USC’s freshman class has drawn plenty of the buzz this year, but the Trojans aren’t short on returning players making noise as fall camp closes in. With the opener against San José State set for Aug. 29, a handful of veterans and second-year players are pushing their way into bigger roles.
At linebacker, Jadyn Walker and Desman Stephens are both showing the kind of jump that comes from finally getting comfortable in the system. Walker’s 2025 season was really his first true run at it after missing almost all of 2024 with a shoulder injury, and he still managed to appear in all 13 games with five starts.
He said at Media Day earlier this month that going back through his film was tough because he understands the position so much better now. That growth has come under new linebacker coaches Mike Ekeler and AJ Howard, and it has Walker on track to be a full-time starter in 2026.
Stephens, who started all 13 games last season, had an up-and-down year, but he’s arriving at his third season with a much sharper feel for the position. He’s credited both his new position coaches and defensive coordinator Gary Patterson for the progress.
The junior linebacker is processing things faster, reacting quicker, and he’s done it while adding 10 pounds. He’s listed at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, and Ekeler says he has kept the athleticism that once made him a standout receiver, defensive back and returner in high school.
Up front, Hayden Treter is another returnee whose path has been interrupted by injury but is now trending in the right direction. He spent all of 2024 rehabbing, then started last season at offensive tackle before making his first career start at guard in the Alamo Bowl.
Now, with starting center Kilian O’Connor out for the season because of a camp injury, Tobias Raymond is moving to center full-time and Treter is projected to start at guard opposite Alani Noa. Even before O’Connor went down, Treter looked like he could win the job.
He’s been climbing since last December, and in year three he appears to be moving toward the level USC expected from him.
There’s also momentum building for Corey Simms. Last season, he was expected to earn a spot in the receiver rotation after spring practice, but Tanook Hines wound up being the freshman who broke through.
Simms still found his way onto special teams and played in all 13 games, and that experience mattered. Another year with receivers coach Dennis Simmons, plus more time in the offense and in college football overall, has produced clear progress.
After a solid spring, the former four-star recruit has followed it with a strong fall camp and is positioning himself for a rotation role in 2026.
The secondary has its own competition worth watching, starting with the nickel spot. Kennedy Urlacher and Alex Graham are both in the mix there, and both have also been getting work at safety.
Urlacher has now spent a full season in the program after transferring from Notre Dame last spring, and he started three games at safety to close the 2025 season. Graham, meanwhile, started at nickel in those same games as a true freshman.
Their versatility is a real asset, and both have also benefited from Trumain Carroll’s strength and conditioning program. Whatever the exact alignment ends up being, both are expected to have roles.
Chasen Johnson is another defender on the rise. A knee injury limited him to two games in 2025, but he’s healthy now and wearing a knee brace in camp, though he said he won’t wear one during the season.
At 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, he brings size, aggression and speed to the position. The redshirt sophomore has had a strong camp and is trending toward the starting job opposite transfer Jontez Williams.
Prophet Brown is making a move too. One of the most experienced players on the roster, he has appeared in 39 career games at cornerback and nickel.
After a season-ending injury, Brown shifted to safety in the spring, added noticeable muscle for the position and is now emerging as the favorite to start opposite Christian Pierce. If that holds, USC would have two veteran presences on the back end.
Elijah Vaikona rounds out the list of returners making the most of camp. At 6-foot-8 and 360 pounds, he’s impossible to miss.
Of the three offensive tackles USC signed in the 2025 class, Vaikona was the lowest rated, but he ended up playing the most as a true freshman. He saw action in four games and kept making strides in the spring, with teammates noting how difficult it is to get around him.
That progress has carried into fall camp, and USC feels good about him as a backup at either tackle spot.
In Other News...
USC Finally Gets Its Notre Dame Rivalry Back In A New Form
After more than two years of negotiations and plenty of uncertainty created by USCs move to the Big Ten, the Trojans and Notre Dame have settled on a new way to keep one of college footballs signature rivalries alive. The schools announced Aug. 3 that they will resume the series starting Aug. 31, 2030, with a four-year agreement that keeps the game in its familiar early-season slot and gives both fan bases a clear reason to circle future calendars.
USC will host the first meeting at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2030, then again in 2032, while Notre Dame Stadium gets the return games in 2031 and 2033. It is not the old annual setup, and the broader scheduling picture still reflects the realities of conference realignment, but the agreement at least restores a rivalry that had been left hanging while both sides worked through the logistics of making it fit again. [Read more 🡒]
Zuriah Fisher Offers An Early Read On USCs New Defensive Identity
USCs defense is trying to look and play different in 2026, and the early signs of that makeover have come from a group that barely knew each other a few months ago. Gary Patterson is steering the new-look unit, and the Trojans have supplemented it with five transfer additions, including former Penn State defensive end Zuriah Fisher, whose five years of Big Ten experience gives him a useful frame of reference for what this group wants to become.
Fisher has also been part of the push to add more edge and toughness up front after getting back on the field following a minor camp injury. From his vantage point, the defense is already showing progress in the areas Patterson has emphasized, with the young players especially beginning to settle into the standard USC wants to set. The bigger question now is how much of that early physicality can hold once the real pressure starts. [Read more 🡒]
USC Heads Into Game Week With One Roster Battle Suddenly Heating Up
USC wrapped up its final full on-field practice before game week with a session that felt a little more sharpened than the ones that came before it. The Trojans worked through positional drills, special teams periods and plenty of visible coaching on the field, while players like Prophet Brown and RJ Sermons talked about health, versatility and the way the roster is settling as the season opener gets closer.
The most notable development came in the trenches, where a roster battle that had been quiet earlier in camp suddenly looks a lot more interesting. With the opener approaching, USC is trying to sort out depth and roles without any major new injury concerns in the picture, leaving the coaching staff with a cleaner look at how pieces fit together heading into game week. [Read more 🡒]