USC opens fall camp next Friday, and TrojanSports.com will be breaking down and previewing every angle of the 2021 Trojans over the next week heading into the start of practice, but before getting in-depth on the specifics let's start with a big-picture overview.

While there are always compelling storylines entering August, that seems even more the case this year, with USC bringing in another wave of highly-intriguing transfer additions since the spring and adding in elite freshmen to the defensive mix like DE Korey Foreman, LB Raesjon Davis and CB Ceyair Wright. All the while, the spotlight will continue to shine on the freshmen quarterbacks after their spring debuts as well as a pivotal position battle along the offensive line.

When talking earlier this week at Pac-12 Media Day about what intrigues him most with his team, Trojans coach Clay Helton focused on two areas.

"I know defensively it's just having the opportunity and time to be able to grow, really to develop kind of the attitude of what coach [Todd] Orlando is," he said. "I remember leaving the building March 15th of last year and not reentering until July 6. Coach Orlando and coach [Sean] Snyder, our special teams coaches, having to go and basically shrink a playbook down, say this is what we're going to do, we're going to get really good at something. Really seeing those two phases advance, in this off-season being able to see the personality of what Coach Orlando brings and that defensive staff brings to the table has really rubbed off on our players. There's an edginess, toughness, discipline, accountability, really a bond between that defensive unit and what Coach Orlando has been able to create."

And on the offensive side, he said it starts with junior quarterback Kedon Slovis and how he should benefit from having a full and normal spring/offseason, unlike last year.

"I was just so thankful for Kedon, being able to get the experiences that he was given last year. Some were great successes, late-game heroics, some were growth experiences from failures. I've always thought that being a quarterback is about reps and experiences," Helton said. "To be away from the building, not being able to grow for four months, an abbreviated training camp, it was so invaluable for that young man to be able to have six games to be able to grow. Now having a full offseason, seeing how his confidence was developed, seeing how the team has really rallied around his leadership, is exciting as a head coach."

Those angles intrigue us as well -- but so do many other storylines. Here are the 10 we find most noteworthy entering fall camp ...

(And as a preface, this doesn't mean the 10 best players per se. For instance, we fully expect junior cornerback Chris Steele and junior outside linebacker Drake Jackson to be among the most impactful players this season -- there just isn't much to learn about them in the month ahead so they are not spotlighted individually on this particular list.)

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Hop on any message board or follow USC fan commentary on Twitter and there's no mistaking what the biggest source of continued consternation is regarding the roster (and recruiting) -- it's the offensive line.

The fact is the Trojans are set at quarterback with third-year starter Kedon Slovis and four-star freshmen Jaxson Dart and Miller Moss (with fast-rising 2022 four-star Devin Brown in the pipeline as well.) The running back depth chart hasn't been this strong overall in years. The wide receiver depth might be the most impressive of all even after losing Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyler Vaughns to the NFL. And there are some potentially dynamic tight ends in the mix now as well.

The only question about the offense is how well the line will be able to protect Slovis so that he can get the ball to all those playmakers, and whether new offensive line coach Clay McGuire can improve the run blocking and jumpstart the struggling rushing attack.

It is a foregone conclusion at this point that redshirt freshman Courtland Ford has claimed the starting left tackle job. He took all of the first-team reps there in spring and looked impressive. But the spotlight of scrutiny will remain on him over the next month in evaluating just how well he can offset the void of losing first-round NFL draft pick Alijah Vera-Tucker. After all, he's only really played in one college game and that came at left guard. For what it's worth, we've heard nothing but overly positive reports about both Ford's short-term and long-term potential at that spot.

And on the other side, there should be an actual position battle at right tackle, where fellow redshirt freshman Jonah Monheim got a long look with the first-team over the final two weeks of spring practice. Incumbent Jalen McKenzie struggled last season, and many believe Monheim will get a true opportunity to try to beat him out for the job. But that will become more clear once camp starts and we see how much the first-team reps are divided/rotated. If Monheim were to emerge at right tackle, McKenzie could potentially be moved back inside to guard, where he started in 2019, but the Trojans also have fellow redshirt senior Liam Jimmons back at that spot.

One of those three will be the odd man out, or rendered to a backup rotational role, and in terms of position battles this camp this one is the most intriguing.

It's been almost seven months since five-star defensive end Korey Foreman gave USC's 2021 recruiting class a massive exclamation point in choosing to stay close to home and join the Trojans.

The No. 3-ranked overall prospect in his class, Foreman is expected to be an immediate impact addition to the USC defensive line.

He's been working out with his teammates all summer and competing in player-run practices, but those are pad-less and also closed to the media, so the first true look at Foreman as a Trojan will really come in August.

