USC’s cornerback room looks better than it has in the Lincoln Riley era, but the Trojans are about to find out just how sturdy it really is.
That group will be under the microscope all season, because USC is scheduled to run into some loaded receiver rooms in 2026. The headliner is Ohio State, where Jeremiah Smith stands out as the biggest challenge on the Trojans’ slate. Smith is a two-time first team All-American, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound problem for any secondary, and the kind of receiver who already has eyes on the Biletnikoff Award and a future as a top NFL Draft pick.
The Buckeyes also bring plenty of help around him. Chris Henry Jr., the 6-foot-6 Mater Dei product, turned heads in the spring game and looks ready to carry on a long line of elite Ohio State receivers. Brandon Innis, UTSA transfer Devin McCuin, LSU transfer Kyle Parker, and freshmen Jerquaden Guilford and Brock Boyd give Columbus a deep group behind the star.
Indiana presents a different kind of test, even after losing Omar Cooper Jr., the No. 22 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, and Elijah Sarratt. The Hoosiers may still end up with a better receiver duo in 2026.
Charlie Becker emerged late last season, didn’t crack the starting lineup until the second half of the year, and then became a trusted target for Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. At 6-foot-4 and 207 pounds, Becker brings size, a deep threat element and real ability in contested catches.
He’s already drawing first round pick buzz.
Nick Marsh gives Indiana another big body to work with. The 6-foot-3, 213-pound receiver has put up 600-plus receiving yards in back-to-back seasons despite uneven quarterback play at Michigan State.
Now he gets a proven passer in TCU transfer Josh Hoover. Tyler Morris and Tulane transfer Shazz Preston are also part of the mix.
Oregon, meanwhile, has a receiver room built around speed and upside. Evan Stewart is back after missing all of last season with an injury.
The former five-star recruit arrived at Oregon from Texas A&M in 2024 and remains a dangerous deep-ball target. Dakorien Moore fits that same mold.
The Duncanville, Texas, product was a five-star in the 2025 class, had a solid freshman season and is looking for another jump this fall.
Stewart and Moore lead a group that also includes Jeremiah McClellan, Iverson Hooks, and freshmen Jalen Lott and Messiah Hampton.
All of that is why USC’s cornerback competition matters so much. Marcelles Williams made his first career start in Week 3 last season and never gave the job back.
The St. John Bosco product had his share of growing pains, but he became a key part of the Trojans’ defensive success over the final month.
Now entering his redshirt sophomore season, he’s more confident - and facing real pressure to keep his spot.
Jontez Williams arrived as one of the biggest transfer additions in January. The Iowa State transfer is the most experienced corner on the roster and was a second team All-Big 12 selection in 2024. He’s coming back from a significant knee injury, as is redshirt sophomore Chasen Johnson, but both are expected to be ready for camp.
Johnson started four games as a true freshman under cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed at UCF in 2024, then played only two games last season. He heads into this year with something to prove. Johnson and redshirt freshman RJ Sermons both bring size at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds.
Sermons, a talented sprinter from Rancho Cucamonga, was once a five-star recruit and the No. 1 cornerback in the 2026 class before reclassifying last summer. He spent his freshman year developing in the background so he’d be ready now.
Freshman Elbert “Rock” Hill also enters the picture with real momentum. ESPN ranked him the No. 1 cornerback in the 2026 class, and he backed that up with a strong spring. The Ohio native looks like a player who could force his way onto the field quickly, which USC may need because this secondary will need more than a couple of corners to hold up against the receiver talent coming its way.
In Other News...
Lincoln Riley Faces Another Defining USC Quarterback Recruiting Battle
Lincoln Riley is entering his fifth season at USC with a clearer recruiting blueprint than when he first arrived, and it starts at quarterback. The Trojans are leaning harder into keeping elite in-state talent home, spending NIL money more carefully and still trying to land blue-chip players who fit the programs long-term plan. That approach matters most in the quarterback room, where USC already has Jonas Williams, a four-star Illinois prospect in the 2026 class, and is pushing ahead on the next wave of signal-callers.
One of the biggest names on that horizon is Christopher Vargas, a highly rated 2028 quarterback from Massachusetts who has drawn a national list of offers. USC is in the mix with UCLA, Washington and Ohio State, which is enough to show how wide the race has become and how much Riley still has to sell on the West Coast. For USC, the stakes are obvious: quarterback recruiting under Riley has a way of shaping everything else, and the Trojans are trying to make sure the next one is not a battle they let slip away. [Read more 🡒]
USC Women Are Suddenly In The Hunt For A Program-Changer
Kaleena Smiths recruitment is already shaping up to be one of the biggest storylines in womens college basketball, and USC has put itself squarely in the mix. The consensus No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2027 has lined up 11 official visits, with the Trojans among the schools she plans to see, giving Lindsay Gottliebs program a real chance to make its case to a player with a decorated high school and international rsum.
For USC, the appeal is obvious. Smith is from Ontario, California, so the Trojans can sell the comfort of staying close to home while also leaning into the draw of Los Angeles and the NIL opportunities that come with it. They are still battling heavyweights such as UConn, Baylor, Tennessee and UCLA, but USC can point to the star power already in its program and the kind of development path elite recruits want to hear about. [Read more 🡒]
USC Just Landed The Kind Of 2027 Win Fans Have Wanted
USCs recruiting momentum has been building in a way fans have been waiting to see, and the 2026 and 2027 classes are starting to look like a real statement. The Trojans have already stacked up commitments from top prospects such as cornerback Danny Lang, five-star athlete Honor Faalave-Johnson and five-star edge Mekai Brown, giving the program a much stronger footing in the kind of high-end talent race that has too often gone elsewhere.
What stands out is not just the star power, but how USC has gone about getting it. The staff has leaned hard into local recruiting while also making sure it stays in the fight for premium defensive talent, with multiple coaches involved in the chase and visits doing plenty of the heavy lifting. Browns path was especially notable because USC had to beat out a crowded group of major programs, and his addition fits the broader push to fortify the front end of the defense. [Read more 🡒]