USC didn’t need long to find its next breakout wideout.
With Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane gone after both were taken in the first three rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft, and with injuries thinning the receiver room early, freshman Kayden Dixon-Wyatt has stepped straight into the spotlight for No. 18 USC. The Trojans are 4-1 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten play, and Dixon-Wyatt has become one of the clearest reasons why the offense has still had juice around redshirt senior quarterback Jayden Maiava.
The freshman arrived in Los Angeles with plenty of buzz after starring at Mater Dei, the same powerhouse program that produced fellow USC freshman tight end Mark Bowman. Dixon-Wyatt was already on the radar as a high-end prospect - National Recruiting Analyst Greg Biggins wrote after his 2024 season that he “has the tools to be a dominant No.
1 WR on a high major Power 4 team with Sunday potential” - and he backed that up with a huge senior year. As a junior, he posted 50 catches for 693 yards and five touchdowns while helping Mater Dei finish 13-0 and win the MaxPreps National Championship.
He followed that with 42 receptions for 693 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior, earning All-CIF Division I First Team honors and a place in the 2026 Navy All-American Bowl.
247Sports ranked Dixon-Wyatt as a four-star recruit and the No. 6 wide receiver in the 2026 class. He originally committed to Ohio State in May 2025 before flipping to USC in December.
The belief in USC, Dixon-Wyatt said, came down to the people around the program and the edge the team plays with.
He made an immediate impact in the passing game, opening eyes on USC’s first drive against Fresno State with a 31-yard catch through tight coverage. He finished that game with six receptions for 102 yards in the Trojans’ win, and that wasn’t a one-time flash. Dixon-Wyatt has now caught a pass of more than 30 yards in every game this season.
“[Dixon-Wyatt is] that guy; he can just go up and go get it,” Maiava said in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “He’s that kind of player, and we built that trust over the work that we’ve put in.”
Through five games, Dixon-Wyatt has three touchdowns, a team-high 25 receptions and 372 receiving yards. That yardage total ranks in the top 20 nationally and fifth in the Big Ten, and it also sits third among true freshmen in college football.
“I’ve played through a lot,” Dixon-Wyatt said in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “It’s a lot of reps out there, and coming from high school to college, it’s a big difference.”
His role has only grown as USC has dealt with injuries around him, and the production has followed. A to Z Sports NFL Editor Travis May called him “a true freshman WR playing like a pro already.”
That showed up in Saturday’s loss to Oregon, when Dixon-Wyatt led the Trojans’ offense with a career-high seven catches for 114 yards. He also scored on a 31-yard touchdown in the second quarter to put USC ahead 7-3.
“[It was a] great play call by Coach Riley to get me matched up with the linebacker,” Dixon-Wyatt said. “We knew it was going to be a one-on-one situation, and [it was a] great throw by [Maiava].”
The performance earned him recognition as a Week 4 True Freshman Standout by On3.
USC’s young receiving group has become a major storyline in its own right, with Ethan “Boobie” Feaster and Tron Baker both putting up 27 receiving yards against Oregon, while Mosley remains part of the picture once he returns from injury. With Dixon-Wyatt leading the way, the Trojans’ future at receiver looks loaded.
USC next faces Washington at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
In Other News...
USC Fans Have Plenty To Debate After That Gritty Washington Win
The heat was no joke, and neither was USCs defense in a 25-21 win over Washington that gave the Trojans plenty to feel good about and even more to debate. Against the kind of grind-it-out test that can expose a team in September, USCs pass rush came through with four sacks, multiple tackles for loss and a sack-fumble recovery that turned into a touchdown, the sort of sequence that can swing a close game and change the feel of a night.
For a team ranked No. 18, the result mattered just as much as the details, and there were enough of both to keep fans talking well after the final whistle. The game offered a useful look at individual performances and how USCs defensive plan held up in tough conditions, but it also left room for questions about which players are emerging, which adjustments are working and how sustainable this kind of gritty win might be as the schedule moves on. [Read more 🡒]
Jayden Maiava's Rough Start Put USC's Offense Under A Harsh Spotlight
Jayden Maiavas afternoon against Washington put USCs offense under a harsh spotlight, as the Trojans spent much of the first half searching for any kind of rhythm. The quarterbacks decision-making and mechanics were both under scrutiny, and a series of poor throws, long holds in the pocket and drive-killing penalties left the offense looking flat when it needed to be sharp.
Maiava finished the half 12 of 19 for 143 yards, but the numbers only told part of the story as USC went to the locker room trailing 14-10. The Trojans still had time to settle in, but the opening half raised real questions about whether the offense could clean itself up quickly enough to change the tone of the game. [Read more 🡒]
USC Defense Escaped Washington After One Brutal Breakdown
USCs defense came out of Washington with a win, but not without a few uneasy moments that will linger in the film room. In a 25-21 victory over the Huskies, the Trojans had the kind of mixed outing that can leave a staff thankful for the result and still frustrated by the details, from a costly missed-tackle sequence that opened the door for a long touchdown to the kind of timely response that kept the game from slipping away.
Jahkeem Stewarts fumble return for a score gave USC a huge lift, and Kameryn Crawford made key defensive plays late to help secure the finish. Even so, Washington had chances behind Demond Williams Jr. and Chris Lawson, and the combination of injuries and breakdowns made this one feel closer than the Trojans would have preferred, with one brutal lapse standing out in a game they still managed to escape. [Read more 🡒]