Takeaways from USC’s opening depth chart for the 2023 season

The initial depth chart for the USC Trojans heading into the 2023 football season was released late Wednesday night. If last year is any indication, it will be the only official depth chart released this season by Lincoln Riley. Here, we’re taking a look at the depth chart and what stands out ahead of USC’s game against San Jose State on Saturday.

USC Offensive Depth Chart

No.NAMEWR10Kyron Hudson (6-1 / 205 / R-So.) OR2Brenden Rice (6-3 / 210 / Sr.)19Duce Robinson (6-6 / 225 / Fr.)WR4Mario Williams (5-9 / 175 / So.)16Tahj Washington (5-10 / 175 / R-Sr.)1Zachariah Branch (5-10 / 175 / Fr.)14Raleek Brown (5-8 / 185 / So.)LT79Jonah Monheim (6-5 / 295 / R-So.)72Elijah Paige (6-7 / 310 / Fr.)LG70Emmanuel Pregnon (6-5 / 315 / Jr.) OR77Alani Noa (6-4 / 325 / Fr.)C57Justin Dedich (6-2 / 295 / R-Sr.)67Kilian O’Connor (6-1 / 285 / So.)RG52Jarrett Kingston (6-4 / 305 / R-Sr.)66Gino Quinones (6-3 / 300 / R-Sr.)RT71Michael Tarquin (6-5 / 300 / R-Sr.)76Mason Murphy (6-5 / 310 / R-So.)TE87Lake McRee (6-5 / 230 / R-Fr.)18Jude Wolfe (6-5 / 240 / R-Sr.)84Carson Tabaracci (6-2 / 230 / R-Fr.)WR15Dorian Singer (6-0 / 180 / Jr.)24Makai Lemon (5-11 / 190 / Fr.)89Ja’Kobi Lane (6-4 / 180 / Fr.)QB13Caleb Williams (6-1 / 215 / Jr.)7Miller Moss (6-2 / 200 / R-So.)8Malachi Nelson (6-3 / 190 / Fr.)RB6Austin Jones (5-10 / 200 / R-Sr.) OR0Marshawn Lloyd (5-9 / 210 / R-Jr.)22Darwin Barlow (6-0 / 220 / R-Sr.)21Quinten Joyner (5-11 / 205 / Fr.)

Hudson with a sneaky good camp

Wide receiver Kyron Hudson grabs an OR spot at outside wide receiver alongside Brenden Rice. Hudson doesn’t get the publicity that a lot of USC’s other wide receivers do, but he’s someone position coach Dennis Simmons brought up multiple times, unprompted, this fall. He said earlier in camp that Hudson was catching everything and making life easy for his quarterbacks. And he said after Wednesday’s practice this week that Hudson was someone who really impressed this fall. It’s still going to be difficult for any receiver to dominate touches in this offense, but Hudson has a shot to be a key target for Caleb Williams.

Offensive line with one spot settled, one spot up in the air

Michael Tarquin gets the starting spot at right tackle over Mason Murphy. That was one of the battles position coach Josh Henson highlighted this fall. The eye-opener for many will come at left guard, where true freshman Alani Noa gets the OR alongside transfer Emmanuel Pregnon. That’s a move by Noa that has been building this camp. He’s someone the USC coaches coveted during the recruiting process and a teammate called a future star during fall camp. Gino Quinones shows up as the backup right guard here, but he’s been working as the No. 2 center this fall as well.

Co-Starters at running back

Austin Jones holds firm at running back and begins the season as the co-starter with transfer MarShawn Lloyd. That’s been a position battle Riley has mentioned several times since the spring. It won’t be surprising to see both guys get plenty of work. Darwin Barlow keeps the No. 3 spot and true freshman Quinten Joyner is at No. 4.

Options at slot receiver

Only one slot receiver position was listed on the depth chart, but there will be plenty of times where two will be on the field. That means Mario Willians and Tahj Washington are virtually co-starters. The two behind them, Zachariah Branch and Raleek Brown, will see plenty of time in various ways.

Checking on the newcomers

There are 30 names listed on the offensive depth chart. Thirteen of those players were not on the team last season, one missed the year due to injury and one was playing defense. There are times Austin Jones will carry the ball or Mario Williams will make a grab and it’ll feel a lot like 2022. Then there will be times when Jarrett Kingston and Michael Tarquin pull on a GT counter in front of MarShawn Lloyd, with Zachariah Branch and Dorian Singer blocking downfield. But all the new additions are expected to keep this offense rolling

