Micah Banuelos could be a factor as USC pushes to improve its offensive line

Before his arrival at the USC, Micah Banuelos was already quite used to playing through pain. As an offensive line and out -of -competition line at the Kennedy Catholic High in Washington, his shoulder came out of his catch for almost all the matches. So Banuelos would check, that his shoulder goes back, then will come back the game as if nothing has changed.

“Then,” his father, Roy Banuelos, said: “He never said anything about it afterwards.”

But when this shoulder injury persisted beyond high school and in its first year, there was no longer to ignore it. A few weeks after his first fall to the USC, the staff suggested that Banuelos were operated on.

It would take a while before Banuelos returned – and even longer before it competes with a real role on the USC offensive line. The shoulder injury stole the following spring, then a knee number nixed its second season after only a few games. But at the start of his third fall to the USC, Banuelos finally entered the mixture in Guard, a position in which the USC is dangerously not proven.

If a federal judge does not grant an injunction on Monday to transfer the line of line DJ Wingfield to his trial against the NCAA, then Banuelos will be one of the many people in the running for the opening he leaves behind. Banuelos took considerable shots through the camp with the offensive line of the first team, while the first-year students of Redshirt Hayden Treter and Makai Saina and Walk-On Kaylon Miller also took into account the competition.

This is the first time that the USC coach Lincoln Riley has really looked at Banuelos, despite the fact that he started his third season at the

“He was probably someone we knew the least, just because he was so injured,” said Riley. “He gets a ton of representatives right now, and so far he continues that. He has a lot of power. He can really move people. He can really play behind his hips. There is a lot to love on what he does, and if he remains in good health, he will really become a good player.”

Riley has praised similar to Treter, which has also treated injuries since arriving at the USC. The coach called to Treat “one of the highlights of the camp”.

Trojan horses entered the off -season needing more consistency of their offensive line, especially with a relatively new starting quarter to Jayden Maiava.

The USC’s outdoor outdoor competition remains one of the team closest to the team with just over two weeks at the opening of the season. Even Alani Noa, which started 12 of the 13 USC games, was not assured of a starting place.

This uncertainty in advance could be breathtaking for some. Riley and offensive coordinator Luke Huard insist that they do not see it in this way.

Huard said he felt “really, really good” about the current state of the offensive line, while Riley said he felt “much better” now about the depth in the post than in the spring.

“Part of this young depth arriving, we needed it happening,” said Riley. “Their ascent is important not only for this year, but for the future.”

He is just as critical of the offensive tackle also, where the recruit of Redsirt Justin Tauanuu has argued his own argument to be part of the starting front of the USC. It is possible that he puts himself in the right brochure, while Tobias Raymond, the projected starter, warns to fill the void left by Wingfield.

But coaches and teammates like what they have seen from Banuelos.

“You can say when a guy just wants to be there and treat every day like the last,” said the left tackle Elijah Paige. “He puts all this here.”

For a while, Banuelos could only wait for her shoulder – then his knee – heal. This part was excruciating, said his father, stuck in place while others were moving the painting.

“He was quite depressed,” said Roy Banuelos. “I would call him and said to him just:” It’s good, guy. You will have your time. It will come. »»

Now, with the USC in the desperate need of someone who intensifies to the guard, this time may have finally arrived.

“All he wanted to do was play football,” said Roy Banuelos. “So his attitude now – it’s night and day.”