Yesterday, our Adam Maya took a look at how USC's coaching staff has recruited and developed its talent across the roster at every spot.

Today, we're going to break it down a step further to see where each unit stacks up against one another. With big expectations again becoming the norm around the program, which positions can be considered the strengths of USC's roster; which ones the works in progress; and which the problem areas that the Trojans need to address. Bear in mind, this is strictly a look at what we know about the players who are currently on campus. The goal is to do this exercise again before the fall and see what changes with the benefit of new contributors emerging over the spring and summer, as well as the rest of a banner recruiting class making its way onto campus.

Areas of Concern

Tight end would have fallen into this section even before we learned of Bryce Dixon's uncertain status with the team. Now that USC's presumptive starter - and, for that matter, one of its most exciting young talents - may be out of the picture, the depth situation has gone from tenuous to dire. Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick is the only scholarship tight end on the roster this spring, which means that senior fullbacks Soma Vainuku and Jahleel Pinner will likely see plenty of snaps in relief. Two problems with that: First, that trio has all of 27 career catches combined in their USC careers; and second, neither of the fullbacks boasts much in the way of height or length. To make matters worse, walk-on Chris Willson did not receive a sixth year of eligibility, depriving the Trojans of a potential solution with plus size and blocking ability.

Key Question: How will Cope-Fitzpatrick perform after a year on the sideline?

The good news is that Tre Madden should be ready to go come fall camp, which should give USC a great one-two punch of returning rushers between him and Justin Davis. The bad news is that no one expected Madden's recovery from an injured foot to even linger this long, and that the position will look might thin without him. The focus now shifts to Davis, who didn't look quite as explosive in 2014 as he did in his abbreviated freshman campaign but made up for it by averaging 4.6 yards per carry and proving that he can be a dependable member of the rotation. You'll see the fullbacks here, too, and both have looked impressive carrying the ball in practice settings, with Vainuku also doing so in slivers of game action, as well. Behind them, there's James Toland IV, and the redshirt sophomore walk-on from Indio has done everything possible to demonstrate that he's a scholarship-caliber player who can capably handle carries. There's talent here but make no mistake, this is a paper-thin group that needs Davis to make the leap to a feature-caliber back in his junior year.

Key Question: Can Davis take the next step in his development by fusing his freshman year explosiveness with the durability from his sophomore season?

Everything we've seen and heard thus far leads us to believe that Su'a Cravens is staying at linebacker, which means that safety falls into this category and linebacker into our next one. That leaves USC with three options on campus, none of whom are proven. Perhaps too much was expected too soon from Leon McQuay, who went from playing sporadically as a freshman to being penciled in for a starting job as a sophomore. His play reflected it, with flashes of total brilliance interspersed with stretches where he seemed utterly lost. He has the highest upside of the safeties on campus, and now will also be looked upon to be a leader in the position group with Gerald Bowman graduated. His presumptive co-starter, John Plattenburg, lacks McQuay's upside but makes up for it with intelligence that defies his years and a physicality that belies his size. He was the embodiment of the kind of freshman who USC has had to play too soon on account of scholarship reductions, and it's a testament to his preparation that he mostly held his own when he was on the field. The third man, and perhaps the most intriguing, is McQuay's classmate Chris Hawkins. The rap on Hawkins as a corner was that he was among the savviest and most physical prospects the Trojans had recruited in some time, to the point that he might be too hands-on for the position. All of that makes for a package that is very, very intriguing at safety, where he should read the game at a high level and isn't afraid to play downhill when he does. Hawkins has been a corner since high school, though, so he's going to be learning as he goes this spring. But quick progress could mean the difference between him treading water on a crowded cornerback depth chart and opening the year as a starting safety.

Key Question: Does this unit have enough size to compete with the bigger teams in the conference?

Works in Progress

Here, in no particular order, is what USC will have at linebacker this spring: One bonafide star (Cravens); two experienced starters, one fully proven (Anthony Sarao) and another coming off of injury (Lamar Dawson); a junior ready to move into the starting lineup (Michael Hutchings); two more who have been all over the map (Scott Felix and Quinton Powell); and a bevy of other players of whom there's too small a sample size to conclude much of anything (Olajuwon Tucker, Don Hill, Charles Burks and Cameron Smith). An optimist would take all of that in and conclude that, with so much recruiting wattage on the roster - seven of those ten players were four-star recruits according to Rivals, and Cravens was a five-star - USC is going to cobble together a solid starting unit. A pessimist would counter that many of the players with the highest impact potential at the position - a recovering Jabari Ruffin, plus incoming freshmen John Houston, Osa Masina and Porter Gustin - won't be playing until the fall, and much of what is proven isn't especially spectacular. The reality probably lies somewhere in the middle, and finally having Dawson back at full strength could go a long way toward determining the ultimate answer.

Key Question: Who, apart from Cravens, will step up as a dependable pass rusher off the edge?

Bar none, this is the most veteran group on the roster, with four seniors available in the spring and Antwaun Woods set to rejoin them in the fall. So if any unit could shoulder the mental burden of replacing one of the most physically dominant figures in school history in Leonard Williams, this would be the one. The questions begin to arrive with the physical ability; simply put, no one on the current roster has a combination of size and explosiveness to rival Williams'. The best hope for an interior pass rusher would be Claude Pelon, who notched six tackles for loss, including two-and-a-half sacks in limited duty last year. There's also the wild card of Kenny Bigelow, who is stouter than Williams but boasts the kind of strength that could make him a similar threat if his body cooperates and keeps him on the field. The rest are mostly known commodities. Delvon Simmons is a solid starter who owns the run game but won't make a huge impact rushing the passer. Cody Temple, when healthy, is a big body who can ably spell Woods as needed. Greg Townsend Jr. , meanwhile, showed some promise as a hybrid end/standup linebacker last year and could be useful in third-down situations. This isn't a group that will blow the doors off of other teams but Chris Wilson's bunch should be among the most solid and dependable units on USC's roster.