USC defensive line coach Vic So'oto made a pronounced impact on the unit in his first season, helping former JuCo transfer Nick Figueroa to his best season yet and developing then-freshman Tuli Tuipulotu into an early contributor and burgeoning star. Now, he gets to see what he can do with an elite national prospect who had the top of the SEC, Clemson and many others aggressively pursuing him.

It's going to be hard not to focus on Foreman in every team rep to see just how ready the five-star standout is to deliver on his considerable hype and make an impact in the Pac-12.

Speaking of Tuipulotu, he was one of the stories of spring as coaches and teammates talked about him like an established veteran even though he has only played in six college games.

That's because he seemingly got better and better across each of those six games last fall, growing his role and his impact along the way while finishing with 22 tackles and 2 sacks.

Now add in this wrinkle -- at least according to the roster, Tuipulotu has gained an inch of height and 25 pounds since the spring.

Helton was marveling about the sophomore's physical transformation in talking with us at Pac-12 Media Day earlier this week, noting that in addition to having the pass-rushing skills to play on the edge Tuipulotu also has the physical build to play inside now too.

"When you see Tuli, he's 280 right now (290 on the roster). When you look at his body type and what he can do, he has the athleticism to be an outside guy but he has the size to be inside. He did that last year as a 255-pound man -- now he's at 280 and still the same athleticism," Helton said. "... That kid is just muscle and the power that he has right now I think is elite. So you'll see him in both, but with size he's really capable of moving [inside] if needed."

And it may well be needed.

As we reported earlier this week, Helton indicated that Alabama transfer Ishmael Sopsher will continue to be brought along slowly after missing all of spring following surgery for compartment syndrome in his leg. Sopsher was an obvious top candidate to fill the void at nose tackle with projected starter Brandon Pili lost for the season to a torn Achilles and impressive freshman Jay Toia surprisingly transferring to UCLA after spring. Now it's fair to wonder if Sopsher will be able to contribute in any meaningful way this season.

That leaves redshirt freshmen Jamar Sekona and Kobe Pepe and third-year lineman Stanley Ta'ufo'ou as the options there. All three have played only minimally so far at USC, and Helton indicated there will be a rotation at that spot. Meanwhile, though, USC has Foreman at defensive end, Figueroa and Tuipulotu who can play both DE or possibly more of a DT role, and redshirt junior Jacob Lichtenstein, who looks like he could be a factor this year.

Including junior B-backer Drake Jackson, who effectively alternates between an outside linebacker and a defensive end, that gives the Trojans some options to get creative. Can USC have Foreman and Jackson as the bookends and Tuipulotu and Figueroa inside as a way to get the best four on the field together, even if the latter two don't fit the nose tackle mold? Or will the coaches trust an untested rotation of Sekona/Pepe/Ta'ufo'ou while rotating reps for Foreman, Tuipulotu, Figueroa and Lichtenstein?

That will be one of the main alignment-related storylines we'll be monitoring all August.

It was hard to get much of a read on the receiver depth chart during spring practice as USC was especially thin at the position due to injuries and waiting on summer arrivals.

Memphis transfer Tahj Washington, Texas transfer Jake Smith and freshmen Kyron Ware-Hudson and Joseph Manjack were not here in time for spring ball, projected key contributors Bru McCoy and Gary Bryant Jr. were limited by injury, and high-upside third-year wideout Kyle Ford wasn't yet cleared following knee surgery last year.

All of those receivers should be active in fall camp, along with star junior Drake London, Colorado transfer K.D. Nixon, impressive freshman Michael Jackson III and junior John Jackson III.

We've gone through countless revisions of our WR depth chart, and it largely seems a pointless venture until we -- and more importantly the coaches -- are able to see all those guys competing together in camp.

But here are some preliminary thoughts ...

-Helton told us London is not going to have a permanent fixed spot but will rather be moved around between outside WR (which he played in the spring and in high school) and his familiar inside Y-receiver role that he's excelled at the last two years. Where he lines up at any given time will ultimately impact the rest of the depth chart accordingly.

-McCoy, the former five-star prospect, seems likely to hold down a full-time role on the outside in what should be his long-awaited breakout season.

-Bryant can play inside or outside and should get a major opportunity to show what he can do this season.

-Washington, the Memphis transfer, has drawn high praise from Slovis this summer and seems poised to make an immediate impact to some degree. Although he's listed at 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, USC sees him as an outside receiver. So perhaps he and Bryant and battling it out for reps on the outside whenever London is being used elsewhere.

-Or does Bryant emerge as the top option at the A-receiver/slot position? Again, it's all guesswork at this point. Smith, the speedy Texas transfer and a former top-50 national prospect coming out of high school, is another option there, along with Nixon. So too is Ford, who is not the prototypical slot burner like the others, but he's a really interesting big-bodied, sure-handed playmaker that USC has previously earmarked for an inside receiver role.

Needless to say, there's a lot to sort out in the month ahead here.