USC’s new defensive setup could be the opening Elijah Newby has been waiting for.
The Trojans brought in a loaded fall roster and the nation’s top 2026 recruiting class, but that kind of talent haul also puts pressure on former blue-chip recruits to prove they belong. For Newby, a third-year linebacker who has barely had a chance to settle in, the timing may finally be right.
Incoming defensive coordinator Gary Patterson is expected to reshape things in a way that could help. His defense plays fast and uses five defensive backs as the base look, but he has also given linebackers room to move and make plays. That matters for Newby, whose athletic profile has always stood out.
A former four-star recruit out of Cheshire Academy High in Connecticut, Newby arrived at USC in the 2024 class under Lincoln Riley as the third-ranked prospect in Connecticut. He came with serious buzz thanks to his track speed, including a 10.90 in the 100-meter dash during the spring, according to 247Sports.
That kind of burst showed up on the football field too, where he could close gaps quickly and help shut down the run. His speed and athleticism helped him collect nearly 30 scholarship offers before he picked USC.
His path at USC has been anything but stable. Former outside linebackers coach Roy Manning was the one who brought him in, but Manning left after the 2023 season and never got to coach him. Since then, Newby has watched the linebacker room turn over repeatedly: Matt Entz left after one season in 2024 to become Fresno State’s head coach, Rob Ryan followed after one year in 2025, and now Mike Ekeler is in charge of Newby and the rest of the group.
That instability makes this fall especially important, because linebacker is one of USC’s biggest question marks. Desman Stephens II is back after posting 89 tackles under former coordinator D’Anton Lynn, and he gives the Trojans a player with a strong feel for the ball despite a thin frame. But the spot alongside him is wide open.
That is where Newby has a real chance to make his move. He is expected to battle Deven Bryant, a former Washington starter who had 62 tackles for USC’s longtime rival in the Pac-12 era.
Bryant brings experience and arrived with local pedigree from St. John Bosco, but Newby has the advantage of already knowing the USC personnel.
Newby’s best glimpse of what he can be came against Missouri State last season, when he finished with five tackles, four of them solo. Patterson’s system could be a better fit for that kind of player, giving linebackers more space to work and more responsibility to sort out their own gaps.
The scheme also has a history of rewarding tall, fast linebackers. Daryl Washington is one example, a 6-3 linebacker who thrived under Patterson, and Tank Carder did the same as a Rose Bowl hero for TCU with his short-area quickness and 6-3 frame.
For Newby, though, the bottom line is simple: season three is a proving ground. Patterson’s arrival gives him a chance to finally turn promise into production, but if it does not happen now, he could slide further down the depth chart at USC.
In Other News...
Juju Watkins Just Showed What USC Basketball Is Becoming
Juju Watkins spent part of the summer turning the Galen Center into something bigger than a practice facility, hosting a free basketball camp for girls in grades three through eight and putting the focus on fun, confidence and community. For USC, it was another reminder of how Watkins has already become more than a star scorer in waiting. Even while working her way back from an ACL injury, she has remained one of the most visible faces in college basketball, including a recent Nike collaboration on her own LeBron NXXT Gen By Juju Silver Lining shoe.
The timing matters because Watkins is cleared to play and is set to return for her senior season, giving the Trojans a centerpiece around which their expectations keep rising. USC already looks built to contend, with key pieces returning and another wave of talent arriving, and Watkins camp only sharpened the sense that this program is becoming a destination as much as a contender. What she does next on the court will matter most, but the off-court footprint is starting to look just as revealing. [Read more 🡒]
USC Is Right In The Middle Of A Mater Dei Battle Fans Care About
Ace Leutele has been around USC long enough that the program is hardly a stranger to him. The four-star safety from Mater Dei has been visiting campus since elementary school, and the Trojans have kept working to deepen those ties through family connections and steady recruiting attention. He has built relationships with new safeties coach Paul Gonzales and recruiting director Aaron Amaama, giving USC a familiar face in a crowded chase for one of the regions top defensive backs.
Leutele is still weighing a long list of suitors, and the fall will give him more chances to sort through the noise as he takes in college games. USC remains firmly in the mix, but so do several national programs that are pushing hard to land him. For the Trojans, the appeal is obvious: keep a local star close to home, lean on the staffs relationships, and make the case that life after football starts well before he ever leaves campus. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Offseason Just Changed The Pressure In Baton Rouge
The college football offseason has been defined by coaching turnover and roster churn, with 15 head coach firings and a wave of player movement reshaping the sport before August even arrives. In On3s latest look at the biggest winners from that activity, LSU came out on top after stacking more than 40 transfers and pairing that portal haul with a top-15 recruiting class, a combination that has turned Baton Rouge into the standard for aggressive roster building.
For USC, the comparison is hard to miss. The Trojans have their own reasons to feel good about where things stand, with Jayden Maiava returning at quarterback and a transfer class that added help at multiple spots, but the broader offseason conversation has shifted toward how far programs are willing to go to chase a breakthrough. LSUs approach has only raised the bar, and it leaves the rest of the country, USC included, measuring its own moves against a team that clearly decided to spend big and act even bigger. [Read more 🡒]