2017 Football Roster
Roster
Brett Neilon
- Position:
- Center
- Height:
- 6-2
- Weight:
- 295
- Class:
- Freshman
- Hometown:
- Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
- High School:
- Santa Margarita Catholic
CAREER: He has appeared in 34 games (starting 29) in his career, making 2 tackles.
2022: Neilon, a veteran offensive lineman, should once again be a figure in the Trojan trenches as a starter at center.
2021: Neilon started all 12 games at center (his third season as the starter) as a senior in 2021. He made 2021 All-Pac-12 honorable mention and Pro Football Focus All-Pac-12 first team and won USC’s Co-John McKay Award.
2020: Neilon started for his second season at center as a junior in 2020. Overall in 2020, started all 5 games he played (all but Arizona). He sprained his ankle at Arizona State and missed the Arizona game. He was named to 2020 All-Pac-12 honorable mention.
2019: Neilon showed well while starting at center in all 11 games he played (all but California and UCLA) as a sophomore in 2019. He had 2 tackles in 2019 (1 each against Washington and Oregon). He strained his right calf at Arizona State and missed the next 2 games (California and UCLA).
2018: Neilon saw playing time at center and as a blocking back in jumbo offensive packages as a redshirt freshman in 2018. Overall in 2018, he appeared in 6 games, even starting once (UNLV).
2017: Neilon redshirted as a first-year freshman backup center at USC in 2017.
HIGH SCHOOL: He made 2016 Prep Star All-American Dream Team, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, USA Today All-California first team, Cal-Hi Sports All-State first team, Los Angeles Times All-Area first team, Orange County Register All-Orange County first team, All-Trinity League first team and National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete as a senior center at Santa Margarita Catholic High in Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.).
As a junior in 2015, he made Cal-Hi Sports All-State Junior second team.
He also lettered in basketball and track and field at Santa Margarita Catholic, where he was named Athlete of the Year and earned the Academic Scholar Award.
PERSONAL: He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration at USC in the fall of 2020 and is now working on a master’s in entrepreneurship and innovation with a 3.2 GPA. His father and brother attended USC and 2 of his aunts were on the USC golf team (Kim Saiki from 1985-88, who played on the LPGA Tour, and Laura Saiki from 1988-91). He grew up in Tokyo, Japan, home of his mother, where he participated in baseball, basketball, soccer and the martial art of aikido.
