USC football breakdown: How the Trojans look in the secondary
The final of a six-part series reviewing USC’s roster after the transfer portal, going over the defensive backs
USC CB Prophet Brown (16) tackles Arizona RB DJ Williams to stop Arizona in OT to win the game Oct. 7, 2023, at the L.A. Coliseum. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Luca Evans (OC Register) — LOS ANGELES — Before he took a job at Georgia, Donte Williams left USC with one heck of an early Christmas gift.
Williams, for four years in a complicated and fascinating USC assistant-coaching career – with a tumultuous interim head-coach stint in 2021 – only built upon a reputation as one of the best recruiters in the nation. He brought in a consistent wealth of talent in the defensive back room; the 2024 class was no exception, bringing in a treasure chest of shiny prospects like St. John Bosco corner Marcelles Williams, Los Alamitos corner Isaiah Rubin and Sierra Canyon’s Marquis Gallegos.
Williams, though, was never quite able to capitalize on the foundation he brought to USC, one of his homegrown cornerbacks never truly turning into a star. And as USC brought in former Houston defensive coordinator Doug Belk the same day Williams announced he’d accepted a job with Georgia, Belk now walks in, in a sense, to finish the job Williams started – a wealth of talent to mold at his disposal.
Overshadowed by Miller Moss’ performance in the Holiday Bowl, a patchwork USC secondary – turning to fresh faces and untested backups – had perhaps its best performance of the year against Louisville, with defensive backs like Prophet Brown, Jacobe Covington and Anthony Beavers Jr. making strong cases for extended playing time in 2024. And on top of that, new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn’s crosstown move from UCLA drew transfers Kamari Ramsey and John Humphrey to USC with him, beefing up a young secondary with proven experience.
In short: from top to bottom, after a clear lack of talent in 2023, USC’s defensive-back room might be the strongest point of Lynn’s defense. And spring ball will be truly fascinating for players to gain separation, perhaps a dozen names in this mix fighting for consistent playing time come 2024.
Here’s a full breakdown of USC’s defensive backs entering spring practice, the last in a six-part series examining the post-early-portal-period outlook for every part of the roster.
Cornerback
Returning: Jr. Jacobe Covington, Soph. Prophet Brown, Soph. Ceyair Wright (likely but unknown), Fr. Tre’Quon Fegans, Fr. Maliki Crawford
Arriving: True Fr. Marcelles Williams (St. John Bosco), True Fr. Braylon Conley (Texas), True Fr. Isaiah Rubin (Los Alamitos), Sr. John Humphrey (transfer, UCLA), Sr. DeCarlos Nicholson (transfer, Mississippi State)
Departing: Soph. Domani Jackson (transfer, Alabama), Soph. Fabian Ross (transfer, Hawai’i)
Safety
Returning: Fr. Zion Branch, Soph. Anthony Beavers Jr., Jr. Jaylin Smith, Fr. Christian Pierce, Sr. Bryson Shaw
Arriving: True Fr. Marquis Gallegos (Sierra Canyon), True Fr. Jarvis Boatwright (Florida), Jr. Akili Arnold (transfer, Oregon State), Fr. Kamari Ramsey (transfer, UCLA)
Departing: Sr. Max Williams (draft), Jr. Calen Bullock (draft), Soph. Xamarion Gordon (transfer, unknown), Sr. Christian Roland-Wallace (draft)
Top questions
How does the safety group shake out, positionally? After playing at the nickel all season, junior Jaylin Smith (19) shifted to safety for the Holiday Bowl and had his best game of the season, named the Defensive Player of the Game in a 12-tackle effort. It was a natural positional switch, Smith struggling in pass coverage at times in 2023 but a consistent ball-hawk. If he sticks at safety and not nickel, it’ll further crowd a busy room with the additions of Ramsey and Arnold, who project as starters on paper. Branch won a starting job before a season-ending knee injury in 2023, and could contend; Beavers Jr. was tremendous in the Holiday Bowl with eight tackles and will push for snaps as well.
Will any true freshmen push for snaps? It might be too crowded, but if anyone’s likely to get consistent run in 2024, it’s Williams, who has state-championship pedigree from Bosco and is the most collegiate-ready of the incoming freshmen class. Gallegos is a smart mind in the secondary and eager playmaker, but will likely need to beef up his frame.
Group X-factor
Perhaps no USC defender – at any position – had a better game all season tackling in space than Brown (16) in the Holiday Bowl. It was a coming-out party for the sophomore, who consistently wrapped up in one-on-one situations and allowed just 10 receiving yards on five targets, according to Pro Football Focus. Roland-Wallace established himself as a near-lockdown corner down the stretch, and USC will need a member of this current group to step up; Humphrey and Nicholson will have roles as transfers, but keep an eye on Brown in the spring.
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UCLA’s Recruiting Pitch Falls Flat. What Some OL Recruits Want… Redshirt JR OT Fernando Carmona (236K annual On3 NIL valuation), originally from Vegas, bolted from SJS through the portal and eventually signed with ARK last Dec. But not until after visiting UCLA first. Connor Goodson (BOAS) — Carmona explained that his desire to play against better competition and his “next level” aspirations were the deciding factors. “In my situation, I want to get more exposure, I want to be playing against better competition,” Carmona said. “When I get to that next level, I don’t want them to be like, ‘Well… Read more »
The NCAA is now starting NIL investigations. Since it is no longer amateurism, I wonder how long it will be before the big conferences just ditch them all together?
It’s winter so they are sending their investigators to Florida. Seems odd they are going after any SEC schools though because they never cheat. 😁 With as strong as Ole Miss has been in the portal they could get investigated also.
How can they prove anything? NIL is so wide open, there aren’t any rules at all other than “no pay for play” which we know it is exactly what’s happening. Make up any event, invite the players to be there, and bam… NIL complete, pay up. Just don’t be lazy as a collective and make sure the kids are going to said events and it’s all legal.
Romello Height jumped in portal. But with Jamil, Shelby, Sam Greene, and Fountain we will be in good shape. Oh yeah, maybe this year Solo will stay healthy and play. He deserves some great luck.
Hate to lose him but that opens a space to bring in other outstanding players. With all those coaches leaving and getting fired there’s going to be more outstanding players entering the portal.
