1 day Ago By Luca Evans
LOS ANGELES — The distribution hasn’t changed, regardless of who’s behind center. It didn’t change for Caleb Williams. It didn’t change for Miller Moss.
It didn’t change for Jayden Maiava. Ever since he arrived at USC, Lincoln Riley’s offense has been predicated on a spread-out target share, a rotating carousel of playmakers popping out one game and fading away the next. In three years, no single Trojan receiver has received more than a 17% share of USC’s total targets in the passing game, largely eschewing a No.
1 or No. 2 option at wide receiver in favor of a balanced attack. “Whether a bunch comes from 1 or 2 players or it’s evenly spread out across four or 5 players,” Riley said back in October, of targets in USC’s 2024 passing game, “it’s tougher to defend Option B.
” As three of USC’s top six wideouts transferred out in the winter, though, Riley’s program saw a substantial offensive shift in a Las Vegas Bowl win over Texas A&M. Left with veteran senior Kyle Ford and dazzling sophomores Ja’Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon, quarterback Maiava peppered each with looks — all receiving over a 25% share of USC’s total pass attempts against the Aggies, according to Pro Football Focus. Ford is graduating, ensuring USC will lose close to two-thirds of its total targets from 2024.
But the 6-foot-4 Lane and shifty Lemon return, and the program has yet to add a receiver in the portal. If that holds, Riley’s attack could operate with a certain target centralization new to his offenses at USC. As the first transfer-portal window has wrapped – although exceptions are always possible – here’s a full breakdown of the movement at USC’s skill positions entering spring, the second in a six-part series examining the post-portal scholarship outlook for every part of the roster.
Returning : Bryan Jackson, Fr.; A’Marion Peterson, Fr. Arriving : Eli Sanders, Jr.
( portal, New Mexico ); Waymond Jordan, JUCO (portal, Hutchinson Community College); Riley Wormley (Texas); Harry Dalton III (Va.) Departing : Quinten Joyner, Fr. (portal, Texas Tech); Woody Marks, Sr.
(NFL Draft) Returning : Makai Lemon, So.; Ja’Kobi Lane, So.; Jay Fair, Jr.
; Jaden Richardson, Sr.; Xavier Jordan, Fr.; Josiah Zamora, Jr.
; Asante Das, Sr. Arriving : Tanook Hines (Texas); Romero Ison (Md.); Corey Simms (Miss.
) Departing : Zachariah Branch, So. (portal, Georgia); Duce Robinson, So. (portal, Florida State); Kyron Hudson, Jr.
(portal, Penn State); Kyle Ford, Sr. (NFL Draft); Charles Ross, Sr (portal, Purdue) Returning : Joey Olsen, Fr.; Walter Matthews, Fr.
; Carson Tabaracci, So.; Walker Lyons, Fr.; Lake McRee, Jr.
; Arriving : Nela Tupou (Folsom) Departing : CJ Woods, Sr. (eligibility); Kade Eldridge, Fr. (portal, Washington) Who’s the RB1? On paper, USC’s 2025 backfield could shape up as a by-committee attack.
Sanders was a standout in 2024, rushing for 1,063 yards and nine touchdowns on 7.2 yards-per-carry at New Mexico, and profiles well as a threat in open space in Riley’s offense. Jackson is a true power back, at 6-foot-0 and 230 pounds, who flashed well in short-yardage situations in USC’s Las Vegas Bowl win.
Jordan’s addition, though, crowds things, as his agent told the Southern California News Group that USC recruited the JUCO transfer as their RB1 entering 2025 . There’ll be significant competition for snaps under position coach Anthony Jones Jr. Related Articles USC adds former five-star QB Sam Huard, nephew of QB coach Luke Huard USC lands top JUCO RB Waymond Jordan to bolster backfield USC freshman RB Bryan Jackson ready for ‘go time’ against Texas A&M USC vs.
Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl: Who has the edge? Inside USC’s pursuit of Centennial QB Husan Longstreet Does USC add more WR depth? They haven’t yet, but not for lack of trying. Portal targets like Idaho transfer Mark Hamper, Idaho transfer Jordan Dwyer and Purdue transfer Jaron Tibbs, all of whom visited USC, committed elsewhere. It seems all but likely Riley will go after a steady target in what’s left of the winter portal, or turn to the spring window, with the amount of top 2024 targets.
One X-factor currently in the room: 5-foot-10 speedster Fair, who never found a role in USC’s room in 2024 after putting up a respectable season at Auburn the year before. Will Walker Lyons push Lake McRee for pass-catching snaps at TE? It’s probable they will share the field often in 2025, as USC ran a healthy dosage of two-tight-end sets this past fall. Lyons, though, saw the field more than most expected after spending a year halfway across the world in Norway on a mission, his snap count rising steadily through the end of the year.
McRee, by contrast, had trouble linking up with Maiava after the UNLV transfer took over for Miller Moss as QB1, with USC’s starting tight end catching just four of 10 targets across his last four games. USC football breakdown: How the Trojans look at quarterback /*! This file is auto-generated */!function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.
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