USC’s first real test in the secondary may not come against one of the headliners on its schedule, but Rutgers receiver KJ Duff is the kind of matchup that can tell you plenty anyway.
The Trojans will have a lot of talented pass-catchers in front of them this fall, from Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith to Oregon’s Dakorien Moore and Evan Stewart to Indiana’s Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh. But before any of that, USC heads cross-country to New Jersey on September 19 and gets a look at Duff, a receiver who already looks built to stress a defense in a different way.
Duff, a former four-star recruit in the 2024 class, is coming off a sophomore season that turned heads. He finished with 60 catches for 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns, and his biggest explosion came against Purdue, when he hauled in six passes for 241 yards and a touchdown. He also ranked fourth among Power Four players with 90.3 receiving yards per game and second in the Big Ten with 18.1 yards per reception.
The junior has already logged 25 career games and 16 starts, and his game is all about creating problems for defenders who don’t have the size to handle him. At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, Duff brings a tight end’s build with a receiver’s movement.
He uses that frame well, plays through contact, and has the strong hands to win contested throws. According to Pro Football Focus, he led the country last season with 22 contested catches.
That makes Duff more than just a Rutgers target; he’s a useful measuring stick. USC will have to deal with bigger-bodied receivers like Smith, Becker and Marsh later on, and how the Trojans handle Duff could offer an early clue about how they’ll hold up against that type of player in 2026.
The cornerback situation for USC is still sorting itself out, and there’s a real chance the depth chart isn’t fully settled when the Trojans open against San Jose State on August 29. Last season, USC used different cornerbacks opposite DeCarlos Nicholson in each of its first three games, and it could again lean on rotation early because of the options available.
The group includes redshirt senior Jontez Williams, redshirt sophomores Marcelles Williams and Chasen Johnson, redshirt freshman RJ Sermons and freshman Elbert Hill. Jontez Williams arrived from Iowa State as the No. 1 cornerback in the portal, Marcelles Williams started 11 games in 2025, and Johnson was the major portal pickup last season before a significant knee injury wiped out most of his year. Sermons and Hill are both highly regarded recruits who will push the veterans.
As it did last season, USC’s cornerback picture may become clearer once Big Ten play starts. Purdue was the point when the depth chart began to take shape a year ago, and Rutgers is the Trojans’ first conference opponent this fall. Johnson and Sermons add elite size to the room as well, both listed at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, which could matter when the rotation is decided for the Scarlet Knights.
And beyond the matchup on the back end, USC’s defensive front will also be under the microscope. The Trojans’ ability to get after the quarterback could end up doing a lot of the work for the secondary against a receiver like Duff.
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For the Trojans, that means the trip to the Coliseum now comes with even more pressure on a secondary that will have to account for Oregons depth as well as its stars. With the Ducks moving into a new era offensively after Will Steins departure to Kentucky, the one thing that has not changed is the expectation that Oregon will keep stressing defenses through the air, and USC is right near the top of the list of teams that have to sort out how to handle it. [Read more 🡒]