field, he hopes it would this:
"I'm hoping that people just see me as someone with good character and somebody that is inspiring. That's really what I'm trying to do through this whole process, especially talking about being a leader. This has been a good year for me in terms of self-reflection and seeing who I am as a person. As I'm getting older, I'm realizing that I'm going into the real world in a couple months. So, I'm just hoping that I left a good trail for the guys next year -- especially the young guys in my room – I'm hoping I set a good example."
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