Bernie Kosar, Ken Anderson, and Rodney Peete will be inducted into the National Quarterback Club Hall of Fame at the 2024 NQBC Awards Dinner and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Feb. 23 at The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch
At one time David Shaw was viewed as a great coach at STAN. On the heels of Jim Harbaugh, Shaw went 82 – 26 from 2011 to 2018. Pretty fantastic, especially at STAN. Then Shaw suddenly fell off a cliff. At one time thought to be invincible and untouchable with the Cardinal, Shaw’s last four years at the Farm were 14 – 28. So he resigned, right after he said, “We’re not that far away.” Now Shaw has actually interviewed for the opening with the Chargers. I can’t believe he’s even getting that far. With the Chargers unable to pick… Read more »
Winslow was truly amazing. It’s hard to believe Winslow’s son who played at MIA and with numerous NFL teams as a TE, is already 40 years old.
And it’s even harder to believe that in 2021, the younger Winslow was sentenced to 14 years behind bars in the southern Calif Tehachapi supermax state prison after his conviction of multiple sex crimes against five women in San Diego County, including the rape of a homeless woman in 2018 and rape of a woman who was unconscious in 2003.
When they mention all the great USC QB’s they never mention Rodney Peete. He was one of SC’s greats. If I’m not mistaken(I could be wrong) I think he finished 2nd in the Heisman voting.
I believe Rodney Peete finished second to Barry Sanders in the 1988 Heisman voting. Several USC QBs never get mentioned like Mike Rae who led USC to an undefeated season and National Championship in 1972. A decade earlier, Pete Bethard led USC to the same results. My 1977 classmate Vince Evans had a great senior season and led USC to a one-loss record and Rose Bowl win over Michigan. In my opinion, Vince and Rodney were truly “dual-threat” QBs.
Now that Sports Illustrated is going out of business, who could ever forget Peete’s forever memorialized downfield SI Cover look after punishing UCLA and Aikman 31-22 in the gloriously hyped up Measles Game — watched by 100,741 at the Rose Bowl – the largest fan conglomeration for a USC-UCLA game in 34 years.
But #1 Notre Dame and Irish option magician Tony Rice loomed at the Coliseum, and it was Rice’s national championship squad who finally took the perpetual smile off Rodney’s face.
If Kliff Kingsbury joins the Chicago Bears, Marvin Harrison Jr. could land with the Arizona Cardinals Bob McManaman (Arizona Republic) — A scenario emerged Thursday that could help the Arizona Cardinals land star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth overall pick in the NFL draft in April. Per multiple reports, former Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, who just finished his first season as senior offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach at USC, is expected to interview for the Chicago Bears’ vacant offensive coordinator position. Kingsbury spent this past season working side-by-side with Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams, who is the… Read more »
With USC’s stupendous influx of new and vastly improved defensive coaches, it’s much easier to be patient and optimistic while the Trojans work to impress the better portal guys (and maybe even some preps) to come aboard. Coaches like Lynn, Entz, Belk and Henderson immediately bring massive respect to a completely dreadful USC D. Plus Nua gets to stick around as DE coach. Love the idea of having two coaches work the D-line. Every one of these guys looks like a home run to me. Lincoln Riley’s long overdue commitment to fixing the USC defense is an amazing about-face, and… Read more »
Bolting from Tucson ARIZ finished No. 11 in the final College Football Playoff ranking, third in the Pac-12 behind No. 2 UW and No. 6 ORE. The Wildcats beat OU 38-24 in the Valera Alamo Bowl. So much for benefitting from success. On the heels of Jedd Fisch’s split to UW, nine ARIZ players just entered the transfer portal in 30 minutes yesterday — making that 19 total Wildcat portal entrants since the end of the reg season. CB Jordan Shaw WR Audric Harris IOL Raymond Pulido TE Keyan Burnett CB Ephesians Prysock RB Adam Mohammed QB Demond Williams Jr. TE Dorian Thomas RB Jonah Coleman Barkley Truax (on3.com) —… Read more »
Alabama and UW have even more that have left. We don’t need any of these Arizona guys, but there are a few from UW that we could use. There are all Americans from Bama in the portal, 1st round draft picks. Obviously we want those guys and most likely will not get a sniff.
I was more struck by all these soon-to-be-former-Wildcats splitting in a 30-minute period: barely time to eat lunch and slurp a cup of decaf. Check, please!
Fox Sports‘ Joel Klatt’s Top 10 for 2024. USC faces three. Two fired ex-Trojan HCs lead another two… 1 Georgia Bulldogs (46-2 over last 48 games) 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (one-time USC QB target Will Howard is a Buckeye) 3 Oregon Ducks (heading into year three with Dan Lanning) 4 Texas Longhorns (Sark got his new contract to keep him in Austin through 2030) 5 Alabama Crimson Tide — (Klatt — “Kalen DeBoer was the best person for the job. He was the best man for the job in college football.”) 6 Ole Miss Rebels (Former Trojan QB Jaxson Dart will be… Read more »
With the addition of Lynn and the new DL coach the USC coaching staff on paper is among the best in the nation. The names are first class
It is now about getting the players.
Maybe the NIL aspect has been the problem all along.
College football is now a pro game.
Alabama now getting a taste of real world. I’m sure they will be fine, but they are going to take a step back. They have had huge names enter the transfer portal. I wish we could pick up a couple, but odds are we won’t. While we have done a good job with some portal guys, we’ve missed on the huge names. Proctor and Downs are legit 5 star transfers. All American transfers aren’t common.
Bama has clearly dropped half a notch since their days of dominance. My opinion is that the constant churn of staff under Saban finally caught up with him. You can only bring in so many top-shelf coordinators and position coaches who are just passing through to bigger and better opportunities before the well starts proving it’s not bottomless.
I think we should wait until next season to see what DeBoer is capable of and what he was left with. I think Saban simply decided he did not like college football anymore the way it is going and didn’t need the headaches.
Anyone else have mixed feelings on the way some of the NIL stuff is executed? On one hand, I’m glad that House of Victory is searching for places where our guys can have an impact, like midnight mission, but it is certainly not volunteerism. Everyone knows they are getting paid to be there “serving”. I would much rather it be that our guys go on their own time to originations like that. Give the NIL money for promotions at car lots, businesses, social media, podcasts, etc. it makes the volunteers look a little disingenuous to me. Off my soap box… Read more »
Come to think of it, with all the concern of “getting” NIL money for the players when they sign, does anyone know what happens after a player leaves, specifically, a player who gets drafted highly by the NFL? Are the companies footing the bill required to “drop their sponsorship” (or whatever it is)? In other words, if I’m vT’s Burger Shack, and I’m dropping $50k on Caleb, and I want to continue to use his NIL after he moves on, what happens? I’m guessing there’s some sort of NIL contract in place that has expiration language in it, and I… Read more »
Chris, with so many guys going portal and many of them involved with NIL contracts, you would have to assume they would almost have boiler plate stuff in there in case of a transfer that would cover both sides. But until I get an NIL deal I will never know for sure.
