9/1/2022 football Edit

Analysis: Breaking down USC's depth chart release

Ryan Young • TrojanSports

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Reinventing the famed "5 p.m. Friday news dump," Lincoln Riley and USC rolled out their official depth chart after midnight Thursday morning.

But as there was so much anticipation for a look at the lineup decisions -- and as there is immense anticipation for this football season in general -- Twitter and message boards were abuzz nonetheless in the middle of the night with reaction.

There were indeed some surprises and notable decisions.

Let's roll out the depth chart first, and then we can break down all of our takeaways.

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Offense

1. Brenden Rice, junior

2. Kyron Hudson, redshirt freshman, OR Kyle Ford, redshirt junior

1. Mario Williams, sophomore

2. Tahj Washington, redshirt junior, OR Gary Bryant Jr., junior

1. Courtland Ford, redshirt sophomore, OR Bobby Haskins, redshirt senior

1. Andrew Vorhees, redshirt senior

2. Gino Quinones, redshirt junior

1. Brett Neilon, redshirt senior

2. Andrew Milek, redshirt sophomore

1. Justin Dedich, redshirt senior

2. Joe Bryson, redshirt senior

1. Jonah Monheim, redshirt sophomore

2. Mason Murphy, redshirt freshman

1. Lake McRee, redshirt freshman, OR Malcolm Epps, redshirt senior

3. Josh Falo, redshirt senior

1. Jordan Addison, junior

2. Terrell Bynum, redshirt senior

3. CJ Williams, freshman

1. Caleb Williams, sophomore

2. Miller Moss, redshirt freshman

1. Travis Dye, redshirt senior, OR Austin Jones, senior

3. Raleek Brown, freshman

Analysis:

Let's dive into the offense before moving on to the rest of the depth chart.

Biggest surprise? Brenden Rice winning one of the starting WR jobs. Now, entering the spring, I think we projected Rice as a starter, but coming out of spring and entering fall camp, we had heard more buzz for Terrell Bynum in the third WR conversation behind Jordan Addison and Mario Williams. But it shouldn't come as a total surprise, as outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons said Tuesday that Rice and Kyron Hudson had made the biggest gains since spring.

One can just look at Rice and see his potential as the 6-foot-3, 205-pound playmaker has perhaps the most impressive frame of any wideout on the team. He also put up some nice highlights last season despite playing for one of the abjectly worst passing offenses in the country at Colorado. He totaled 21 catches for 299 yards and 3 touchdowns and could be in line for a true breakout this season.

Sticking with the WRs, Hudson started to emerge in the spring after having his freshman season undermined by persistent hamstring issues. It will be interesting to see how much opportunity he or Kyle Ford, who missed time late in the preseason with an undisclosed injury, will get in a very, very deep receiving corps.

Jordan Addison and Mario Williams were the clear-cut No. 1-2 of that group, so no surprise there. But it has been a question of where Addison would line up. He was used in the slot on 576 of his 834 offensive snaps last year at Pitt, when he totaled 100 catches for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns to win the Biletnikoff Award. Most likely he will be moved around, but on the depth chart at least he is listed as an outside receiver with Williams in the slot.

Speaking to the depth of competition at the position, USC's two top returning receivers -- Gary Bryant Jr. (44-579-7 last year) and Tahj Washington (54-602-1) -- are left battling for second-team work in the slot. We'll see how that plays out.

Moving elsewhere on the offense, as expected, there was no decision announced at left tackle. Offensive line coach Josh Henson said Tuesday that he could see both Courtland Ford and Bobby Haskins playing Saturday vs. Rice with the evaluation extending through the game.

No other surprises on the offensive line. Gino Quinones had locked in one of the backup guard spots, and there was some question as to who would fill the other, and it goes to walk-on Joe Bryson -- on paper, that is. But more likely, if relief was needed at left guard, Jonah Monheim would slide over from tackle with either Ford or Haskins taking his spot.

At running back, it's no surprise to see five-star freshman Raleek Brown on the depth chart -- he's going to have a role and is without a doubt the most intriguing "third-teamer." That, again, is more of an on-paper designation. Expect to see Brown utilized as either a ball-carrier or pass-catcher who can be moved around the field -- he's too talented and had too good of an August to be left on the sideline.

That said, it is surprising to see Darwin Barlow entirely left off the depth chart. It was clear he was behind Travis Dye and Austin Jones, but ... I just think back to when he transferred in two summers ago. He seemed to know he was going to have to bide his time behind Keaontay Ingram last year, but I got the sense he felt 2022 would be his turn then. College football is a tough business, be it for coaches or players. That said, injuries at running back are part of the routine over the course of a season and Barlow should get his opportunities to some extent.

Lastly, at tight end, this is again another on-paper framing of the position. From what was gleaned through camp, it seems like Lake McRee is ticketed for the H-back role while Malcolm Epps would be more of the flexed-out tight end. Both will play.

