USC’s pipeline to the NFL keeps churning, and the latest draft only widened the gap. Per USC Athletics, the Trojans have now had 533 players selected into the pros, or 543 if the AFL is included. The program also leads the way with six No. 1 overall picks, is tied for the most Pro Football Hall of Fame representatives with 14, and sits first in quarterbacks drafted with 14.
After the 2026 NFL Draft, USC added three more selections and more undrafted free agents, pushing the total to 42 active NFL players. That kind of volume makes for an interesting exercise: what would an all-USC roster look like if you built one from current pros, rookies excluded?
At quarterback, there isn’t much debate. Caleb Williams gets the nod.
The former No. 1 overall pick had a rough rookie year with the Chicago Bears, but he turned things around in his second season under new head coach Ben Johnson. In the 2025-2026 NFL regular season, Williams threw for 3,942 yards, which ranked seventh in the league, along with 27 touchdowns, good for sixth, and seven interceptions. He also added 388 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Williams then took another step in the postseason. Over two playoff games, he piled up 618 passing yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions. The former Heisman winner delivered in big moments too, including the go-ahead touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wildcard and a fade-away touchdown pass on fourth down to tie the game against the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round.
The backfield is thinner than the skill positions, but there’s still enough talent for a workable tandem. Jordan Lloyd and Woody Marks would form the running back rotation.
Lloyd spent his first three college seasons at South Carolina from 2020-2022, finishing with 801 rushing yards, 220 receiving yards and 23 total touchdowns in 23 games. He transferred to USC in 2023 and produced 820 rushing yards, 232 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. That season earned him a third-round selection by the Packers in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Marks also only had one year at Southern Cal, but he made it count. In 2024, he started all 12 games and ran for 1,133 yards and nine touchdowns while adding 321 receiving yards.
The Houston Texans took him in the fourth round of the 2025 draft. Injuries limited him to four games, but he still managed 703 rushing yards on 196 carries, 208 receiving yards and five total touchdowns.
The receiving corps starts with Amon-Ra St. Brown, who would be the top target on this team.
His route running, hands, physicality, versatility, feel for zone coverage and willingness to block make him the clear No. 1 option. He has now posted four straight 1,000-yard seasons, including a career-best 1,515 yards in 2023.
Drake London would line up next to him. The former first-round pick in 2022 has already built a strong resume with the Atlanta Falcons, including a career-high 1,271 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024.
In this setup, he’d slide into more of an X receiver role, where his body control, contested-catch ability and aggression after the catch fit naturally as a No. 2.
JuJu Smith-Schuster rounds out the trio as the veteran presence. He was once the first and second option during his four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, peaking at 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns in 2018. Since then, he has settled into the kind of dependable complementary role that can help a contender.
Up front, the offensive line starts with Alijah Vera-Tucker. The former Morris Trophy winner went 14th overall to the New York Jets in 2021 and played all five spots on the line while standing out as a run-blocker.
Andrew Vorhees, another Morris Trophy recipient, spent last season as a rotational and backup guard for the Baltimore Ravens, with pass protection and power as his calling cards. Austin Jackson, a former Pac-12 First-Teamer, has had his pro career slowed by injuries, but at tackle he has shown the ability to run block and reach the second level with athleticism.
The defensive line features two Super Bowl champions in Leonard Williams and Tuli Pili.
Williams, a former First-Team All-American and the sixth overall pick in 2015, enters year 14 with 637 tackles, 61.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Pili joined Williams with the Seattle Seahawks last season and heads into his fourth NFL season with 16 tackles and a forced fumble.
At linebacker, Tuli Tuipulotu brings production and pressure. The 2023 second-round pick, 2021 Pac-12 First-Teamer and former Bob Chandler Award winner has become a steady piece for the Los Angeles Chargers, posting 144 total tackles, 26 sacks, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and six pass deflections in three seasons.
Eric Gentry Mascarenas-Arnold earns a spot as well after his lone USC season in 2024, when he led the team with 95 total tackles, including five tackles for loss, along with three sacks, two interceptions, a pass breakup, two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery while starting all 13 games. He signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent and recorded nine total tackles in 2025.
The secondary starts with Calen Bullock at safety. During his two years at USC, he collected All-Pac 12 and All-American First Team honors while totaling 87 tackles, seven interceptions and eight pass breakups. Drafted in the third round by the Houston Texans in 2024, he has since become a force in the back end with 118 total tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and nine interceptions over two seasons.
Nick Hufanga joins him after a decorated Trojan career that included the 2020 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award, All-American honors and First-Team recognition. Over four seasons at USC, he posted 203 tackles, 16.5 for loss, 6.5 sacks, eight pass deflections, four interceptions and four forced fumbles. The San Francisco 49ers picked him in the fifth round in 2021, and he is now with the Denver Broncos.
At cornerback, Mekhi Blackmon and Jaylin Smith get the call. Blackmon’s lone USC season in 2022 was a big one: 143 tackles, five interceptions, 24 pass deflections, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. The Minnesota Vikings took him in the third round in 2023, and he has started coming into his own with the Indianapolis Colts, where he has 64 total tackles, a sack, two interceptions and seven pass breakups.
Smith is just getting started in the league after recording 59 total tackles and two interceptions in 2025 with USC.
In Other News...
USC Just Got The Oregon Opening Lincoln Riley Cannot Waste
Oregons secondary is still sorting itself out as Chris Hampton settles in as defensive coordinator, and that kind of uncertainty is exactly the sort of opening USC has to be ready to press. The Ducks have multiple players in the mix for key jobs back there, which means the early shape of their defense is still being defined even before the season gets rolling.
For Lincoln Riley and the Trojans, the opportunity is obvious: make Oregon answer questions in coverage while USCs offense tries to get its own front settled enough to handle the Ducks defensive line. If the Trojans can win up front, they can force Oregon to show its hand in the back end, and the way those position battles shake out could wind up steering how aggressive Hampton can be with that secondary down the road. [Read more 🡒]
ESPN Just Gave Ronnie Lott A Rare Place In College Football History
Ronnie Lott has long been part of USCs defensive lore, and ESPNs college football writers have now put him in a rare historical lane by elevating him above every other player to wear No. 42. The former Trojan safety was a centerpiece of the 1978 national title team and helped USC win two Rose Bowls, building the kind of college rsum that still resonates whenever the programs all-time greats come up.
Lotts senior season only sharpened that legacy, as he finished by leading the country in interceptions and capped his USC career with a reputation for making game-changing plays. His college success was just the start of a career that carried into Canton-worthy territory with the San Francisco 49ers, but this latest nod is a reminder of how much of his legend was forged in cardinal and gold. [Read more 🡒]