BREAKING: Julian Lewis Reclassifies to 2025 Recruiting Class No. 1 player in the country Julian Lewis has reclassified to the 2025 college football recruiting class. Jonathan Williams (Dawgs Daily) — While the 2024 college football recruiting classes have not yet officially come to a close, some massive news for the 2025 recruiting cycle broke today. Julian Lewis, the number one overall player and the top quarterback in the 2026 recruiting class has announced that he has reclassified to the 2025 recruiting class. Lewis is currently committed to the USC Trojans. Lewis has been labeled as a high-profile recruit for… Read more »
Pretty clear that Miller has one year to start. The new transfer from UNLV will push Miller and then compete with Lewis. I cannot imagine that Lewis will not start as a true frosh. Then, under the new unlimited transfer rules, the UNLV kid will move on. Smart move by the UNLV kid, learn from the best for year and maybe start. If not, then move on again.
Now that he is reclassified to 2025, Julian Lewis (Carrollton, GA) is already considering offers from ALA, MICH, GA, etc. It’ll be intriguing to see if USC can hold him. The Athletic’sAntonio Morales calls it a “serious challenge.”
“Georgia and Alabama have been recruiting me the hardest and have never stopped,” Lewis said. “I know what the opportunity is at Georgia. The opportunity to win championships, be coached and developed for the next level and represent my home state.”
That was always going to be a problem. SC has a huge advantage in this recruiting. First, LR is by far the best QB coach in the nation and his O is centered upon and features the QB. Second, the kid stands his best chance of winning the Heisman at SC (the well known brand, the Heisman success of SC, and the Heisman success of LR). Third, for a QB, SC is the place to make a ton of cash. Caleb took a huge pay cut going to the NFL. My guess is Caleb made between $3-5 million a year… Read more »
Caleb Williams will be drafted #1 this year because of his immense multi-dimensional “generational” talent, not because he was coached well by Lincoln Riley last season. Actually, LR totally dropped the ball with Caleb in 2023, which is why Caleb’s game actually regressed, so much so that some observers started suggesting he shouldn’t be #1 because he spent way too much time running around like a chicken with his head removed. Why LR didn’t cool Caleb’s jets in this area led many to think Caleb had way too much free reign to his own detriment. For reasons unknown, Caleb developed… Read more »
I wonder if we will ever know what was going on this season with Caleb, Lincoln and Kliff? It will be interesting to see how Caleb plays next year in the NFL. If he has the Sam Darnold bug in his pants he will be benched pretty quick. The efficient workman like way Miller Moss ran the offense makes me think it was all on Caleb. Maybe Rilley didn’t want to make a stink. Anyway I’m glad Caleb is gone and Miller time is here.
Thinking the same thing, hearing/reading the linemen were not happy CW was holding onto the ball until the last moment looking to throw bombs on most plays and forcing them to extend protecting him. That he was changing the plays being called by LR too many times. Seeing Miller make quick throws in the Holiday Bowl in LRs offense you wonder.
Best way to keep Julian interested is USC cohesively wins games with offense & defense. If he is holding out for the most NIL money, then do we want another CW who in the end was playing for himself mostly?
It’s amazing. Caleb Williams literally won a Heisman and still made several magical plays the next year on a weird, browbeaten Trojan team with a predictably consistent non-existent defense that confused and riled even the most sunshine-pumping Trojan fans. Yet as good as Caleb is, and I think he’s gonna be an NFL big-timer absent injury, it seems so many USC fans wouldn’t take him back for another season even if we could have him. It’s as though he simply strained our hearts and souls and hopes so much that we actually prefer Miller Moss for 2024. I don’t quite… Read more »
Everything I have read Lewis is making pretty good NIL money right now in high school since Georgia changed their laws. The USC staff has said they are not to worried right now about losing Lewis, but these days you never know. I think Lewis’ dad has a lot of influence on where he will end up.
As the dust has now settled, I am extremely grateful SC hired LR. He is truly a remarkable talent. Prior to 2023 LR had never failed. In fact, he had never lost more than 2 games in a season and never finished unranked. In 2023, he failed in 2023. And he failed specularly on one of the largest stages in collegiate sports – USC football. And he failed with a team he trumpeted as a national championship contender, with the returning Heisman winner and most likely the first pick of the NFL draft.. But his team finished with five losses… Read more »
ARIZ takes SJS’s coach Pete Thamel (ESPN) — Arizona has agreed to a five-year deal to make San Jose State’s Brent Brennan the school’s next football coach, according to a source. Brennan, who just finished his seventh season as San Jose State’s head coach, was a finalist for the Arizona job in 2020 when Jedd Fisch was hired. Brennan, 50, has guided San Jose State to a 26-19 record over the past four seasons, with three bowl appearances during that span. He was a GA at Arizona in 2000 in Dick Tomey’s final season and also worked under Tomey as an assistant… Read more »
From what I have read, AZ has a financial crisis. I expect all the good staff and players will leave with Fisch. AZ hired a coach who they could afford and one who is used to working with modest resources AND has ties to AZ. He succeeded at San Jose State against teams with modest resources and lesser talents. Good luck in the new B12.
USC Portal Transfers Out 1 WR Mario Williams — TULANE 2 WR Dorian Singer — UTAH 3 RB Darwin Barlow — UNC 4 DL Korey Foreman — FRESNO ST 5 LB Tackett Curtis — WIS 6 ILB Chris Thompson Jr — TULSA 7 CB Fabian Ross — HI 8 QB Malachi Nelson — BOISE ST 9 OL Michael Tarquin — OU 10 WR Michael Jackson III — GA 11 CB Domani Jackson — ALA 12 TE Jude Wolfe — SDS 13 RB Matt Colombo — USD 14 WR/RB Raleek Brown — ASU 15 OL Andres Dewerk — ??? 16 OL… Read more »
That is funny! Mario did give them that game. Isn’t odd. Despite how badly Grinch’s D stunk, SC still would have won that game if Mario had simply let that ball go out of bounds or through the end zone. Instead, Mario was a major reason for the total exposure of the SC D and the creation of what I call the Grinch Narrative. History is very odd.
Lincoln Riley’s game management skills also took a huge dive during the last five minutes of the TUL game. And the play call after Mario’s fumble that resulted in the immediate safety was also absurd. It was possibly the greatest collapse of USC football that I have ever witnessed, even worse than the Beban Bomb game in ’65, which kept Mike Garrett out of the Rose Bowl.
