Trojans Wire reacts to Phil Steele 2024 rankings of USC running backs

Player position rankings are a natural part of summer “talking season,” leading into the beginning of the college football regular season at USC and everywhere else.

We are excited about what USC can offer at the running back spot in 2024:

Quinten Joyner runs hard and has great acceleration in the hole. He has a great initial cut and can be a home-run threat anytime he touches the ball with his speed, acceleration, and ability to break tackles. All the Texas backs are talented, but Joyner’s home-run threat — his ability to make one cut or break a tackle and break angles with his track speed — sets him apart.

For the third straight year, Lincoln Riley has gone to the transfer portal to pick up a productive veteran running back: Travis Dye and Austin Jones were the examples in 2022, MarShawn Lloyd in 2023, and Jo’quavious “Woody” Marks this offseason.

Matt, Mark Rogers, and I discussed Phil Steele’s running back rankings and where the USC Trojans’ room stacks up against the nation and the Big Ten on Trojan Conquest Live at The Voice of College Football:

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