Top storylines for USC at Big Ten Media Days as Trojans picked 6th

The USC football team opened last season ranked No. 6 in the country in the AP preseason poll, flush with College Football Playoff hype and tabbed as favorites to win the Pac-12.

Now ...

The Trojans head into Indianapolis, Indiana, this week for Big Ten Media Days picked to finish sixth in their new conference.

While the Big Ten doesn't conduct its own preseason conference poll, Cleveland.com annually conducts a media vote, this year featuring 27 reporters who cover teams in the conference.

Ohio State was the overwhelming favorite, receiving 21 of the 27 first-place votes, followed by Oregon (with the other 6 first-place votes), Penn State, reigning national champion Michigan, Iowa and then the Trojans. See the full poll here.

Of course, many don't quite know what to make of this USC team just yet with redshirt junior Miller Moss taking over at quarterback for former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, a youth movement at wide receiver, questions on the offensive line and substantial makeover on defense with new coordinator D'Anton Lynn and staff looking to orchestrate a dramatic turnaround after the Trojans ranked 116th out of 130 FBS teams last year in total defense (432.8 yards per game).

Big Ten Media Days kicks off Tuesday at Lucas Oil Stadium with Illinois, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue and Ohio State taking the stage.

USC gets its turn on Wednesday.

Looking ahead to that, here are our top storylines/questions for the Trojans ...

Trojans coach Lincoln Riley can't comment on specific recruits, but he can address recruiting from a general perspective, and we're especially intrigued to hear his thoughts on how NIL has played a factor after the Trojans failed to address one of their biggest transfer portal needs (offensive tackle) and after their top three defensive commits all backed off their pledges in June.

Especially as familiar thorn-in-the-side Oregon has been one of the hottest programs on the recruiting trail this summer, with its deep Nike-powered NIL war chest, it needs to be asked to Riley how much NIL limitations have held the Trojans back the last few months.

How he chooses to answer that is another story -- Riley has consistently championed USC's NIL operation through House of Victory.

Only he and his staff know the extent to which NIL factored in, but the facts are ...

-Riley made clear that adding help at offensive tackle -- the thinnest position on the roster with second-year talent Elijah Paige taking over at left tackle with just one career start and veteran Mason Murphy locked in at right tackle as the only other experienced OT on the team -- would be a top priority. And yet, the Trojans came up empty and now go into the season with untested redshirt freshman Tobias Raymond (at least based on spring buzz) perhaps the next option should injury strike. (USC could also shift redshirt senior Jonah Monheim from center back to tackle, but then that creates a separate issue at another thing position).

-The Trojans also needed to bolster the depth on the interior of the defensive line, especially after Texas A&M transfer Isaiah Raikes didn't even make it to the end of spring practice before hopping right back in the portal. USC seemingly struggled to gain traction with its top defensive tackle targets before eventually landing Wyoming nose tackle transfer Gavin Meyer.

-USC started the spring with a wave of recruiting momentum on the defensive side in picking up early commitments from five-star defensive tackle Justus Terry (the No. 6 overall national prospect), four-star safety Hylton Stubbs (No. 27 overall) and four-star defensive end Isaiah Gibson (No. 151). All three decommitted in June, with Stubbs flipping to Miami and Gibson to Georgia. Coincidence or ... something else?

-Overall, USC has so far landed just five commitments from the recruits it hosted on official visits in June has gone from a top-5 class before the decommitments to No. 21 in the Rivals rankings.

It will indeed be interesting to hear Riley's thoughts on the state of USC recruiting.

Riley hasn't been available to reporters since the spring game in April, so there have been no formal updates on the status of injured players.

The most significant updates desired concern ...

-Cornerback John Humphrey: The UCLA transfer and projected starter missed the end of spring with an undisclosed injury that Riley said would require minor surgery.

-Defensive back Jaylin Smith: Smith was out during the spring with an undisclosed injury, but has been talked about by the new defensive staff as a versatile cog for the defense who could factor in at nickel or safety.

-Safety Zion Branch: Branch missed the spring working his way back from a second season-ending knee injury. He was expected to be ready for the start of fall camp.

-Tight end Lake McRee: McRee sustained a significant knee injury during the leadup to the Trojans' December bowl game. His status for the start of fall camp is less clear.

-Offensive guard Gino Quinones: Quinones went down early last season with a significant knee injury and missed the spring while continue to recover. He and sophomore Alani Noa are expected to compete for the starting right guard job.

In addition to Riley, USC will be represented at Big Ten Media Days by quarterback Miller Moss, safety Kamari Ramsey and offensive lineman Jonah Monheim.

Moss effectively stamped his name atop the post-Caleb Williams QB depth chart with his stirring performance in the Holiday Bowl in December, passing for 372 yards, 6 touchdowns and 1 interception in his first career start.

He has talked plenty with local media since then, going through spring as the recognized leader of this new-look offense, but Wednesday will put more of a national spotlight on the redshirt junior.

With the Trojans having gone through their summer strength and conditioning program, it's always notable to see -- or in this case hear -- which players have made the biggest gains from the spring.

Riley can speak to that before everyone gets their own look with fall camp set to open in early August.

Other topics worth covering with Riley and the players are the post-spring transfer additions as it will be his first chance to talk about the return of wide receiver Kyle Ford after a year at UCLA, along with the additions of nickel Greedy Vance (from Florida State), Meyer (the Wyoming DT) and wide receiver Charles Ross (San Jose State).

And, of course, it's finally time to talk Big Ten football and get Riley's thoughts on the opponents on this year's schedule and that No. 6 designation in the preseason poll.

TrojanSports.com will be live in Indianapolis for full coverage.