I agree. But the point remains, despite the awful game management and the even worse D performance (as I have written before – the worst SC D performance I have witnessed in person)- if Mario does not fumble that kick off out on the one, SC probably wins.
Ya, and if LR didn’t get completely outcoached and horribly mismanage the end of the game, USC probably, make that definitely, wins.
The Cotton Bowl fiasco was a massive Trojan coaching loss if there ever was one, so LR’s rep started to drop nationally and immediately.
But since you think LR is suddenly an “Einstein-like genius” again, you can blame the final score on Mario, who should have been coached up at USC, but never was.
Henderson was voted NFL D-Line coach of the year in 2021 and Nua was voted assistant COY in the NCAA a couple of years ago. They have plenty of talent along that D-Line and maybe some more coming. Don’t forget Solo. That guy is really talented. If he can only stay healthy
Looks like Jedd Fisch is taking almost entire Arizona staff to Washington Bruce Feldman (The Athletic) — Jedd Fisch is moving fast to get his staff in place at Washington. On Monday afternoon, a plane with nine of his former Arizona staffers — including his entire offensive staff — boarded a plane bound for Seattle, according to team sources. Among the passengers expected to join Fisch at Washington on the flight: offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Brennan Carroll, QB coach Jimmie Dougherty, running backs coach Scottie Graham, wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings, tight ends coach/special teams coordinator Jordan Paopao plus strength… Read more »
He went 25-3 in Seattle over two years, giving the Huskies their best team by far in almost 35 years, since the last days of the fantastic Don James, who went 12-0 and won a NC in 1991. Since then, much of UW football has been sporadically putrid, outside of Chris Petersen.
Trojans add co-d-coord, run game coord and DL coach; Shaun Nua moves to coach DEs “I’m excited to welcome the final member of our defensive staff, Eric Henderson,” announced USC’s Lincoln Riley. “A Super Bowl Champion coach who has been recognized nationally for being the top in his field, Eric will bring immeasurable knowledge and experience to our program. We have put together a defensive staff that is second to none. We’re ready to get to work.” Erik McKinney (WeAreSC) — USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn and Henderson coached together as defensive assistants for the Los Angeles Chargers during the… Read more »
Eric Henderson is on board. Lincoln is playing around when he says he is committed to a great defense. This staff is such an upgrade over what we had before. We still need more talent, but these guys will develop so much better than Grinch and crew.
All of the top 200 recruits and transfers are pretty much committed so the staff will have to go to work with what they got. A huge upgrade in coaching in a long time at SC. Finally, the rebuild can begin.
This defensive staff can attract some portal talent and for sure the high school recruits will be paying a lot of attention to USC for now on. Probably the best defensive staff USC has had in a long time.
Good luck Caleb! ESPN — Caleb Williams will be entering the NFL draft, he announced on social media Monday. The decision comes on the final day that underclassman players are allowed to declare. Williams’ decision formalizes his status as the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. His formal entry now highlights the Chicago Bears’ offseason conundrum of keeping Justin Fields or trading him to, presumably, build around Williams. Williams’ decision has been expected. It’d been clear since USC’s disappointing 2023 season ended that he’d wait until the final day he could make a decision, similar to how C.J.… Read more »
ESPN’s Pete Thamel has confirmed The Athletic’s original reporting that Jedd Fisch’s deal with UW will be for seven years at an average of $7.75 million per year.
ARIZ football, and a very poor athletic dept financial situation, looks like it’s in trouble from here.
Holiday Bowl Effort Impresses USC Signee USCFootball.com — USC OL signee Justin Tauanuu (6-6, 290, Huntington Beach) checked in earlier than expected for the 2024 Polynesian Bowl yesterday. Tauanuu hadn’t planned to arrive in Oahu until Wednesday. Still, he arrived a few days early to take in all of the week’s festivities and represent his heritage in the all-star game on Friday. “It’s part of my culture,” said Tauanuu, who was at one time committed to STAN. “I was hoping I got invited to this one out of all of them — I’m Polynesian.” One of the reasons Tauanuu decommitted from STAN to… Read more »
Scott Schader just posted on X- its official. Eric Henderson is now USC ‘s run game Coordinator and D-Line coach.
SC will have one of the best, if not the best staff of defensive coaches.
Who does the Lions coaching staff chose to put the last nail in the coffin in tonight’s Lions vs Rams game ? ………. Mr. Amon-Ra St. Brown !!!!!……….Fight On !!!!!
College football’s 10 most-anticipated non-conference games in 2024
College Football Playoff implications are massive.
3. LSU VS. USC (LAS VEGAS) Brad Crawford (247Sports) — Two coaches whose stock took a marginal dip, Brian Kelly and Lincoln Riley look to get back to the ranks of the elites early during the 2024 campaign. This one’s made for the bright lights of Las Vegas and features a quarterback battle that will attract considerable attention with first-year starters Garrett Nussmeier and Miller Moss taking over. Both come off fantastic performances during bowl wins and each have multiple years in their respective offensive systems. Fireworks are expected here. 247sports.com
Great player! I always thought he was terrific at USC too. Always brings it. So mentally tough and precise. Fantastic to see him make 1st team All-Pro.
Revenge-minded USC women’s basketball beats previously undefeated UCLA 73-65! USC center Clarice Akunwafo (34) and guard JuJu Watkins (12) rebound during their 73-65 win over #2 ranked UCLA at sold-out Galen Center on Sunday. Watkins finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and went a phenomenal 16 for 16 from the foul line. LAT — Fans lined up for hours before tip-off. The student line snaked through the loading dock and down Flower Street. The front row of students spelled out “fours down” in body paint on their chests. The packed crowd, the largest in USC women’s basketball history,… Read more »
Report: Arizona’s Jedd Fisch Likely to Take Washington HC Job After DeBoer’s Exit According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Arizona’s Jedd Fisch “has emerged as Washington’s top target” in their head coaching search. 247Sports` Jason Scheer followed up by reporting that Fisch is “likely headed to Washington.” Thamel added that Washington has put all of its focus on Fisch, as he is “the only candidate Washington officials have engaged with after their initial phone calls.” Fisch has spent the last three seasons as head coach of the Wildcats. He took over a team that went 0-5 under Kevin Sumlin during the pandemic-shortened 2020… Read more »
I am excited for the depth possibilities in the defensive backfield. I hope the coaching staff can retain the underclassmen to develop consistent backups & replacements. Yes, the Holiday Bowl showed there is talent to work with in Brown & Rolland-Wallace. The addition of Humphrey & Nicholson will create a better roadblock for opponents seeking to find weaknesses in the Trojan D. Since the Big Ten continues to be a heavy rushing conference, our safeties will be counted on backing up our linebackers as well as blitzing opportunities. We have waited for some time to see a good defensive backfield… Read more »
How does the safety group shake out, positionally? After playing at the nickel all season, junior Jaylin Smith (19) shifted to safety for the Holiday Bowl and had his best game of the season, named the Defensive Player of the Game in a 12-tackle effort. It was a natural positional switch, Smith struggling in pass coverage at times in 2023 but a consistent ball-hawk. If he sticks at safety and not nickel, it’ll further crowd a busy room with the additions of Ramsey and Arnold, who project as starters on paper. Branch won a starting job before a season-ending knee injury in 2023, and could contend; Beavers Jr. was tremendous in the Holiday Bowl with eight tackles and will push for snaps as well.
