USC has completed eight practices of fall camp, including its first scrimmage Saturday in the Coliseum.

Many questions still remain to be answered.

Foremost, it's too soon to tell if the optimism being shared by players and staff about the offensive line's improvements under new position coach Clay McGuire is going to manifest in a noticeable way on the field.

The nose tackle position remains a massive question mark, especially with projected front-runner Jamar Sekona missing the last few practices for "health and safety" reasons.

Redshirt junior Isaac Taylor-Stuart is the favorite to start at field corner, but he got a late start to camp due to the birth of his daughter and didn't take part in the full-contact scrimmage on Saturday. He has everything to prove still this season and seeing more of it in camp would help inform an overall evaluation of what to expect from the secondary.

But all of that said, there have been some useful takeaways to this point of camp. We rank them below:

Everybody has noticed that redshirt freshman Jonah Monheim has taken the first-team left tackle reps in six of the eight practices so far.

He's looked the part and the comments from the coaches back up his emergence as a viable option there.

"The light has kind of clicked on for him," head coach Clay Helton said last week. "... We saw it about halfway through spring. Then we thought he had an unbelievable summer, one of the best summers of any kid out here. And it’s shown on the field."

So what does that mean for fellow redshirt freshman Courtland Ford, who took the bulk of the left tackle reps in the spring and in two practices so far this month but has otherwise worked mostly at second-team right tackle this camp?

That's a matter of opinion.

We're taking the stance of not reading too deeply into the start of camp, with McGuire making it clear early on that the O-line wouldn't be firm and set until later on this month. Also, let's look at this logically ...

Ford was the primary left tackle most of the spring, opened a lot of eyes with his performance and by all accounts has among the best work ethics on the roster. What's more likely -- that in two practices without full pads to start the month he did something to merit a demotion to second-team right tackle, or that by this point the coaches know what they have with him after the long spring audition and want to reach the same level of evaluation on Monheim?

We think it's the latter.

Now, Monheim has made the most of that opportunity and already looks to be one of USC's best offensive linemen. Could he indeed hold onto the left tackle job? Sure, we just don't think that decision has necessarily been made yet.

Meanwhile, redshirt senior Jalen McKenzie has collected most of the first-team right tackle reps, while getting some limited looks at left tackle and right guard. Our opinion is that the coaching staff is going to give McKenzie every chance to win a job as a two-year returning starter and fifth-year senior, and for the sake of optics, putting him at second-team right tackle instead of Ford early on in camp would have created more ripples both externally and internally.

All of that is to say we don't think Ford is suddenly the odd man out.

Most likely, all three will play early this season -- likely with either Monheim or Ford at left tackle and the other splitting time with McKenzie on the right side -- and through in-game performance over the first week or two, a set starting five will emerge.

It remains to be seen who will end up as USC's most impactful transfer addition this year, but it looks to be a two-man competition right now between running back Keaontay Ingram and wide receiver Tahj Washington.

There seems no doubt now that Washington, the speedy transfer from Memphis, is going to one of the Trojans' primary targets.

He certainly has the jets to be a dynamic downfield threat, even if the connection there hasn't consistently clicked so far, but where Washington has truly shined is in the short and intermediate passing game. His short-burst speed and footwork look to be the true strengths of his game, as his quick cuts frequently leave defensive backs flat-footed while creating separation to make plays.

Washington had 43 catches for 743 yards and 6 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman at Memphis last year, so he's already proven himself in college. And through his first eight practices with the Trojans, he's proven that he is clearly one of the team's top receiving options -- perhaps No. 2 to only Drake London.