What USC fans need to know as the Trojans kick off fall camp

It’s a big day for the USC Trojans football program and athletic department as a whole. Not only do the Trojans kick off fall camp today ahead of the 2024 college football season, today also marks the official first day for USC in the Big Ten .

It’s been two years since news broke of USC and UCLA leaving the Pac-12. Now, the Trojans will break camp officially as a Big Ten program. As the Trojans take to the field in the early Friday hours, here’s what USC fans need to know about this fall camp and these 2024 Trojans.

A new practice field

Construction is underway on the new football facility that is scheduled to be completed in 2026. Head coach Lincoln Riley spoke at length about the project during USC’s in-house media day on Wednesday and has said multiple times that he believes it will be the premier football facility in the country when it is finished.

Work on the building won’t begin until after fall camp, but a second 100-yard field has been installed . For camp, the Trojans will have use of the 100-yard grass field, the new 100-yard turf field, plus the smaller Brian Kennedy turf field. Riley said when camp is over, the shorter turf field will be dug up and work will start on the facility.

New names on the roster

Since spring ball ended, the Trojans added two dozen players to the fall roster, including the remaining nine players from the 2024 recruiting class and another handful of transfer portal additions.

Walk-on quarterbacks Dylan Gebbia and Jack Stupin will add needed bodies to that room.

The wide receiver room gets a big boost with Jay Fair (Auburn), Kyle Ford (UCLA), Charles Ross (San Jose State) and Donovan Wood (Middlebury) all coming in as transfers. The Trojans also added freshmen walk-ons in Seth Zamora (younger brother of USC wide receiver Josiah Zamora ) and Collin Fasse .

The Trojans got two more talented tight ends on campus in four-star freshmen Walter Matthews and Walker Lyons . Matthews was one of the most athletic tight ends in the 2024 class and Lyons originally signed with USC in the 2023 class before heading to Norway for his mission.

The offensive line group has three new additions in 355-pound junior college transfer Erwin Taomi as well as true freshmen Hayden Treter and Makai Saina .

USC added a few more big bodies up front on the defensive side as well. The Trojans grabbed former Wyoming lineman Gavin Meyer out of the transfer portal and brought in defensive tackles Carlon Jones and Ratumana Bulabalavu as summer enrollees in the 2024 signing class.

Linebacker Jadyn Walker is another freshman now on campus, as are cornerbacks Braylon Conley and Isaiah Rubin .

The secondary also got a big addition in veteran nickel Greedy Vance Jr. , who comes over from Florida State.

And the Trojans added depth just about everywhere on special teams. Kicker Michael Lantz transferred in from Georgia Southern and will compete to handle kickoffs and field goals this season. The Trojans also added depth at punter in walk-ons Rey Sanchez and Cameron Shirangi , long snapper in Devin McDonough , and potentially the kicker of the future in freshman Ryon Sayeri .

Injury updates

Riley said the team is very healthy to start fall camp this season. Four players won’t be fully ready to begin fall camp, in tight end Carson Tabaracci and three freshmen in offensive lineman Makai Saina, linebacker Jadyn Walker and offensive tackle Kalolo Ta’aga .

There are always varying levels of health, but that should mean good news for safety Zion Branch , tight end Lake McRee , offensive lineman Gino Quinones and safety Jaylin Smith . All four missed all or most of spring ball. Branch, McRee and Quinones were still recovering from injuries suffered during the 2023 season. Smith was injured very early in spring ball. We’ll see if they are all truly full-go when camp opens.

New coaching staff

If you’ve paid any attention to USC football this offseason, you’ve certainly heard that Riley completely revamped the coaching staff on the defensive side. After five years of Alex Grinch coordinating defenses opposite him, Riley will now rely on D’Anton Lynn to fix that side of the ball after two seasons of posting some of the worst defensive statistical numbers in USC history.

Lynn has just one year of experience as a coordinator but completely transformed the UCLA defense last season. He’ll look to do the same at USC this year against a much tougher schedule.