Perhaps no USC defender – at any position – had a better game all season tackling in space than Brown (16) in the Holiday Bowl. It was a coming-out party for the sophomore, who consistently wrapped up in one-on-one situations and allowed just 10 receiving yards on five targets, according to Pro Football Focus. Roland-Wallace established himself as a near-lockdown corner down the stretch, and USC will need a member of this current group to step up; Humphrey and Nicholson will have roles as transfers, but keep an eye on Brown in the spring.
Matt Leinart had hip replacement surgery today. He seems kind of young for that, I thought it was for all of us old timers.
Frosh ALA AA S Caleb Downs headed to the Buckeyes
Probably the best defensive player in the country. Huge pickup.
UCLA’s Recruiting Pitch Falls Flat. What Some OL Recruits Want… Redshirt JR OT Fernando Carmona (236K annual On3 NIL valuation), originally from Vegas, bolted from SJS through the portal and eventually signed with ARK last Dec. But not until after visiting UCLA first. Connor Goodson (BOAS) — Carmona explained that his desire to play against better competition and his “next level” aspirations were the deciding factors. “In my situation, I want to get more exposure, I want to be playing against better competition,” Carmona said. “When I get to that next level, I don’t want them to be like, ‘Well… Read more »
The NCAA is now starting NIL investigations. Since it is no longer amateurism, I wonder how long it will be before the big conferences just ditch them all together?
It’s winter so they are sending their investigators to Florida. Seems odd they are going after any SEC schools though because they never cheat. 😁 With as strong as Ole Miss has been in the portal they could get investigated also.
How can they prove anything? NIL is so wide open, there aren’t any rules at all other than “no pay for play” which we know it is exactly what’s happening. Make up any event, invite the players to be there, and bam… NIL complete, pay up. Just don’t be lazy as a collective and make sure the kids are going to said events and it’s all legal.
Can playing together be too far away?
Long gone redshirt JR RUSH Romello Height is 6-foot-3 inches tall.
“Those who stay will be champions” — Bo Schembechler to his first 1969 MICH team
Romello Height jumped in portal. But with Jamil, Shelby, Sam Greene, and Fountain we will be in good shape. Oh yeah, maybe this year Solo will stay healthy and play. He deserves some great luck.
Hate to lose him but that opens a space to bring in other outstanding players. With all those coaches leaving and getting fired there’s going to be more outstanding players entering the portal.
New Trojan DL coach Eric Henderson with NFL superstar DL Aaron Donald in USC gear.
Would you like to play DL at USC now?
Bernie Kosar, Ken Anderson, and Rodney Peete will be inducted into the National Quarterback Club Hall of Fame at the 2024 NQBC Awards Dinner and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Feb. 23 at The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch
Introducing the Class of 2024
At one time David Shaw was viewed as a great coach at STAN. On the heels of Jim Harbaugh, Shaw went 82 – 26 from 2011 to 2018. Pretty fantastic, especially at STAN. Then Shaw suddenly fell off a cliff. At one time thought to be invincible and untouchable with the Cardinal, Shaw’s last four years at the Farm were 14 – 28. So he resigned, right after he said, “We’re not that far away.” Now Shaw has actually interviewed for the opening with the Chargers. I can’t believe he’s even getting that far. With the Chargers unable to pick… Read more »
Chargers…loved the Kellen Winslow, Chuck Muncie, Air Coryell years!
My, how time flies.
Winslow was truly amazing. It’s hard to believe Winslow’s son who played at MIA and with numerous NFL teams as a TE, is already 40 years old.
And it’s even harder to believe that in 2021, the younger Winslow was sentenced to 14 years behind bars in the southern Calif Tehachapi supermax state prison after his conviction of multiple sex crimes against five women in San Diego County, including the rape of a homeless woman in 2018 and rape of a woman who was unconscious in 2003.
When they mention all the great USC QB’s they never mention Rodney Peete. He was one of SC’s greats. If I’m not mistaken(I could be wrong) I think he finished 2nd in the Heisman voting.
I believe Rodney Peete finished second to Barry Sanders in the 1988 Heisman voting. Several USC QBs never get mentioned like Mike Rae who led USC to an undefeated season and National Championship in 1972. A decade earlier, Pete Bethard led USC to the same results. My 1977 classmate Vince Evans had a great senior season and led USC to a one-loss record and Rose Bowl win over Michigan. In my opinion, Vince and Rodney were truly “dual-threat” QBs.
Now that Sports Illustrated is going out of business, who could ever forget Peete’s forever memorialized downfield SI Cover look after punishing UCLA and Aikman 31-22 in the gloriously hyped up Measles Game — watched by 100,741 at the Rose Bowl – the largest fan conglomeration for a USC-UCLA game in 34 years.
But #1 Notre Dame and Irish option magician Tony Rice loomed at the Coliseum, and it was Rice’s national championship squad who finally took the perpetual smile off Rodney’s face.
If Kliff Kingsbury joins the Chicago Bears, Marvin Harrison Jr. could land with the Arizona Cardinals Bob McManaman (Arizona Republic) — A scenario emerged Thursday that could help the Arizona Cardinals land star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth overall pick in the NFL draft in April. Per multiple reports, former Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, who just finished his first season as senior offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach at USC, is expected to interview for the Chicago Bears’ vacant offensive coordinator position. Kingsbury spent this past season working side-by-side with Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams, who is the… Read more »
KK is gone. Halleluja!!!! Now maybe we can go back to LR’s Oklahoma offense.
We could not have more luck. Getting rid of him would be a good step.
