USC Football Notes: Tahj Washington's consistency, Miller Moss and more

Each of the last two years, USC has brought in an influx of talent at wide receiver and yet Tahj Washington remains the constant.

Before last season, the Trojans took in four wide receiver transfers in Jordan Addison, Mario Williams, Brenden Rice and Terrell Bynum (and top-50 national prospect CJ Williams, who would transfer out after the fall). Washington's season started quietly, but he earned more opportunities by being a dependable blocker when he was on the field. As injuries struck, Washington stepped forward and finished second on the team in catches (50), receiving yards (785) and receiving touchdowns (6).

This offseason, all the buzz was about Arizona WR transfer Dorian Singer and the quartet of freshman pass-catchers in five-stars Zachariah Branch and Duce Robinson, fellow top-100 prospect Makai Lemon and underrated talent Ja'Kobi Lane.

Yet, through two games it's Washington leading the Trojans in receiving yards (160) and receiving touchdowns (3).

The fifth-year senior played a starring role again Saturday night in USC's 66-14 win over Nevada, with 3 receptions for a team-high 75 yards and 2 touchdowns.

RELATED: Game Breakdown: Highlights, recap and reaction from USC's win over Nevada | A closer look at RB MarShawn Lloyd's impressive performance

As usual, Washington kept his comments about his performance brief when asked about the connection he's built with QB Caleb Williams.

"Just being assignment-sound, being where he needs me to be, just making plays after that," he said simply.

Backup QB Miller Moss, meanwhile, was more than willing to expound on what drives Washington's success.

"Tahj is just the man. I don't know how else to put it," Moss said. "Like, you see him, there's so many things you don't see that he does, whether it's on special teams, whether it's blocking on the perimeter. It's no surprise to see that he shines in the way he does. Dude never complains, never whines about not getting the ball, always does his job at a super, super high level, and I think you kind of see that come to fruition in the opportunities that he gets. But he's the friggin man. I think everyone in that locker room would ride or die for Tahj."

Washington's two big plays Saturday both showcased his most obvious attribute -- his speed.

His early 22-yard touchdown came on a short catch over the middle that he caught in stride but held up just a little to allow running back MarShawn Lloyd to throw a key block ahead of him before racing into the end zone.

Later, Washington simply got behind the defense down the sideline and made it look easy as he hauled in a 45-yard touchdown from Caleb Williams.

For the second game in a row, Moss got significant playing time after the Trojans had build a big lead to send Caleb Williams to the sideline.

After scoring on a rushing touchdown last week, Moss found the end zone through the air Saturday on 71-yard touchdown to Robinson, as the five-star freshman added 60 of those yards after the catch.

Overall, Moss was 7-of-10 passing for 134 yards. For the season, he's 12 of 17 for 197 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT plus the rushing TD.

"Just getting game reps, I think, is invaluable because I've had so many reps in practice, I'm so comfortable in that situation, and I think just being able to get these lives reps where obviously they can still hit you is invaluable for me. Super grateful for the opportunity," Moss said.

As for Robinson, he now has 4 catches for 115 yards through his first two games that included a 35-yard connection from Moss last week.

Branch, USC's over five-star freshman receiver, followed his breakout debut with another touchdown Saturday, catching a 22-yard pass over his shoulder in the end zone from Caleb Williams.

"It's helluva receiving class when you look at it top to bottom. Ja'Kobi hasn't had a ton of opportunities in game, but you've got Ja'Kobi, Zach, Makai and Duce all in one class, which is really, really special. I think the collection of them will do a ton of damage int he years to come," Moss said.

Meanwhile, freshman running back Quinten Joyner continues to maximize his opportunities, turning 4 carries into 65 yards and a touchdown late in the win Saturday.

That included a 47-yard touchdown jaunt in the fourth quarter in which he simply split the Nevada defense with his elite speed.

Joyner actually ranks second on the team now with 99 rushing yards on 9 carries through two games.

"He's the man. Obviously, he's in a room with two experienced guys with MarShawn and Austin [Jones] -- it's really good for him in Year 1 to have the opportunity to learn under them, and I think he'll take off after this year. You see the spurts obviously," Moss said.

Said wide receiver Mario Williams: "Quinten's going to be really good. He's very physical, explosive. ... He's got home run speed. He can get the job done, no matter [that] he young. And as he gets older, he's going to get better, so watch out."

Defensively, rush end Braylan Shelby was the star freshman with 2 tackles for loss, including the strip sack that led to Stanley Ta'ufo'ou's fumble return for touchdown in the fourth quarter.

And freshman defensive tackle Elijah Hughes continued to flash in his opportunities with this tackle for loss.

Read more about Hughes' early performance this season here.

Junior Michael Jackson III returned to action after sitting out the first game, and he announced his return with a 15-yard touchdown while channeling the other Michael Jackson on his touchdown celebration.

Veteran linebacker Shane Lee was limited by injury throughout fall camp and played only on special teams in the season opener, but with the Trojans starting the game Saturday down two injured linebackers (Eric Gentry and Mason Cobb) and further losing LB Tackett Curtis to a targeting ejection in the first half, Lee rose to the occasion with a game-high 10 tackles, including a sack.

"Haven't been on the field a whole bunch through fall camp, but just always taking reps, always asking questions and just always being around the guys -- that way you never get away from it and they've done a great job of keeping me involved," Lee said.

Lee, of course, is a team captain who started at linebacker most of last season for the Trojans.

As for Cobb and Gentry, Riley expressed optimism that the linebackers won't be out long.

"Cobb and Gentry, we don't think they're long-term. They weren't ready to go today. That had nothing to do with the opponent. I don't believe they would have played regardless -- they just weren't ready," he said. "And I thought guys stepped up. Shane Lee stepped up and played well, Raesjon [Davis] stepped up and played well. Tackett was doing some really nice things before the ejection. So no, I thought the guys really stepped up, communicated."

The last time USC opened the season scoring at least 50 points in each of the first two games was 2015. It was the Trojans' most points since winning by an identical 66-14 score against Rice last September. The 668 offensive yards were the most since 2015 vs. Idaho.

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Of USC's first five touchdowns Saturday, the longest drive time was 2 minutes, 15 seconds as all five drives took four plays.

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The Trojans had 5 sacks in the win as Lee, Solomon Byrd, Shelby, Jamil Muhammad and De'jon Benton all got the quarterback down Saturday.

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Riley didn't have an immediate update on injured offensive guard Gino Quinones, who left the game with an apparent knee injury and returned to the sideline wearing a big brace.