USC kicks off spring football practice with influx of young talent
When 32 freshmen football players excitedly filed into the John McKay Center meeting room in January for their first official meeting at USC, each new Trojan in the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class of 2026 was asked to stand, share their name, number, position and an interesting fact about them.
It was pretty standard fare, as far as icebreakers go. However, with a notable difference compared to previous years.
“It was abnormally long [this year,] of course,” senior offensive lineman Tobias Raymond said with a laugh.
As USC opened spring practice on Tuesday, a quick look at its spring roster would tell you just how much the Trojans will need these freshmen to find their place — and quickly — in a season likely to be defined by their development. Nearly half of the players in attendance for Tuesday’s opening day (46 of 103) were either freshmen or redshirt freshmen. That’s almost triple the current size of USC’s junior or senior classes (16).
If the Trojans have any hope of making the College Football Playoff for the first time in five tries under Lincoln Riley, an influx of 18- and 19-year-olds will play a major role.
“There’s a lot of new guys,” Riley said Tuesday. “Looking at these people, seeing where they are developmentally and where they need to go, I think the evaluation process is going to be really important.”
At no position will this be more critical than wide receiver, where USC must replace its top two wide receivers, Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, and its top two tight ends, Lake McRee and Walker Lyons. In their place are a host of talented young options all hoping to emerge this spring.
There will certainly be no shortage of opportunities for USC’s four new freshmen receivers (Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Trent Mosley, Luc Weaver and Tron Baker) and two new tight ends (freshman Mark Bowman and junior college transfer Josiah Jefferson) to make that impression. In addition to the void left by the departures of Lemon and Lane, the Trojans will also be without their best returning player this spring, as Tanook Hines will be out the entire session following an offseason procedure.
Hines, who is just a sophomore, could likely use the next five weeks of spring to develop, considering how much of the Trojans’ passing attack will likely fall on his shoulders this fall. But Riley said he thinks Hines’ absence might actually be “a blessing in disguise” for the rest of the room.
“All these guys are going to get a ton of reps and they all need it,” Riley said. “What a phenomenal opportunity for all these other guys to develop and take advantage of these reps. We’re going to need it.”
That directive has been clear enough to USC starting quarterback Jayden Maiava since the Trojans’ fleet of freshmen arrived on campus. Maiava has spent much of the last two months trying to connect with young players on both sides of the ball, taking them out to dinner, watching film with them, going through the playbook and even hosting player-only sessions on the practice field.
“It’s a big impact for the guys I’m going there with,” Maiava said Tuesday. “Just letting them know that I care about them and their success. I want the best for them and I want them to know that.”
In his third season as a starter, Maiava won’t have one of college football’s best passing pairs at his disposal. He’ll also enter 2026 on the short list for the Heisman Trophy — and all the pressure that comes with that.
Offensive coordinator Luke Huard said last month that Maiava has felt “a huge sense of urgency” since last season ended.
Raymond, who will join Maiava at center this spring, said the quarterback’s communication has improved “exponentially.”
“Seeing when someone is down or seeing when someone is making a good play and rebuking them or praising them, but also picking on people when they do something wrong,” Raymond said. “If he sees something, he reports it. If he sees something good, he reports it.”
Receiver isn’t the only place freshmen will have a serious chance to compete next season. On the offensive line, five-star offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe – standing at 6-foot-7, 330 pounds – already looks more than capable of contributing on the Big Ten front. The same could be said of edge rusher Luke Wafle – 6-foot-6, 265 pounds – and defensive tackles Jameion Winfield – 6-foot-3, 325 pounds – all of whom were five-star prospects.
Still, it may take some time for these young talents to shine, with USC also inventing new concepts on defense and special teams. But what the Trojans will likely lack in experience this spring, they will make up for, in part, in depth.
“We’ve never had a spring practice, any of us in all our years, where we already had such a high percentage of your full roster already there for the spring,” Riley said. “Which is a huge advantage.”
There still remains the small question of getting all these newcomers to gel. But on that note, Riley thinks talk of USC’s youth movement overlooks the number of talented returning players.
“We’ve kind of been described on the outside as a crazy young team,” Riley said. “We have some really good kids, and I know this class has gotten some attention in terms of how the recruiting process has gone, but we have a lot of guys who have played a lot of ball here. … You like the talent we have, you like the returns. I like the guys we recruited. But as one of the best sports franchises of all time said, ‘You don’t collect talent, you build a team.’
“We have talent. Now we have to build a team.”
Injury report
In addition to losing its No. 1 receiver, USC will be without two of its returning starters on the offensive line this spring. Center Kilian O’Connor and right tackle Justin Tauanuu will be out while recovering from surgery. Left tackle Elijah Paige also did not practice on the first day of spring ball.
Cornerbacks Jontez Williams and Chasen Johnson and safety Christian Pierce also won’t participate this spring, Riley said Tuesday.
Running back Waymond Jordan was limited starting spring ball, as was defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart.