USC Defensive Depth Chart

No.NAMERUSH6Anthony Lucas (6-5 / 265 / So.) OR10Jamil Muhammad (6-1 / 250 / R-Sr.) OR34Braylan Shelby (6-5 / 245 / Fr.)DT99Jack Sullivan (6-5 / 275 / R-Sr.) OR47Stanley Ta’ufo’ou (6-2 / 275 / R-Sr.)56Elijah Hughes (6-3 / 270 / Fr.)NT92Kyon Barrs (6-2 / 290 / R-Sr.) OR90Bear Alexander (6-3 / 300 / So.) OR79De’jon Benton (6-1 / 270 / R-Sr.)31Tyrone Taleni (6-2 / 280 / Sr.)DE51Solomon Byrd (6-3 / 250 / R-Sr.)2Romello Height (6-3 / 230 / R-Jr.)0Korey Foreman (6-4 / 235 / Jr.)WILL25Tackett Curtis (6-2 / 225 / Fr.)18Eric Gentry (6-6 / 215 / So.)9Raesjon Davis (6-0 / 220 / Jr.)MIKE13Mason Cobb (6-0 / 235 / Sr.)53Shane Lee (6-0 / 240 / R-Sr.)NICKEL19Jaylin Smith (5-11 / 180 / Jr.)17Christian Roland-Wallace (6-0 / 200 / R-Sr.)24Christian Pierce (6-1 / 195 / Fr.)CB22Ceyair Wright (6-0 / 180 / R-So.)17Christian Roland-Wallace (6-0 / 200 / R-Sr.) OR16Prophet Brown (5-11 / 190 / R-So.)FS4Max Williams (5-9 / 185 / R-Sr.) OR27Bryson Shaw (6-0 / 190 / R-Sr.)8Zion Branch (6-2 / 210 / R-Fr.)SS7Calen Bullock (6-3 / 190 / Jr.)15Anthony Beavers Jr. (6-1 / 210 / R-Jr.)24Christian Pierce (6-1 / 195 / Fr.)CB1Domani Jackson (6-1 / 190 / So.)14Jacobe Covington (6-2 / 200 / R-Jr.)

Versatile USC defensive line

Rush end and defensive end have largely been made interchangeable. And the same goes with nose tackle and defensive tackle. So there shouldn’t be an assumption that Anthony Lucas and Jamil Muhammad can’t be on the field at the same time because they’re listed as OR at rush end. Lucas will very likely play some defensive end this season. Jack Sullivan is listed as an OR at defensive tackle. He’ll play some defensive end as well. Kyon Barrs, Bear Alexander and De’jon Benton, all listed as OR at nose tackle, will likely see the field together as nose and defensive tackles. The major takeaway here is that Bear Alexander did not waltz into a starting spot just by showing up.

There was a real sense this fall that some of the returning linemen really elevated their games and Stanley Ta’ufo’ou was a name mentioned. It would not be surprising to see him take the field along with Kyon Barrs to start Saturday’s game. Now, Alexander’s athleticism is undeniable. It would be equally unsurprising to see him eventually grab a starting spot as the year goes along. A small injury stalled Alexander a bit to start fall camp. But one thing we heard about Alexander from coaches is that he’s still young. When there are so many veterans who have been in the system multiple years or at least since the spring, that can show up early in the season.

New faces at inside linebacker

Perhaps you’ve heard the excitement building around new inside linebackers Mason Cobb and Tackett Curtis. Those two are going to take the field first on Saturday, with Cobb at MIKE and Tackett at WILL. Eric Gentry, Shane Lee and Raesjon Davis all dealt with different injuries this fall, but none are expected to miss any significant time and all three will absolutely factor into these two positions this season. But Cobb and Curtis have received as much praise from teammates and coaches as any players on the roster not currently in possession of a Heisman Trophy. They bring a bash brothers attitude to middle linebacker and will hit anything that moves. They won’t make every play, but they’re guaranteed to be going 110 miles an hour from snap to whistle every time.

Byrd comes out on top

The one big injury news for USC came late in camp when defensive end Solomon Tuliaupupu was lost for the season. He wasn’t a guaranteed starter, but he absolutely had a shot to grab that spot on this depth chart had he remained healthy. With Tuliaupupu out, that spot goes to Solomon Byrd. He’s another guy who was likely overlooked as a returner with all the news players coming in up front. He missed spring ball but position coach Shaun Nua said he showed up to fall camp with a purpose. He’s another returner who gained momentum as fall went along and looks like a key piece of this group to start the year.

Secondary shakes out

Calen Bullock was always the clear starter at strong safety, but there were questions everywhere else going into the fall. Ceyair Wright locked a spot up early as Riley called him one of the team’s most improved players between spring ball and fall camp. Domani Jackson was able to stay on the field injury-free for a significant period of time and his talent shone enough to land a starting spot.

A healthy Max Williams is likely the first man up at free safety, but that’s a spot that will see multiple players in Bryson Shaw and Zion Branch.

The Christians — Roland-Wallace and Pierce — have become versatile pieces for the USC defense. Both have played nickel of late, but Roland-Wallace could rotate out to cornerback and Pierce could drop back to strong or free safety. And a hat tip to Anthony Beavers, who put together a strong camp and should see the field in a backup role or big defensive back in certain packages.

Counting the newcomers

As on the offensive depth chart, there are 30 total names on the defensive depth chart. Eleven are players who were not on the 2022 roster. Branch missed the entire year. Height and Jackson were injured throughout. That’s right around the same 50% of the depth chart that will be completely or basically new to the Trojans in 2023. And that includes nine of the 18 players listed in the defensive front.

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