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Welcome back to our series in which we’re grading each position group based on how it performed in spring practice, and ranking the respective units within the team. We continue with defensive linemen.

The identity of USC’s best defensive lineman changed on any given week. This is not a knock. It’s a major plus, in fact. One week it was Christian Rector, another it was Jay Tufele, or Marlon Tuipulotu, or Brandon Pili. Jacob Lichtenstein and Connor Murphy had their moments as well. True freshman Drake Jackson, who doubles as an outside linebacker, was arguably better than all of them. I feel confident in saying the floor for the whole group is pretty high.