USC’s offseason buzz has centered on the obvious splash moves - Gary Patterson stepping in as defensive coordinator, Paul Gonzales joining as safeties coach and Sam Carter taking over the nickels, plus Lincoln Riley adding Mike Ekeler to handle linebackers and special teams. But the Trojans also made a couple of quieter staff decisions that could end up mattering just as much.
The first is Chad Savage, USC’s inside receivers/tight ends coach and now pass game coordinator. Savage arrived in January 2025 with a strong reputation from his Colorado State days, where 247Sports named him Mountain West Recruiter of the Year three straight seasons. That reputation carried over immediately in Los Angeles.
Savage helped USC sign the No. 1 class in his first season, landing blue-chip names like five-star tight Mark Bowman and four-star receivers Trent Mosley, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and Luc Weaver. He also played a major role in the on-field success of Makai Lemon, who won the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s top receiver. And under Savage, the tight end spot became a real part of the offense for the first time in Riley’s USC tenure.
That combination of recruiting and development made Savage a target for other schools, but he stayed put and earned a promotion. In February, Savage made clear why.
“Why not USC. When I took this job, it was a dream come true,” Savage said in February. “It's an honor to be recognized by other schools, because obviously you're doing something right with your position group or terms of recruiting, but the program is doing something right and to be in a top offense under Coach Riley year and year out, that recognition is going to come.
“But there's so much growth for me to happen here at USC and to be under Coach Riley, to be under his knowledge, to be under the leadership of Chad Bowden and how he recruits, his vision. I'm a West Coast guy.
My family's out west, friends are out west. I think my name carries weight out west when it comes to recruiting.
“Now, I'm doing everything I can to be recruiting on a national level. It starts with Jen Cohen up top, her leadership.
There's not a better AD in the game and when her vision aligns with the head coach and the GM, it trickles down us position coaches, and we got a great life at USC. I busted my tail to recruit some of these certain individuals, so I want to see everything come from fruition here USC and get more national championships.”
Savage has kept rolling on the recruiting trail in the 2027 class, too, landing San Diego (Calif.) Cathedral Catholic five-star athlete Honor Fa’alave-Johnson and Hamilton (Ariz.) four-star receiver Roye Oliver III, the 2025 MaxPreps Sophomore of the Year. His next challenge is development, especially with the possibility that he could have two true freshmen in his group starting this fall.
USC also made a point to hold onto cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed, even with Patterson reshaping the defensive staff. Reed came to USC in January 2025 after being hired away from UCF, and he made an early impact on the trail by landing four-star Elbert Hill, the No. 1 cornerback in the 2026 class. He also flipped four-star defensive back Peyton Dyer from South Carolina and three-star cornerback Jayden Crowder from Cal.
On the field, Reed had a hand in the growth of redshirt sophomore Marcelles Williams, who kept improving and became important to the Trojans defense during the final month of the season. Reed has also built a strong reputation with players and recruits, who rave about him as a person. Before spring practice, he explained why he wanted to remain at USC.
“One it’s USC. This place is special," Reed said in February.
"I didn’t know what no one meant about it being special until I stayed here for a year. Two, Lincoln Riley, one of the best to ever do it in my opinion.
I’m a younger coach so I got to see his whole come up.
“I wholeheartedly believe in everything that he say. Three, I love my guys.
I build real relationships throughout recruiting. That’s how I coach, I coach with my heart, and I couldn’t leave my guys no matter what.
It was really a no-brainer."
Reed has kept that momentum going in the 2027 class with a pair of highly touted cornerbacks in Mater Dei (Calif.) four-star Danny Lang and IMG Academy (Fla.) four-star Aaryn “J.O.” Washington. He also added Iowa State transfer Jontez Williams, the No. 1 cornerback, through the portal.
That gives USC a crowded cornerback room that also includes redshirt sophomore Chasen Johnson, whom Reed coached at UCF in 2024, and former five-star recruit RJ Sermons.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Just Turned Up Pressure On USC In A Crucial Fight
June brought a wave of commitment drama across the 2027 recruiting class, and Notre Dame emerged with one of the loudest hauls in the country. Marcus Freemans program, already sitting near the top of the national board, added enough high-end talent to keep the Irish in the thick of the future roster race, while USC spent much of its own 2027 work earlier in the spring and enters the summer with a class that still has real traction under Lincoln Riley.
For the Trojans, the bigger issue is not just where they stand now, but how the battle around them keeps shifting. USC has already built around notable blue-chip names across the 2026 and 2027 cycles, yet the Irish are making it clear they intend to stay aggressive in the same recruiting lanes. With the two programs not set to meet on the field for at least the next few seasons, the rivalry is going to be fought less in a stadium and more on the trail where every elite commitment matters. [Read more 🡒]
Chasen Johnson Just Gave USC Fans Real Hope At Corner
Chasen Johnsons road back has been one of the quieter but more encouraging storylines around USCs secondary this offseason. The redshirt sophomore cornerback, who spent much of last season working his way through a knee injury and surgery, has been getting steady support from position coach Trovon Reed while posting recovery clips that suggest the rehab is moving in the right direction. With fall camp approaching, that matters in a cornerback room where starting jobs are still very much up for grabs and Lincoln Riley has already pointed to improvement from other defenders such as Marcelles Williams.
Johnsons latest update gave Trojans fans a little extra reason to believe he can still factor into that competition. In the clip, he was moving heavy weight in the gym and doing it without a brace on the injured knee, a small but meaningful sign for a player whose trajectory was interrupted just as he was looking to push for a bigger role in the USC secondary. The real test, of course, will come once the pads come on and the competition turns from rehab progress videos to live reps. [Read more 🡒]
Eric Musselman Just Framed USCs Biggest Rebuild Gamble
Eric Musselman is making it clear that USCs rebuild is going to be built the hard way, with a little of everything. In a college basketball era defined by constant player movement, he said the Trojans have to keep key returners, bring in high-upside freshmen and still stay active in the transfer portal if they want to keep pace. Its the sort of balancing act that has become unavoidable, but for USC it also doubles as the blueprint for how quickly this next roster can turn into something real.
The good news for the Trojans is that there is a foundation to work with, anchored by a core group from last season and a highly regarded incoming class. Christian Collins gives USC a five-star headliner, and the Ratliff twins add more talent to a class that already has people around the program thinking big. Musselmans challenge now is less about explaining the plan and more about making sure the mix of retention and additions actually holds together once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]