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This would have been a different story a few days ago ...

There's no other place to start than the uncertain status of redshirt sophomore wide receiver Bru McCoy, who was "temporarily removed from team activities" after being arrested on July 24 on suspicion of intimate partner violence with injury.

No other details have come out and it would be reckless to speculate on any facet of the matter, including what this means for McCoy's USC future.

That said, it's only logical to now evaluate the outlook for the wide receiver position without him. If McCoy gets reinstated at a point that allows him to play this season, that would be a bonus -- he's a five-star talent who was primed to be given every opportunity to have a breakout year.

Either way, USC has a wealth of talent at the wide receiver/tight end positions and filling out an impressive two-deep -- or even three-deep -- will not be a challenge for the Trojans. (It is, however, a challenge for those of us trying to project how all the pieces fit into place.)

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USC's plan as of last week, when head coach Clay Helton shared it in a one-on-one interview with TrojanSports.com, was to have star junior receiver Drake London -- a first-team preseason All-Pac-12 selection -- move around the offense to make defenses adjust and make it tougher for them to employ double-teams against him.

The logic behind that still stands. On one hand, if McCoy is unavailable, it could be argued that it's even more important for London to settle in as an outside receiver. But it could also be contended that the loss of McCoy on the other side would only make it more likely that defenses would try to bracket London and limit his touches.

It stands to reason the plan will remain intact and London will be spending a lot of his time on the outside but also rotate into the inside Y receiver position he excelled at the last two years -- perhaps in key moments when the Trojans want to dial up one of their trusted seam route connections between Kedon Slovis and London that have delivered time and again the last two years.

If London is on the outside, that means one of the Trojans' intriguing tight end newcomers -- Texas transfer Malcolm Epps or four-star freshman Michael Trigg -- is manning the Y. Both have high upside as athletic physical mismatches, but neither has the rapport and trust with Slovis that London has, and just think back on how many pivotal moments the last two season involved the Trojans leaning on that connection.

We'll come back to Epps and Trigg in a moment, but first, let's look at what we expect at the outside receiver position if McCoy is not a factor.