USC released its much-anticipated first official depth chart of the season on Thursday evening.

While not all notable position battles were formally settled, the depth chart provided some clarity and a few surprises.

Head coach Lincoln Riley was asked earlier this week which position battles were the toughest to sort out in the end and he rattled off a number of them.

"There was a lot of tough ones. There's several that -- I won't say several, we've got a few that we're certainly going to play multiple people at, see how the game goes. But there's several guys out here we feel have earned the right to go out there and play. We've had some tough decisions," Riley said. "We had tough decisions. We talked about the quarterback battle. I think certainly kind of just divvying up the reps between the running backs -- a lot of those guys have really had productive camps. The receivers are competitive. Certainly, the interior of the O-line has been very competitive. D-line, especially the interior, has been very competitive.

"Gosh, I mean honestly, it's kind of hard -- I guess I'm going to get to every position on the team here pretty soon. And that's a good thing. So yeah, we've got a lot of guys at every position that we want to play, that we want to see. Obviously, these guys go compete and I'm sure we'll continue to evaluate throughout the season."

Here is the official depth chart for Week 1 and our reactions and thoughts ...

QB

1. Miller Moss, redshirt junior

2. Jayden Maiava, redshirt sophomore

3. Jake Jensen, redshirt junior

LT

1. Elijah Paige, redshirt freshman

2. Micah Banuelos, redshirt freshman

LG

1. Emmanuel Pregnon, redshirt senior

2. Gino Quinones, redshirt senior

C

1. Jonah Monheim, redshirt senior

2. Kilian O'Connor, junior

RG

1. Alani Noa, sophomore

OR Amos Talalele, redshirt freshman

RT

1. Mason Murphy, redshirt junior

2. Tobias Raymond, redshirt freshman

TE

1. Lake McRee, redshirt junior

2. Kade Eldridge, redshirt freshman

3. Walker Lyons, freshman

X receiver

1. Kyron Hudson, redshirt junior

OR Duce Robinson, sophomore

3. Jaden Richardson, redshirt senior

H receiver

1. Zachariah Branch, sophomore

2. Jay Fair, junior

Y receiver

1. Makai Lemon, sophomore

2. Josiah Zamora, redshirt junior

Z receiver

1. Ja'Kobi Lane, sophomore

OR Kyle Ford, redshirt senior

3. Charles Ross, redshirt senior

Biggest surprises:

Really, the only surprises are down the depth chart -- Micah Banuelos listed as the second-team left tackle and Walker Lyons edging out Joey Olsen for third-team tight end.

Now, to be clear, if Elijah Paige gets hurt, Banuelos is not taking over at left tackle. Mason Murphy would move over there from the right side and Tobias Raymond would probably take over at right tackle. While we saw Banuelos get work at second-team left tackle this camp, it is still a surprise as he always projected as more of a guard or center. There had also been some good buzz for freshman tackle Justin Tauanuu, but the learning curve is always steep for first-year linemen.

In the case of Lyons, Lincoln Riley had just made it sound like there would be adjustment period for the highly-touted freshman TE after he missed his senior HS season with a broken leg and then missed last year on a Mormon mission trip before arriving at USC this summer.

Key position battle outcome:

The only starting job that was still remotely up in the air was at right guard, where it had seemed clear Alani Noa had taken the lead there with Amos Talalele missing significant time this month with an unspecified injury.

It would have been a closer battle had Talalele been healthy all month, and it may well continue to be evaluated throughout the season, but we'd expect Noa to get the start Sunday.

Seeing wide receiver Duce Robinson listed on the "OR" line doesn't reflect on him or his upside for this season. The coaches love Kyron Hudson as a trusted veteran and he's going to be plenty involved. It's still likely Robinson is more involved.

DE

1. Anthony Lucas, junior

2. Braylan Shelby, sophomore

3. Solomon Tuliaupupu, redshirt senior

DT

1. Gavin Meyer, redshirt senior

OR Bear Alexander, junior

3. Jide Abasiri, freshman

DT

1. Nate Clifton, redshirt senior

2. Kobe Pepe, redshirt senior

OR Elijah Hughes, sophomore

DE

1. Jamil Muhammad, redshirt senior

2. Devan Thompkins, redshirt sophomore

3. Sam Greene, redshirt freshman

4. Kameryn Fountain, freshman

MIKE LB

1. Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, senior

2. Desman Stephens, freshman

OR Raesjon Davis, senior

WILL LB

1. Mason Cobb, redshirt senior

OR Eric Gentry, senior

3. Elijah Newby, freshman

NK

1. Greedy Vance Jr., redshirt senior

2. Prophet Brown, redshirt junior

CB

1. Jacobe Covington, redshirt senior

2. John Humphrey, redshirt senior

S

1. Akili Arnold, redshirt senior

2. Bryson Shaw, redshirt senior

S

1. Kamari Ramsey, redshirt sophomore

2. Zion Branch, redshirt sophomore

OR Christian Pierce, sophomore

CB

1. Jaylin Smith, senior

2. DeCarlos Nicholson, redshirt senior

Biggest surprises:

The first one that will get everyone's attention is Bear Alexander being listed as an OR on the second line behind Gavin Meyer at defensive tackle.

We saw the Trojans work multiple combinations with the first-team between Meyer, Alexander and Nate Clifton as those two interior DL spots. All three guys are going to play significant snaps.

The coaching staff has also very clearly been trying to keep the pressure and motivation on Alexander, so this isn't a total shock.

Elijah Hughes tumbling down the depth chart there would have been a surprise a month ago when he figured to be one of the major rotation pieces, but there were signs the top three had separated at those two spots with Hughes and Kobe Pepe behind them.

The biggest surprise is probably at cornerback, where many presumed John Humphrey would be a starter after playing a major role in D'Anton Lynn's UCLA defense last year. I still think he will be. Humphrey got a late start this preseason while recovering from a shoulder injury/procedure that cut short his spring. I think the missed time is the biggest factor in his depth chart standing.

I didn't know what they would ultimately do with Jaylin Smith, as Lynn and DBs coach Doug Belk made it clear he could and likely would play all over the secondary. While Smith worked mostly at corner in fall camp, I still didn't know if they'd have him settle into that role or just wanted to get him more reps at a spot he hadn't played since high school. We'll see how the cornerback rotation plays out on Sunday. I think there is still plenty to learn.

Key position battles outcomes:

The cornerback spot is the big one, as all four of those guys -- Covington, Smith, Humphrey and DeCarlos Nicholson -- are starter-quality veteran corners.

I don't consider Alexander and Meyer a position battle outcome so much as they're going to rotate those spots frequently throughout the game and even during series.

Devan Thompkins getting the second-team nod at one of the defensive end spots is notable. Thompkins was clearly a stock-riser this preseason, but that's a crowded position so it says a lot about what this new staff thinks of him.