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Published Aug 19, 2023
Projecting USC's offensive depth chart for the opener vs. San Jose State
Ryan Young  •  TrojanSports
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Fall camp seemed to fly back for USC faster than usual with so much anticipation for the No. 6-ranked Trojans and their season starting a week earlier than most teams.

Seven days from now, USC will kickoff against San Jose State in the Coliseum as part of college football's "Week 0" lineup.

Much was learned over the last three weeks while some questions still linger heading into the opener. Not all depth chart decisions or position battles are necessarily resolved, but we have enough clarity to make a relatively confident projection of what that all will look like for the Trojans next Saturday.

Here is our projected offensive depth chart for the season opener ...

RELATED: Projecting USC's defensive depth chart for the season opener

(Note: This is a projection only for the San Jose State game, taking into account who we expect to be physically available. There are names not listed below that we certainly expect to make an impact during the course of the season.)

Quarterback

1. Caleb Williams, junior

2. Miller Moss, redshirt sophomore

3. Malachi Nelson, freshman

4. Jake Jensen, redshirt sophomore

This was nothing to sort out here this camp. Moss has received consistently strong praise for his continued development and growth in the offense and shined in the Trojans' second scrimmage, but there was never any doubt about his firm grip on the backup job for this year. Nelson is a five-star talent who was limited in the spring while recovering from surgery to his non-throwing shoulder. This is a development year for him, though he would presumably be the third in line should such a need arise. That would depend on his command and comfort within the offense at that point, as Jensen looked good in his limited spring game reps and has a full year in the program.

Running back

1A. MarShawn Lloyd, redshirt junior

1B. Austin Jones, redshirt senior

3. Quinten Joyner, freshman

4. Darwin Barlow, redshirt senior

5. A'Marion Peterson, freshman

Lloyd, the transfer from South Carolina, came to USC with something to prove. A former five-star prospect who started his college career recovering from a torn ACL, said he finally started to truly feel like himself again last fall as he emerged with 573 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns on 5.2 yards per carry (plus 176 yards and 2 TDs receiving). He should be in for an even bigger season with the Trojans, though we do expect Jones to also be significantly involved after rushing for 705 yards and 5 TDs on 5.2 YPC with 267 yards and 1 TD receiving last year.

RBs coach Kiel McDonald has been mum about how the Trojans will divvy carries this fall.

"It figures itself out. If we got two, we got two. If we got three, we got three. If we got one, we got one," he said Wednesday.

Our guess is that Lloyd and Jones receive a fairly even workload through the early going, much like Jones and Travis Dye did at the start of last year before Dye emerged as the clear lead back until his season-ending injury. How they perform in these opening games will dictate how their roles solidify.

Joyner, meanwhile, is a big-play threat who should get some opportunities as a true freshman. Teammates and coaches alike have praised both freshman backs for that matter, though Joyner seems the more likely of the two to get some early touches this season.

Barlow is now in his fifth year of college football and third at USC, but he received just 16 carries (for 96 yards and 3 TDs) and had 3 receptions last fall. Despite having clear talent, he's likely in for a similar role.

Wide receiver

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