With USC’s stupendous influx of new and vastly improved defensive coaches, it’s much easier to be patient and optimistic while the Trojans work to impress the better portal guys (and maybe even some preps) to come aboard. Coaches like Lynn, Entz, Belk and Henderson immediately bring massive respect to a completely dreadful USC D. Plus Nua gets to stick around as DE coach. Love the idea of having two coaches work the D-line. Every one of these guys looks like a home run to me. Lincoln Riley’s long overdue commitment to fixing the USC defense is an amazing about-face, and… Read more »
Bolting from Tucson ARIZ finished No. 11 in the final College Football Playoff ranking, third in the Pac-12 behind No. 2 UW and No. 6 ORE. The Wildcats beat OU 38-24 in the Valera Alamo Bowl. So much for benefitting from success. On the heels of Jedd Fisch’s split to UW, nine ARIZ players just entered the transfer portal in 30 minutes yesterday — making that 19 total Wildcat portal entrants since the end of the reg season. CB Jordan Shaw WR Audric Harris IOL Raymond Pulido TE Keyan Burnett CB Ephesians Prysock RB Adam Mohammed QB Demond Williams Jr. TE Dorian Thomas RB Jonah Coleman Barkley Truax (on3.com) —… Read more »
Alabama and UW have even more that have left. We don’t need any of these Arizona guys, but there are a few from UW that we could use. There are all Americans from Bama in the portal, 1st round draft picks. Obviously we want those guys and most likely will not get a sniff.
I was more struck by all these soon-to-be-former-Wildcats splitting in a 30-minute period: barely time to eat lunch and slurp a cup of decaf. Check, please!
My question is: Did the players just leave in the middle of his speech or did he just speak for 3 minutes and walk out himself?
Fox Sports‘ Joel Klatt’s Top 10 for 2024. USC faces three. Two fired ex-Trojan HCs lead another two… 1 Georgia Bulldogs (46-2 over last 48 games) 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (one-time USC QB target Will Howard is a Buckeye) 3 Oregon Ducks (heading into year three with Dan Lanning) 4 Texas Longhorns (Sark got his new contract to keep him in Austin through 2030) 5 Alabama Crimson Tide — (Klatt — “Kalen DeBoer was the best person for the job. He was the best man for the job in college football.”) 6 Ole Miss Rebels (Former Trojan QB Jaxson Dart will be… Read more »
With the addition of Lynn and the new DL coach the USC coaching staff on paper is among the best in the nation. The names are first class
It is now about getting the players.
Maybe the NIL aspect has been the problem all along.
College football is now a pro game.
Donte is being considered for HC at San Jose State.
Alabama now getting a taste of real world. I’m sure they will be fine, but they are going to take a step back. They have had huge names enter the transfer portal. I wish we could pick up a couple, but odds are we won’t. While we have done a good job with some portal guys, we’ve missed on the huge names. Proctor and Downs are legit 5 star transfers. All American transfers aren’t common.
Guess there is no connection between a safety and OL leaving Washington and a safety and OT leaving Alabama. 😉
Bama has clearly dropped half a notch since their days of dominance. My opinion is that the constant churn of staff under Saban finally caught up with him. You can only bring in so many top-shelf coordinators and position coaches who are just passing through to bigger and better opportunities before the well starts proving it’s not bottomless.
I think we should wait until next season to see what DeBoer is capable of and what he was left with. I think Saban simply decided he did not like college football anymore the way it is going and didn’t need the headaches.
Anyone else have mixed feelings on the way some of the NIL stuff is executed? On one hand, I’m glad that House of Victory is searching for places where our guys can have an impact, like midnight mission, but it is certainly not volunteerism. Everyone knows they are getting paid to be there “serving”. I would much rather it be that our guys go on their own time to originations like that. Give the NIL money for promotions at car lots, businesses, social media, podcasts, etc. it makes the volunteers look a little disingenuous to me. Off my soap box… Read more »
Come to think of it, with all the concern of “getting” NIL money for the players when they sign, does anyone know what happens after a player leaves, specifically, a player who gets drafted highly by the NFL? Are the companies footing the bill required to “drop their sponsorship” (or whatever it is)? In other words, if I’m vT’s Burger Shack, and I’m dropping $50k on Caleb, and I want to continue to use his NIL after he moves on, what happens? I’m guessing there’s some sort of NIL contract in place that has expiration language in it, and I… Read more »
Can’t remember where I read it but a Washington player was asking to be let out of his nil contract so he could transfer.
Chris, with so many guys going portal and many of them involved with NIL contracts, you would have to assume they would almost have boiler plate stuff in there in case of a transfer that would cover both sides. But until I get an NIL deal I will never know for sure.
BREAKING: Julian Lewis Reclassifies to 2025 Recruiting Class No. 1 player in the country Julian Lewis has reclassified to the 2025 college football recruiting class. Jonathan Williams (Dawgs Daily) — While the 2024 college football recruiting classes have not yet officially come to a close, some massive news for the 2025 recruiting cycle broke today. Julian Lewis, the number one overall player and the top quarterback in the 2026 recruiting class has announced that he has reclassified to the 2025 recruiting class. Lewis is currently committed to the USC Trojans. Lewis has been labeled as a high-profile recruit for… Read more »
Pretty clear that Miller has one year to start. The new transfer from UNLV will push Miller and then compete with Lewis. I cannot imagine that Lewis will not start as a true frosh. Then, under the new unlimited transfer rules, the UNLV kid will move on. Smart move by the UNLV kid, learn from the best for year and maybe start. If not, then move on again.
Now that he is reclassified to 2025, Julian Lewis (Carrollton, GA) is already considering offers from ALA, MICH, GA, etc. It’ll be intriguing to see if USC can hold him. The Athletic’s Antonio Morales calls it a “serious challenge.”
“Georgia and Alabama have been recruiting me the hardest and have never stopped,” Lewis said. “I know what the opportunity is at Georgia. The opportunity to win championships, be coached and developed for the next level and represent my home state.”
247sports.com
That was always going to be a problem. SC has a huge advantage in this recruiting. First, LR is by far the best QB coach in the nation and his O is centered upon and features the QB. Second, the kid stands his best chance of winning the Heisman at SC (the well known brand, the Heisman success of SC, and the Heisman success of LR). Third, for a QB, SC is the place to make a ton of cash. Caleb took a huge pay cut going to the NFL. My guess is Caleb made between $3-5 million a year… Read more »
Caleb Williams will be drafted #1 this year because of his immense multi-dimensional “generational” talent, not because he was coached well by Lincoln Riley last season. Actually, LR totally dropped the ball with Caleb in 2023, which is why Caleb’s game actually regressed, so much so that some observers started suggesting he shouldn’t be #1 because he spent way too much time running around like a chicken with his head removed. Why LR didn’t cool Caleb’s jets in this area led many to think Caleb had way too much free reign to his own detriment. For reasons unknown, Caleb developed… Read more »
I wonder if we will ever know what was going on this season with Caleb, Lincoln and Kliff? It will be interesting to see how Caleb plays next year in the NFL. If he has the Sam Darnold bug in his pants he will be benched pretty quick. The efficient workman like way Miller Moss ran the offense makes me think it was all on Caleb. Maybe Rilley didn’t want to make a stink. Anyway I’m glad Caleb is gone and Miller time is here.