Joining Lynn on that side is defensive line coach Eric Henderson , who previously coached the defensive line of the Los Angeles Rams. The two coached together with the Chargers in 2017 and Lynn said Henderson was the first coach he called to join him at USC. Henderson’s complete title is co-defensive coordinator/run game coordinator/defensive line coach.

New linebacker coach Matt Entz spent the last five years as the head coach at North Dakota State . Lynn and Riley have spoken about Entz’ point of view as a former head coach on the staff has been invaluable.

Secondary coach Doug Belk rounds out the new additions on the defensive side. He and Lynn will work side-by-side with the secondary. Like Entz, Belk is another position coach for the Trojans who would seen to be overqualified, having spent the past three years as the defensive coordinator at Houston.

Shaun Nua is the lone defensive holdover from last season. He is listed as the defensive ends coach but he and Henderson largely split responsibilities up and down the line.

Rounding out the new coaches, running backs coach Anthony Jones Jr. is the only new face on the offensive side from the 2023 roster. Technically there was another change as Luke Huard moved from inside receivers coach to quarterbacks coach. Lincoln Riley made the decision before spring ball to give up the title of quarterbacks coach as he focuses more on the entire roster.

Miller time

USC fans got a good look at life after Caleb Williams during the Trojans’ Holiday Bowl win against Louisville. With Williams sitting out, Miller Moss got the start and threw for a USC bowl-record six touchdowns. The Trojans added former UNLV starting quarterback Jayden Maiava out of the transfer portal in a big recruiting win against Georgia. He’ll give the Trojans a solid backup option this season and could play now if pushed into the lineup. But Moss has earned the trust of the team and will be looked at as a key leader for the offense and the entire program in 2024.

Positions of strength

The defensive backs jump out on this roster, both in terms of experience and their physical look. The Trojans will likely roll out a top three at cornerback of 6-foot-2 John Humphrey , 6-foot-3 DeCarlos Nicholson and 6-foot-2 Jacobe Covington . Prophet Brown is a reliable depth piece and true freshman Marcelles Williams showed during the spring that he can play at this level. Lynn appears very high on Jaylin Smith and the versatility he brings to be able to play every spot in the secondary. He had a similar thought about Vance, who could play either corner or nickel. And the safeties are just as deep and talented. Kamari Ramsey and Akili Arnold are two of the team leaders and expectations for both are significant. Behind them, Zion Branch , Anthony Beavers Jr. and Christian Pierce are all capable of playing this season.

Offensively, it’s really tough not to get caught up in the potential USC has at wide receiver. The quartet of second-year guys in Zachariah Branch , Duce Robinson , Ja’Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon look poised to put up big numbers. Branch and Robinson earned the most attention last season but Lane has generated as much buzz as any player on this roster heading into fall camp. The Trojans have a couple of physical veterans on the outside in Kyron Hudon and Kyle Ford , plus transfer additions who bring plenty of experience, and this group looks pretty deep, talented and versatile.

Positions with questions

On the offensive line, are the young guys ready to go? Elijah Paige , Alani Noa and Mason Murphy are the presumed starters at left tackle, right guard and right tackle, respectively. Paige and Noa will enter the 2024 season with one start each in their careers. Murphy has made 10 total, but just two at right tackle. That trio will play a huge role in whether Riley continues to churn out potent offenses as the Trojans enter the Big Ten.

Defensively, the defensive line and linebacker will be questioned until the Trojans stop somebody. USC has allowed more than 50 total touchdowns in each of the past two seasons and at least six yards per play in each of the past three. The USC players and coaches seem far more confident about what they have at linebacker and along the defensive line than the national media does. It’ll be up to the Trojans to prove it.

USC’s 2024 regular season schedule

Sept. 1 (Sunday) – LSU at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas
Sept. 7 – Utah State
Sept. 14 – Bye
Sept. 21 – @ Michigan
Sept. 28 – Wisconsin
Oct. 5 – @ Minnesota
Oct. 12 – Penn State
Oct. 19 – @ Maryland
Oct. 25 (Friday) – Rutgers
Nov. 2 – @ Washington
Nov. 9 – Bye
Nov. 16 – Nebraska (Homecoming)
Nov. 23 – @ UCLA
Nov. 30 – Notre Dame

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