Justin Dedich makes it official -- he's back for one more season to play C

There seemed little doubt that USC team captain Justin Dedich would return for his sixth and final year of eligibility with the Trojans, but the veteran offensive lineman had said he didn't want to rush into any decisions -- if he committed to returning he wanted to be 100-percent mentally locked into that decision.

On Sunday, Dedich made it official.

"Coming back to lead the Trojans from the center," Dedich tweeted simply.

Dedich, who was USC's starting left guard this past season, moved over to start at center in the Cotton Bowl, with four-star starter Brett Neilon sidelined by injury. With Neilon now out of eligibility, Dedich will take over that spot full-time.

Dedich came into USC as a four-star center in the 2018 recruiting class, spent a few years as a valuable utility reserve filling in as needed at center or guard, and then broke through to earn a full-time starting role for the first time as a fifth-year senior. Due to the Covid year not counting against any player's eligibility clock and Dedich redshirting his first season, he has this sixth year now to use.

He not only provides a compelling answer to replacing Neilon, but playing center could help Dedich's NFL potential. He talked about that last month leading up to the Cotton Bowl.

"I'd love to get film at center and stuff because I'm not the biggest guy out there," he said.

Dedich also said then that he was confident USC would reassemble a strong offensive line for 2023 despite losing three starters in Neilon, left guard Andrew Vorhees and left tackle Bobby Haskins.

"Whoever's in the room next year, I know they're going to get the job done -- and if I come back, we'll get the job done," he said then.

The Trojans have since added two notable offensive line transfers in Jarrett Kingston, who started at both left tackle and left guard at Washington State, and Michael Tarquin, who started last season at right tackle for Florida.

USC also returns experienced starters Jonah Monheim, Courtland Ford and emerging young tackle Mason Murphy, who made four starts this past season at right and left tackle.

So the Trojans have some options for how to put the pieces of the puzzle together up front.

It's presumed that Monheim, who started at right tackle mostly, will move inside to right guard, where he played in the Cotton Bowl. That leaves Kingston, Tarquin, Ford and Murphy to compete for the two offensive tackle spots, with one moving inside to left guard. Kingston would be the best choice at left guard, but he also might be the best option at left tackle. There is plenty of time to sort all of that out, though, and it's always possible the Trojans add more OL help through the transfer portal in addition to the five freshmen they have coming in this year.