Thinking the same thing, hearing/reading the linemen were not happy CW was holding onto the ball until the last moment looking to throw bombs on most plays and forcing them to extend protecting him. That he was changing the plays being called by LR too many times. Seeing Miller make quick throws in the Holiday Bowl in LRs offense you wonder.
Very astute comments
Best way to keep Julian interested is USC cohesively wins games with offense & defense. If he is holding out for the most NIL money, then do we want another CW who in the end was playing for himself mostly?
It’s amazing. Caleb Williams literally won a Heisman and still made several magical plays the next year on a weird, browbeaten Trojan team with a predictably consistent non-existent defense that confused and riled even the most sunshine-pumping Trojan fans. Yet as good as Caleb is, and I think he’s gonna be an NFL big-timer absent injury, it seems so many USC fans wouldn’t take him back for another season even if we could have him. It’s as though he simply strained our hearts and souls and hopes so much that we actually prefer Miller Moss for 2024. I don’t quite… Read more »
Everything I have read Lewis is making pretty good NIL money right now in high school since Georgia changed their laws. The USC staff has said they are not to worried right now about losing Lewis, but these days you never know. I think Lewis’ dad has a lot of influence on where he will end up.
As the dust has now settled, I am extremely grateful SC hired LR. He is truly a remarkable talent. Prior to 2023 LR had never failed. In fact, he had never lost more than 2 games in a season and never finished unranked. In 2023, he failed in 2023. And he failed specularly on one of the largest stages in collegiate sports – USC football. And he failed with a team he trumpeted as a national championship contender, with the returning Heisman winner and most likely the first pick of the NFL draft.. But his team finished with five losses… Read more »
ARIZ takes SJS’s coach Pete Thamel (ESPN) — Arizona has agreed to a five-year deal to make San Jose State’s Brent Brennan the school’s next football coach, according to a source. Brennan, who just finished his seventh season as San Jose State’s head coach, was a finalist for the Arizona job in 2020 when Jedd Fisch was hired. Brennan, 50, has guided San Jose State to a 26-19 record over the past four seasons, with three bowl appearances during that span. He was a GA at Arizona in 2000 in Dick Tomey’s final season and also worked under Tomey as an assistant… Read more »
From what I have read, AZ has a financial crisis. I expect all the good staff and players will leave with Fisch. AZ hired a coach who they could afford and one who is used to working with modest resources AND has ties to AZ. He succeeded at San Jose State against teams with modest resources and lesser talents. Good luck in the new B12.
If he brings his QB with him it will surely give AZ a boost.
Steve, I think that QB graduated. Maybe wrong on that, but that is what I recall.
USC Portal Transfers Out 1 WR Mario Williams — TULANE 2 WR Dorian Singer — UTAH 3 RB Darwin Barlow — UNC 4 DL Korey Foreman — FRESNO ST 5 LB Tackett Curtis — WIS 6 ILB Chris Thompson Jr — TULSA 7 CB Fabian Ross — HI 8 QB Malachi Nelson — BOISE ST 9 OL Michael Tarquin — OU 10 WR Michael Jackson III — GA 11 CB Domani Jackson — ALA 12 TE Jude Wolfe — SDS 13 RB Matt Colombo — USD 14 WR/RB Raleek Brown — ASU 15 OL Andres Dewerk — ??? 16 OL… Read more »
Mario Williams to Tulane? If I were him I would ask for extra money on this transfer portal deal if for no other reasons than past favors.
That is funny! Mario did give them that game. Isn’t odd. Despite how badly Grinch’s D stunk, SC still would have won that game if Mario had simply let that ball go out of bounds or through the end zone. Instead, Mario was a major reason for the total exposure of the SC D and the creation of what I call the Grinch Narrative. History is very odd.
Lincoln Riley’s game management skills also took a huge dive during the last five minutes of the TUL game. And the play call after Mario’s fumble that resulted in the immediate safety was also absurd. It was possibly the greatest collapse of USC football that I have ever witnessed, even worse than the Beban Bomb game in ’65, which kept Mike Garrett out of the Rose Bowl.
I agree. But the point remains, despite the awful game management and the even worse D performance (as I have written before – the worst SC D performance I have witnessed in person)- if Mario does not fumble that kick off out on the one, SC probably wins.
Ya, and if LR didn’t get completely outcoached and horribly mismanage the end of the game, USC probably, make that definitely, wins.
The Cotton Bowl fiasco was a massive Trojan coaching loss if there ever was one, so LR’s rep started to drop nationally and immediately.
But since you think LR is suddenly an “Einstein-like genius” again, you can blame the final score on Mario, who should have been coached up at USC, but never was.
Henderson was voted NFL D-Line coach of the year in 2021 and Nua was voted assistant COY in the NCAA a couple of years ago. They have plenty of talent along that D-Line and maybe some more coming. Don’t forget Solo. That guy is really talented. If he can only stay healthy
Lincoln Riley is on the sidelines of the Bucs/Eagles game. Both Jalen Hurts and Baker Mayfield were coached by Riley.
Looks like Jedd Fisch is taking almost entire Arizona staff to Washington Bruce Feldman (The Athletic) — Jedd Fisch is moving fast to get his staff in place at Washington. On Monday afternoon, a plane with nine of his former Arizona staffers — including his entire offensive staff — boarded a plane bound for Seattle, according to team sources. Among the passengers expected to join Fisch at Washington on the flight: offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Brennan Carroll, QB coach Jimmie Dougherty, running backs coach Scottie Graham, wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings, tight ends coach/special teams coordinator Jordan Paopao plus strength… Read more »
Good get … but DeBoer left the place empty
DeBoer owes UW nothing.
He went 25-3 in Seattle over two years, giving the Huskies their best team by far in almost 35 years, since the last days of the fantastic Don James, who went 12-0 and won a NC in 1991. Since then, much of UW football has been sporadically putrid, outside of Chris Petersen.
That defensive coaching staff is now 2nd to none and they have a lot of really good players on that side of the LOS.
