USC released its season-opening depth chart Friday, and there weren't any major surprises -- but certainly some notable final decisions.

-The first striking observation is the presence of four receiver spots on the depth chart. It remains to be seen how often USC will truly go four-wide, but it's notable that the staff felt the need to lay it out this way.

-Over the last couple weeks, we started to see a lot more of Tennessee grad transfer Drew Richmond at right tackle with Jalen McKenzie sliding over to right guard, replacing returning starter Andrew Vorhees. Richmond had spent the first part of camp getting reps at left tackle behind starter Austin Jackson. Ultimately, Richmond was not competing so much with McKenzie at right tackle but with Vorhees in terms of being one of USC's top five linemen.

-It's no surprise that Vavae Malepeai and Stephen Carr are slotted together with the first team. We've actually seen USC put them on the field at the same time, but in general, the Trojans are going to rotate in the backfield, at least early in the season. The question is what share of that rotation does impressive redshirt freshman Markese Stepp earn? He brings a different skill set than the other RBs with his physical style and penchant for producing yards after contact. Also of note on the running back depth chart, former walk-on Quincy Jountti, who was put on scholarship Thursday, lands ahead of freshman Kenan Christon. It was known that Christon was well behind the top three, but it's a marginal surprise to see Jountti formally get slotted over him.

-Going back to the receivers, it's interesting to see redshirt senior Dominic Davis slotted there rather than running back. It was revealed earlier this week that Davis was moving back to the offensive side after working at cornerback, but he started his college career as a running back initially.

-At tight end, Erik Krommenhoek earns the first-team nod over Josh Falo, which is surprising not in terms of what we saw this preseason but because Falo would seem a very useful receiving weapon in this Air Raid offense.

-We reported this month that USC considered its base defense to include both defensive ends, freshman Drake Jackson and redshirt senior Christian Rector, but it's reassuring to see it formally stated on the depth chart. Both of those guys should be on the field as much as possible for the Trojans. That said, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast has said he'll change the fronts based on matchup, so it's not a fixed alignment by any means.

-As expected, sophomore Olaijah Griffin is the one sure thing among the young cornerbacks while redshirt freshman Isaac Taylor-Stuart and freshman Chris Steele are sharing the other side of the field for now. Look for both to play significant snaps Saturday.

-An additional interesting note on the cornerbacks is that freshman Jayden Williams has a second-team slot, behind Griffing, while more heralded freshman Adonis Otey is slotted third on the other side.

-It became clear over the last week that redshirt sophomore Greg Johnson had moved atop the depth chart at nickel, but it still remains a surprise given how high DBs coach Greg Burns has been on redshirt freshman Chase Williams, who took the first-team reps there through the spring and most of the preseason. Burns has said Williams deserves to play so it will be interesting to see what action he gets Saturday. As of now, he's the top backup at both nickel and strong safety.

-No surprises here. Tyler Vaughns showed the surest hands in fielding punts this preseason and he also had 19 of USC's 22 punt returns last fall. He did have one return for touchdown last season. Meanwhile, Velus Jones, who handled 21 of USC's 29 kickoff returns in 2018, retains that job. He averaged 23 yards per return.

-Chase McGrath, who was 6 of 8 on field goals last season before a season-ending knee injury, reclaims the job as expected.

-As for the new Australian punter, Ben Griffiths, fans who haven't seen him booming kicks on the practice field are in for a treat this season.