Key Question: Which of Pelon or Bigelow will come out ahead in what should be a heated battle to take over Williams' spot in the starting lineup?

Had George Farmer opted to stay in school, this would be regarded as a strength instead of something of a question mark, as much for having a proven deep threat on the roster as much as an actual senior on the receiving depth chart. But when Farmer joined Nelson Agholor in declaring for the NFL Draft, it left behind JuJu Smith as the only receiver on the team who has been a consistent playmaker. So things are in a state of flux, albeit with the caveat that while none of the other receivers have a ton the way of resume, they've all demonstrated enough to create optimism that they can handle a larger role. Darreus Rogers, for instance, has starting experience on the outside and we've seen him demonstrate his catching ability enough times to harbor some optimism that last year's drops were an aberration more than a new reality. Steven Mitchell was dynamic when healthy at the end of last season and picked up right where he left off yesterday at the first spring practice, while Ajene Harris still has believers up-and-down the coaching staff. Isaac Whitney brings size to the table but more importantly is used to playing against college-aged competition at both the Division I-AA and junior college levels, and more than held his own in winter workouts. And, of course, there's Adoree' Jackson, who can change the game with a single touch. The talent is on hand for this to be a standout group, so the mandate this spring will be to see who steps up as a proven threat opposite Smith before junior college transfer DeQuan Hampton joins the fray in the fall.

Key Question: Can Rogers or Whitney emerge as a credible red zone threat?

Cornerstone Positions

Improved as it is, the situation still isn't ideal on the front five. We documented a couple of weeks back how and why this group is still very thin on proven depth at tackle - even with an interior guy like Toa Lobendahn doing a very credible job moonlighting on the outside - and, for the time being, there doesn't seem to be an obvious successor to Max Tuerk at center (although Khaliel Rodgers got work there yesterday and would seem to be a logical choice). In the bigger picture, though, it's staggering to see how far this unit has come in just a couple years' time. It wasn't that long ago when the Trojans were struggling to find five competent starters, let alone develop actual depth. Case in point, Abe Markowitz was treated as manna from heaven when he developed from a walk-into a capable rotation player. Compare that to today, when a guy like Rodgers - a good player who would have opened the season as a starter last year were it not for a fall camp injury - has had to claw his way back into the mix for snaps because Lobendahn, Viane Talamaivao and Damian Mama all emerged as standouts as true freshmen, and two of them earned Freshman All-America honors. Max Tuerk is a bonafide All-American candidate, Chad Wheeler is a very good starter and Zach Banner was one of the more unsung heroes of last year's team after going from injury-riddled non-factor to a stalwart at right tackle in one year's time; you have to go back a long time to find a trio of players that good to come around in one recruiting class at USC. That's a whole rotation right there, and that's before considering that there will probably be a couple more contributors to come out of the likes of Nico Falah, Jordan Simmons, Chris Brown, Jordan Austin, Chuma Edga and Roy Hemsley. Bottom line, this group is loaded and USC should feel very good about what it has up front.

Key Question: Who cements their place alongside Zach Banner in the rotation at tackle?

Another position that has gone from dire straits to one of the strongest areas on the roster. Jackson might make the leap to superstar status as soon as this year, and one could go back decades and still not find a Trojan corner as talented as him. In a different year, meanwhile, Kevon Seymour would be regarded as a crown jewel of this spot as a three-year starter with excellent size and athleticism whose coverage skills took a big step up as a junior. Together, the two should be one of the better tandems in the country. Jonathan Lockett gave USC good snaps as a freshman thanks to his highly advanced technique, while Lamont Simmons had moments where he looked like a superstar before redshirting and has the size that Steve Sarkisian says the team wants to prioritize in its corners moving forward. There's also Hawkins, who isn't set in stone at safety just yet. Don't let last year's penalty flags fool you: He's developing into a very good cover corner and will be on the field if he reverts back to his original position. Much has been made about Iman Marshall's arrival in the fall, and for good reason. But USC could feel confident about their current quartet against almost any foe.

Key Question: Which of Lockett or Simmons emerges as the front-runner for a spot in the fall's two-deep?

We've saved the best news for last: The most important position on the field is arguably the deepest on USC's spring roster. Cody Kessler has made dramatic strides in his development in each of the past two seasons, and enters 2015 as a possible Heisman contender. His backup, Max Browne, is an elite-level prospects who is truly coming into his own as a redshirt sophomore and figures to have a smooth transition into the starting job after Kessler graduates. Jalen Greene is still raw as sushi, but has the physical ability to be a special talent if the mental side of his game eventually catches up to it. Finally, Ricky Town was a standout within one of the deepest in-state quarterback classes in years, with plus-level size, intangibles and a ridiculously fast release. The one possible bone to pick is that there isn't much on-field experience to go around beyond Kessler. But as far as talent goes, there are few quarterback situations outside of Columbus, Ohio that rival what the Trojans will run onto the field this spring.

Key Question: Can Kessler make the jump from standout player to one of college football's premier signal callers?