It makes sense that USC would use at least these first couple games of the season as a continued evaluation of the depth chart, making a lot of rotations and substitutions to get game film on all the new additions to the roster.

That's how it played out Saturday in the 56-28 season-opening win over San Jose State, as USC played 12 true freshmen -- 9 on offense -- in the game.

Here's that list with their respective offensive/defensive snap counts (does not include special teams): LB Tackett Curtis (50), LG Alani Noa (31 snaps), WR Makai Lemon (25), WR Zachariah Branch (22), WR Duce Robinson (19), WR Ja'Kobi Lane (16), RB Quinten Joyner (11), LT Elijah Paige (8), QB Malachi Nelson (4), RB A'Marion Peterson (4), DL Elijah Hughes (8), RUSH Braylan Shelby (7).

"Got a chance to play a lot of guys tonight, which was a big focus. You saw a lot of lineup changes on both sides, probably as aggressively as we've done in a first game, which we felt like both kind of building for the future and in terms of what the guys had done through fall camp it was going to be important to play a lot of guys tonight. And we did that," coach Lincoln Riley said

The most notable rotation, perhaps, was along the offensive line where 13 different players got work. The Trojans routinely mixed up the five-man alignment, trying several linemen at multiple spots in the game.

Redshirt senior Gino Quinones played 18 snaps at right guard, 15 at left guard and 9 at center. Transfer addition Emmanuel Pregnon played 20 snaps at left guard and 9 at right guard. And redshirt sophomore Mason Murphy logged 20 snaps at right tackle and 9 at left tackle.

The offensive guard spots genuinely seem fluid at this point and under continued evaluation, while right tackle also may be unsettled between veteran transfer Michael Tarquin and Murphy.

"Well, a lot of it is for positive reason, but yeah, we've got some things to sort out. We've got multiple guys that are capable of being starters. This will be an interesting film to go back and look at, to see how some of those guys did," Riley said of the offensive line tinkering. "I thought they settled in some as the game went on. Yeah, we've got to obviously find that right combination, which we will, but specifically at the guard positions it will be interesting. There's going to be a lot of competition, and there's going to be not just that position but a lot of others right now going through.

"That's how we want it to be. We don't want guys feeling comfortable, we want guys pressing knowing that they need to get better for the team and they need to get better to continue to get reps. It will be expected of the O-line and every other group."

The Trojans started with a pair of surprises up front as Noa, the true freshman, started at left guard and Quinones started at right guard, instead of expected starters Pregnon and Jarrett Kingston, respectively.

Veteran center Justin Dedich shared his thoughts on playing next to Noa.

"He did really well. I love that kid, he's so innocent. He was like, 'Are you nervous at all before a game?' I'm like, 'Yeah a little bit, but you'll be all right, big dog.' He's going to be a phenomenal player," Dedich said. "He did really well, some freshman mistakes -- it happens. It happens to me too as a senior, so not really freshman mistakes, just mistakes. It's great that he has that film now. He can go watch it, learn from it, learn from his experiences. That's the best teacher is experience."

Dedich said the frequent shuffling up front was no surprise to the players as they'd practiced for it during the week and knew what the plan was going into the game.

"It's good, we've been practicing it all week so nothing new for us. I think the guys did really well," Dedich said. "Obviously, we had a couple of sacks that we have to work on. I think that just comes down to body posture and I can make better calls, but super proud of the group Game 1. Just constantly improve, we're going to look a lot different Game 4, so just excited for this group. ...

"Best teacher's experience and just super grateful those 2s and those 3s got reps."

Here were the full snap count distributions for the offense and defense:

QB Caleb Williams -- 53

LT Jonah Monheim -- 53

C Justin Dedich -- 53

OL Gino Quinones -- 42 (18 RG, 15 LG, 9 C)

RT Michael Tarquin -- 42

RG Jarrett Kingston -- 35

WR Dorian Singer -- 32

LG Alani Noa -- 31