Defense

1. Tuli Tuipulotu, junior

2. Nick Figueroa, redshirt senior

3. Solomon Tuliaupupu, redshirt senior, OR Solomon Byrd, redshirt senior

1. Stanley Ta'ufo'ou, redshirt junior, OR Brandon Pili, redshirt senior

3. Jamar Sekona, redshirt sophomore

1. De'jon Benton, redshirt junior, OR Tyrone Taleni, senior

3. Sinjun Astani, redshirt senior, OR, Earl Barquet Jr., redshirt junior

RUSH

1. Romello Height, redshirt sophomore, OR Korey Foreman, sophomore

1. Ceyair Wright, redshirt freshman

2. Jacobe Covington, redshirt sophomore

1. Jaylin Smith, sophomore

2. Latrell McCutchin, sophomore

MIKE LB

1. Eric Gentry, sophomore

2. Tuasivi Nomura, redshirt junior

3. Raesjon Davis, sophomore

WILL LB

1. Shane Lee, senior, OR Ralen Goforth, senior

1. Mekhi Blackmon, redshirt senior

2. Prophet Brown, redshirt freshman

1. Calen Bullock, sophomore

2. Anthony Beavers Jr., redshirt freshman

3. Xavion Alford, redshirt sophomore

1. Max Williams, redshirt junior

2. Xamarion Gordon, redshirt freshman, OR Bryson Shaw, redshirt junior

Analysis:

Let's start at linebacker. Not surprised to see Eric Gentry win a starting job -- but I am surprised it's at middle linebacker and not weakside, and I'm further surprised that it's Shane Lee who gets the "Or" designation with Ralen Goforth. Make no mistake, there is a ton of optimism and expectation for the 6-foot-6 Gentry, who is a unique asset in the middle of the defense. I've been told he has first-round NFL draft pick potential. Lee has just been the unquestioned leader of the defense since he arrived. I would expect he gets the larger share of that role at WILL LB.

No surprises at defensive line for those of us who have been attending practices (or the limited window we're able to see), but overall it is definitely a surprise to see the surge De'jon Benton made this camp. He's played just 110 defensive snaps over the last three seasons (73 last year), but he impressed this new staff. This became a storyline a couple weeks ago when he was continually lining up with the first group at the start of practice, but to see it in print is really something. He's interestingly listed as an OR with transfer Tyrone Taleni, who barely played during his time at Kansas State as a late bloomer in football from Samoa.

Expect to see Brandon Pili getting plenty of work behind Stanley Ta'ufo'ou at nose tackle, as the defensive line rotates more than any other. It was a surprise all camp to see former starter Nick Figueroa relegated to second-team, but that could just be a function of position if the staff wanted to keep Tuli Tuipulotu at defensive end full-time. Again, we could also see Figueroa moving around and would expect him to have a larger role than Taleni overall.

No surprises in the secondary either, as it became known this week that Max Williams had moved from nickel to safety, allowing Jaylin Smith to take the first-team spot at nickel. What is interesting is that Williams is playing free safety while budding star Calen Bullock is listed at strong safety. It's only interesting because Bullock's best attribute seems to be his ability to go sideline to sideline and close off a side of the field quickly in the back of the defense.

Xavion Alford would have seemed a top candidate for a starting job entering camp, but he missed too much time due to injury this month. It wouldn't be surprising to see him emerge at some point.

And the cornerbacks have been locked in for a while, but if you had told me this time a year ago that Ceyair Wright would be starting right now, I wouldn't have believed it. A lot of credit to him for how much he's developed and progressed in the last year.

Lastly, do not panic that five-star freshman Domani Jackson is not listed on the depth chart. He missed the second half of camp and is still inactive. He'll get his opportunities as the season progresses, if he can get healthy. Ditto for Josh Jackson Jr.

Special teams

Field goals

1. Denis Lynch, redshirt freshman

2. Alex Stadthaus, redshirt senior

Kickoff

1. Alex Stadthaus, redshirt senior

2. Denis Lynch, redshirt freshman

Holder

1. Will Rose, redshirt junior

2. Aadyn Sleep-Dalton, junior

Punter

1. Aadyn Sleep-Dalton, junior

2. Will Rose, redshirt junior

Snapper

1. Jac Casasante, redshirt senior

2. Nathan Weneta, redshirt sophomore

Analysis:

Well, well, well, talk about surprises. There may be none bigger on the overall depth chart than 5-foot-8 walk-on Denis Lynch beating out Alex Stadthaus, who was pulled back out of the transfer portal and put on scholarship, for field goal duties. There are several examples throughout this depth chart, but this too highlights how this staff truly went into the evaluation process with no preconceived notions and felt beholden to expected starters. When Lincoln Riley mentioned recently that there was still a competition at kicker, it didn't even really resonate at the time. Lynch is a nice story.

Australian newcomer Aadyn Sleep-Dalton wins the punter job as expected over walk-on Will Rose.

And USC does not divulge its plans for punt return and kick return. During practice Wednesday, Rice, Michael Jackson III, Dye, Bryant and Raleek Brown worked on punt returns, while Prophet Brown, Mario Williams, Jones, Rice and briefly Raleek Brown worked kickoff returns.