Trojans add co-d-coord, run game coord and DL coach; Shaun Nua moves to coach DEs “I’m excited to welcome the final member of our defensive staff, Eric Henderson,” announced USC’s Lincoln Riley. “A Super Bowl Champion coach who has been recognized nationally for being the top in his field, Eric will bring immeasurable knowledge and experience to our program. We have put together a defensive staff that is second to none. We’re ready to get to work.” Erik McKinney (WeAreSC) — USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn and Henderson coached together as defensive assistants for the Los Angeles Chargers during the… Read more »
So…. what is the difference in being an assistant head coach for defense and a co-defensive coordinator? So many titles.
Satisfying someone’s ego.
Pay check
LR isn’t F ing around! last year was humbling for the once prodigy
Just a thought, if Harbaugh takes the Chargers HC job, he might see Henderson and even Lynn as possible poaches?
Eric Henderson is on board. Lincoln is playing around when he says he is committed to a great defense. This staff is such an upgrade over what we had before. We still need more talent, but these guys will develop so much better than Grinch and crew.
All of the top 200 recruits and transfers are pretty much committed so the staff will have to go to work with what they got. A huge upgrade in coaching in a long time at SC. Finally, the rebuild can begin.
Spring portal window, maybe?
True with all the coaching changes some guys may not like the new regimes after their spring games.
This defensive staff can attract some portal talent and for sure the high school recruits will be paying a lot of attention to USC for now on. Probably the best defensive staff USC has had in a long time.
Good luck Caleb! ESPN — Caleb Williams will be entering the NFL draft, he announced on social media Monday. The decision comes on the final day that underclassman players are allowed to declare. Williams’ decision formalizes his status as the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. His formal entry now highlights the Chicago Bears’ offseason conundrum of keeping Justin Fields or trading him to, presumably, build around Williams. Williams’ decision has been expected. It’d been clear since USC’s disappointing 2023 season ended that he’d wait until the final day he could make a decision, similar to how C.J.… Read more »
ESPN’s Pete Thamel has confirmed The Athletic’s original reporting that Jedd Fisch’s deal with UW will be for seven years at an average of $7.75 million per year.
ARIZ football, and a very poor athletic dept financial situation, looks like it’s in trouble from here.
Good move … Zona is broke, too bad they had a good team and all are back
WR Dorian Singer is off to UTAH. Will be interesting to see if he gets back on track as a Ute under Kyle Whittingham.
Holiday Bowl Effort Impresses USC Signee USCFootball.com — USC OL signee Justin Tauanuu (6-6, 290, Huntington Beach) checked in earlier than expected for the 2024 Polynesian Bowl yesterday. Tauanuu hadn’t planned to arrive in Oahu until Wednesday. Still, he arrived a few days early to take in all of the week’s festivities and represent his heritage in the all-star game on Friday. “It’s part of my culture,” said Tauanuu, who was at one time committed to STAN. “I was hoping I got invited to this one out of all of them — I’m Polynesian.” One of the reasons Tauanuu decommitted from STAN to… Read more »
Caleb Williams day.
It’s officially done!
Good……Williams makes some big bucks and we move on to the future. Hopefully we get QB play that is a positive.
The Rams lost so if there is any truth to the rumor that the Rams D-Line coach is coming to SC, we should be hearing something soon.
Scott Schader just posted on X- its official. Eric Henderson is now USC ‘s run game Coordinator and D-Line coach.
SC will have one of the best, if not the best staff of defensive coaches.
Who does the Lions coaching staff chose to put the last nail in the coffin in tonight’s Lions vs Rams game ? ………. Mr. Amon-Ra St. Brown !!!!!……….Fight On !!!!!
Amon-Ra St. Brown (how about that blue hair!) and Puka Nacua are both unreal receivers. Great game.
I’m happy for the Lions after such a forever-long (32 years!) playoff win drought.
That’s for sure !
College football’s 10 most-anticipated non-conference games in 2024
College Football Playoff implications are massive.
3. LSU VS. USC (LAS VEGAS)
Brad Crawford (247Sports) — Two coaches whose stock took a marginal dip, Brian Kelly and Lincoln Riley look to get back to the ranks of the elites early during the 2024 campaign. This one’s made for the bright lights of Las Vegas and features a quarterback battle that will attract considerable attention with first-year starters Garrett Nussmeier and Miller Moss taking over. Both come off fantastic performances during bowl wins and each have multiple years in their respective offensive systems. Fireworks are expected here.
247sports.com
Lol …..Family member asked me is Amon-Ra St. Brown really good ?…..I responded “Just watch NBC Tonight and see for yourself ” …..Fight On .
Great player! I always thought he was terrific at USC too. Always brings it. So mentally tough and precise. Fantastic to see him make 1st team All-Pro.
Revenge-minded USC women’s basketball beats previously undefeated UCLA 73-65! USC center Clarice Akunwafo (34) and guard JuJu Watkins (12) rebound during their 73-65 win over #2 ranked UCLA at sold-out Galen Center on Sunday. Watkins finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and went a phenomenal 16 for 16 from the foul line. LAT — Fans lined up for hours before tip-off. The student line snaked through the loading dock and down Flower Street. The front row of students spelled out “fours down” in body paint on their chests. The packed crowd, the largest in USC women’s basketball history,… Read more »
12-1 USC Women’s basketball leads undefeated UCLA 34-19 at the Galen Center at halftime.
Brilliant 6’2″ frosh G JuJu Watkins already has 16 points.
Report: Arizona’s Jedd Fisch Likely to Take Washington HC Job After DeBoer’s Exit According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Arizona’s Jedd Fisch “has emerged as Washington’s top target” in their head coaching search. 247Sports` Jason Scheer followed up by reporting that Fisch is “likely headed to Washington.” Thamel added that Washington has put all of its focus on Fisch, as he is “the only candidate Washington officials have engaged with after their initial phone calls.” Fisch has spent the last three seasons as head coach of the Wildcats. He took over a team that went 0-5 under Kevin Sumlin during the pandemic-shortened 2020… Read more »
Good get
I am excited for the depth possibilities in the defensive backfield. I hope the coaching staff can retain the underclassmen to develop consistent backups & replacements. Yes, the Holiday Bowl showed there is talent to work with in Brown & Rolland-Wallace. The addition of Humphrey & Nicholson will create a better roadblock for opponents seeking to find weaknesses in the Trojan D. Since the Big Ten continues to be a heavy rushing conference, our safeties will be counted on backing up our linebackers as well as blitzing opportunities. We have waited for some time to see a good defensive backfield… Read more »