LOS ANGELES — USC is in its final week of spring practice with the spring game scheduled for Saturday. Here are some thoughts on the Trojans for Week 4 of Spring Ball.
1. USC's defensive line has been a hot topic in the transfer portal this week. First, there was the story of Bea Alexander. USC has been able to keep Alexander in the frame for now, but on Friday, defensive lineman Isaiah Lykes, who transferred in January after four seasons at Texas A&M, announced that the Trojans will I entered the portal again a few months later.
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 313 pounds, Lykes had the size USC needed defensively, but he started just five games in four seasons at Texas A&M, making him a poor choice for the Trojans. It was unclear what kind of impact it had on Kiba. This fall.
Lincoln Riley did not go into specifics of Lykes' transfer Saturday afternoon.
“I'm not going to get into that,” he said. “It's just one of the things we're all working on right now.”
2. Lykes is one of two defensive line transfers that USC introduced to the program during the winter portal window. The other is Nate Clifton, whose transfer to Vanderbilt seems to be going smoothly so far.
“(He) had a great camp,” Riley said. “We're really, really happy with Nate.”
More responsibility will fall on Clifton's shoulders as he will be one of several players to line up next to Alexander on the inside of the defensive line. Clifton had 5.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss against Vanderbilt in 2023.
3. Riley said the Interior defensive line is one spot USC is “looking at potentially addressing from a depth standpoint” in the transfer portal this spring.
He said the players the Trojans have inside are improving quickly but don't have as many bodies as they would like. In the meantime, Elijah Hughes and Devan Tompkins will carry an even heavier burden.
USC acquired Alexander in the portal window last spring, but quality transfer defensive linemen are extremely difficult to acquire at this time of year.
4. The transfer portal will be open to all players for two weeks starting Tuesday. Last week, USC's unofficial scholarship recipients reached 82. Since then, the Trojans have lost Lykes and freshman center Jason Zandamera. Defensive back Trequon Fegans was removed from the roster but is expected to enter the portal as well.
These moves will bring USC's scholarship total to 79 with at least six available scholarships. Coach Riley has emphasized the need to add offensive linemen and said he may add more defensive linemen. Receivers are likely to be another address area in addition to running backs.
5. Quarterback Miller Moss made headlines earlier in the week. When asked which defensive backs have stood out so far, he pointed to true freshmen.
“Honestly, Marcells Williams was great,” Moss said. “Obviously, it's a young kid. He's only a senior in high school, but he's definitely going to be able to play corner with the best guys on our team right now. It was really, really good to watch and I'm really looking forward to that kid. He has a really bright future.”
On Thursday, safety/linebacker Anthony Beavers Jr. was asked which safety stood out to him and he couldn't help but mention Williams.
“It's not really safe, but little Cere was doing his thing,” Beavers said. “Cele comes from a great soccer family. I played with his other two brothers (Max and Meisen) so I saw how much he learned from them and was able to implement it into his own game. I think he's doing a great job of figuring everything out and giving it his all.”
Williams was a four-star signee in the 2024 recruiting cycle and a top-150 prospect in his class. His older brother Max just finished his playing career at USC after five seasons. Riley said Max allowed Williams to be in the program more often, which made his transition smoother.
Williams came prepared to compete in a deep corner group. We will keep an eye on him during the spring game and training camp.
“He's unusually consistent for a true freshman,” Riley said. “Very consistent. His bad plays aren't too bad and he's had some great plays on top of that. He had a really great interception the other day during the varsity period. He finished with a great interception in our scrimmage today. So he's made some explosive plays. I'm impressed with how quickly he picked up on our system.”
6. USC's secondary is probably as deep and talented as it has been since Riley arrived. But he said he has yet to see it in full force.
Corner Jaylin Smith has had limited minutes due to injury in recent weeks. Corner John Humphrey recently underwent surgery and will miss the final week of spring ball, Riley said. Safety Zion Branch is also still recovering from a knee injury.
But Riley had high praise for one player who was always available: UCLA transfer safety Kamari Ramsey.
“Kamari is one of the most consistent players on our football team, regardless of position,” Riley said. “I was really excited for him.”
Riley also said cornerback Jacob Covington has taken a great step forward. Covington and Prophet Brown played well as USC's starting cornerbacks during the Holiday Bowl.
Brown was buried deep in his first three years on campus. The Holiday Bowl was one of the few times he got to play for extended periods of time. Riley said Brown has “passed some guys” this spring and is a candidate at nickel and corner.
7. Luke Hurd met with the media this week for the first time as USC's quarterbacks coach. We wrote about this move and its importance to Riley earlier in the spring.
Hurd said Riley will continue to practice with quarterbacks in practice, which isn't surprising. What's even more interesting is how that relationship affects recruiting efforts.
“I've helped with that (in the past) because there are times of the year when Coach Riley can't go on the road and not be able to evaluate,” Hurd said Tuesday. “So, I've been involved in that the last couple of years since I've been here, and now that I'm obviously in the position I'm in, that's going to be my sole focus in recruiting. There's a lot of communication, though. Going out. If I meet a guy inside, I'll call him on the way to the next stop. We always talk about different prospects.”
One of the notable guests at practice that morning was Corona (Calif.) Centennial Quarterback Huthan Longstreet. He is a four-star, the highest rated signal caller in the state for the Class of 2025. Longstreet will make his college decision on Sunday. USC was not on the list of eight finalists that Longstreet announced a few weeks ago, especially since the Trojans have five-star quarterback Julian, who is already committed for 2025. With Lewis, it was interesting to see the high-profile quarterback on campus.
According to 247Sports, Lewis recently set a summer visiting schedule and is scheduled to visit Georgia State, the University of Southern California, Auburn and Colorado State, all of which he also visited in the last month.
I'm not saying it's going to be Longstreet, but Riley may need some insurance at the position.
8. In previous years, when more restrictions were in place, USC and Riley wanted to avoid using name, image and likeness opportunities in high school recruiting. Following a Tennessee court ruling barring the NCAA from enforcing the NIL rule, the governing body is largely powerless to prevent the NIL from being used as an incentive in traditional recruiting efforts.
Riley was asked Saturday whether his views on how the program uses NIL in high school recruiting have changed.
“Yes, yes,” he said. “Put aside your personal feelings, adapt to the rules they put in front of you, and take advantage of it as much as you can within what they said you could do. Yes, we certainly did that. We looked at it and had a lot of great conversations with our collective about it, and if it was essentially completely deregulated like it is now, certainly we would use that to our advantage. We want to continue to encourage children and their families to experience this place, so we've facilitated a lot of great discussions.
“It’s hard to describe this place, dude. You can tell it all you want on the phone or on a Zoom call or in person, but the only way to really convey everything that comes with the opportunity to come to USC is to see it in person.” It's difficult until we get them. Yes, it's been a great conversation so far, and we'll continue to take advantage of that if we can.”
This is the first cycle in which USC actively engages in NIL transactions with high school freshmen prior to matriculation. The Trojans' class is currently ranked No. 4 nationally by the 247Sports Composite. It will take a week to find out if USC plans to add more to this class, as spring games are typically when schools get commitments in waves.
(Photo: Darren Yamashita/USA Today)
