Update on TE Michael Trigg's injury: 'It's no tear, doesn't need surgery'

A week after his breakout performance against Colorado, which included a 46-yard touchdown reception, USC freshman tight end Michael Trigg left the Coliseum on Saturday night needing crutches and wearing a big brace on his right leg.

Trigg took a direct hit to his knee from a Utah defender while trying to bring in a downfield pass from quarterback Kedon Slovis in the third quarter of the Trojans' 42-26 loss.

The injury looked bad in the moment, both from the replay and from Trigg's reaction as he remained down on the field for an extended time getting looked at by trainers.

But USC interim head coach Donte Williams provided more good news Monday night while appearing on the Trojans Live radio show.

“It’s crazy because I saw him today kind of jogging so I had to tell him to stop. So it’s definitely no ACL or nothing, it’s no tear, doesn’t need surgery," Williams said. "So now it becomes a pain tolerance thing of when he’s cleared.”

Williams had previously ruled out an ACL on Sunday but said more tests were being conducted, so his update was further confirmation that Trigg avoided a serious injury.

USC running back Keaontay Ingram started to call it a cheap shot after the game before stopping himself and explaining he just hated to see his teammate go down like that. The defender went straight at Trigg's legs and barreled right into that right knee, similar to the hit that quarterback Jaxson Dart took at Washington State three weeks earlier that resulted in a torn meniscus.

"It was a bang-bang play. Kedon threw the pass, he caught the pass and the guy came in pretty low on him. His foot was already in the ground, and he came kind of low, and I mean, it looked bad from my vantage point. You hope for the best, but you always have to expect the worst," Williams said Sunday night. "Fortunately for us, it wasn’t an ACL or nothing like that. I mean, that’s a kid that’s put so much into the particular game that at that moment in time, it was a shock to his system."

Trigg was starting to emerge as a regular for the Trojans, seeing his playing time and targets grow over the last three games. The freakish athlete from Tampa was the program's highest-rated offensive recruit in the 2021 signing class.

"That was an unfortunate deal. It was a pretty good throw right there and the guy kind of took a low shot on him and hit him right on the knee and got the ball out," offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said Saturday night. "We were already in a spot where we needed to make some plays at that point. ... I was glad to see Epps come in and make some plays down the stretch. That's big for us. He's a guy that has a lot of ability that we need to make plays for us, so it's good to see him do that."

Veteran tight end Malcolm Epps, in his first year at USC after transferring from Texas, could be in for a larger role moving forward with Trigg sidelined. He had 2 catches for 59 yards Saturday night, including a late 41-yard touchdown.