With USC opening preseason camp Friday afternoon, coach Clay Helton joined reporters on a Zoom call in the morning to deliver the latest roster updates related to injuries, suspension and opt-outs.

Redshirt senior linebacker Jordan Iosefa and redshirt sophomore linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu are both set for knee surgeries and will miss the upcoming season.

Sophomore wide receiver Munir McClain is suspended indefinitely for an unspecified reason.

And redshirt junior defensive lineman Jacob Lichtenstein and redshirt senior offensive linemen Frank Martin and Bernard Schirmer have opted out of the season and will return in 2021. (As was known, defensive tackle Jay Tufele also opted out to turn his focus to the NFL and will not reverse his decision).

Also, redshirt freshman wide receiver Kyle Ford continues to rehab from his ACL surgery over the offseason, redshirt freshman tight end Ethan Rae is also continuing to rehab from knee surgery -- presumably his ACL surgery prior to arriving at USC -- and will be out "initially," and Eli'jah Winston is also still rehabbing from ankle surgery and will not be active for the start of practice either.

Here's a closer look at each of those situations and what we learned ...

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Iosefa, the redshirt senior, missed all of last season after undergoing surgery in August and needing a second procedure in the fall to fix a lingering cartilage issue. He went in-depth with us in May about how tough that last year was and how motivated he was to return this season.

But that will not happen now.

Helton said Iosefa will need an arthroscopic procedure to clean up some scar tissue, and with the shortened season it doesn't make sense to rush him back. He expects the linebacker to return in 2021.

"Yeah, I do. He was progressing nicely, but he has some scar tissue and is going to have a scope to be able to clean up some things and it takes time to get that back. If we were playing a four or five-month season, you probably would have that opportunity. But he's got one year and we want him to be able to have the best experience possible for him," Helton said. "He's been a team captain here, he's been a leader here, he continues to be that each and every day. But we're going to go ahead and get that thing exactly right for him, so in his last year he can have the best experience possible."

The disappointment is equally significant for Tuliaupupu, who missed his first two years at USC due to a significant foot injury that required two surgeries and a lot of patience.

His foot is not the problem now, but unfortunately he underwent an specified knee surgery Friday.

"Totally separate incident. That's what it makes it so heartbreaking because it's the best he's felt in two years and was really feeling really good with his foot," Helton said. "Just totally separate incident -- heartbroken for him. All Trojans say a prayer, he's actually in surgery today and I'll be able to give you more of an update later in the week."

Iosefa was the favorite to start at the Mac linebacker, or middle linebacker, position in Todd Orlando's defense, and Tuliaupupu was also competing at that spot.

But the Trojans do have depth there. Redshirt freshman Ralen Goforth and junior Kana'i Mauga will compete for that role, with junior Palaie Gaoteote penciled in at the other inside linebacker spot -- "the Rover."

"From a linebacker standpoint, we entered the fall looking pretty good. When you lose the quality of a player like Jordan Iosefa, and we were extremely excited about Solo -- and pretty heartbroken over it because I know the amount of work that he’s put in to have the chance to have his foot well," Helton said. "He was feeling good and now he has a knee. That takes away from your depth. There’s still some really quality players. I think of EA. I think of Ralen. You think of Tuasivi [Nomura], a Kana'i. We have men there, but when you talk about the quality of the defense and special teams … those are losses. Those are losses that are going to provide an opportunity for others to step up."

All Helton offered on the surprising McClain suspension was that the young wide receiver "is currently on suspension from all team activities."

The soft-spoken McClain is about the last player on the roster anyone would predict to draw a suspension, and Helton did not provide any further perspective.

"Right now he's on our team roster, he's suspended from team activities, and as you know, I never discuss a student issue," Helton said.

McClain tore his ACL early last season after making 3 catches for 19 yards over the first five games.

One of the players everyone has their eye on entering this season is redshirt freshman wide receiver Bru McCoy, who missed all of last season while working through a relentless illness (and also not being eligible following his transfers to and back from Texas).

Helton said McCoy has been working through a recent hamstring injury but is progressing well.

"Looking good. Bru was actually full speed yesterday and really looked good. Nursing a little bit of a hamstring, but really we've taken the last couple of weeks and have gotten him to the point where he really feels confident in it, looked really good yesterday," Helton said.

Sophomore outside linebacker Drake Jackson is also slowed by a hamstring injury and may be limited early on in camp.

"Right now he's nursing a little bit of a hamstring that we're going through, but he's been able to do the majority of the implementation of the system. ... Our biggest thing now is just making sure he's healthy going into the first game and getting a little bit of a tight hamstring right over the next couple weeks," Helton said. "The early initial on this next week or so is going to be very limited for him and really trying to get that thing where he feels good. He's a very tough kid, likes to battle through things, but we're going to make sure he's ready to go come game 1."

And then Helton was also asked about redshirt sophomore running back Markese Stepp, who had a promising 2019 season cut short by ankle surgery. Stepp had told us back in June that he was still not 100 percent and was pushing through the final stages of his rehab.

"Markese looked good yesterday. He walked into the building with me early this morning ready -- he's really being proactive on keeping his body right and looked good," Helton said. "I'm looking forward to watching him in camp. As you know how it is, they look good running forward, but you've got to see him move lateral and be able to do some things in team periods and see where it's at. But from our initial impression, he looks very healthy."

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