When USC walked into Beaver Stadium and that opening drive started rolling, the Trojans already had one major subplot: freshman offensive lineman Vlad Dyakonov making his first career start in one of the loudest settings imaginable.
The No. 19 Trojans beat Penn State 31-23, and Dyakonov didn’t look overwhelmed by the moment. He was in the lineup because Elijah Page was injured, and the first person to tell him he’d be starting was defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart.
That backdrop made Wednesday’s comments from Stewart even more revealing. He didn’t just praise Dyakonov’s debut against a crowd of more than 114,000 fans - he made it clear he had seen the competitiveness long before kickoff. During spring practice, USC was running one-on-one drills called “the Arena,” and when Lincoln Riley asked Dyakonov to choose an opponent, he picked Stewart.
“Whenever we came out of the spring, I was talking a lot of smack to him before because I was out of the spring,” Stewart said. “But when I got my opportunity to play, he called me out. And just to see him call me out is great, he’s a competitor.”
Dyakonov, a Folsom (Calif.) product, enrolled early at USC in the spring with a shot at earning a starting spot on the offensive line. Stewart said what stood out in the Penn State game was the freshman’s poise.
“He’s a great guy. His start was phenomenal to me knowing that a young guy would go out there in the atmosphere that we played in,” Stewart said.
“Like, that’s hard to do and he had his composure. I talked to him before the game and you know he stuck with the word that I’d give him.”
“I can’t thank him enough for being the player. He stepped up.
That’s a big step up and he’s going to have many opportunities. He’ll be a future first round draft pick in my opinion.”
USC’s offense backed up that composure right away. The Trojans opened with a touchdown drive and never seemed rattled by the noise. Their only offensive penalty was a false start on Tobias Raymond.
From there, the line settled in and gave the offense room to breathe. Dyakonov and the rest of the front allowed just one sack, helped King Miller get over 100 rushing yards and gave Jayden Maiava enough time to throw for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns.
After the game, Riley brought the team together inside one of the converted trailers Penn State had provided because of the construction at Beaver Stadium. As he wrapped up his postgame remarks, Stewart called Dyakonov to the front to recognize him for what he had just done.
“It was a cool moment,” Riley said on an Oct. 12 appearance on Trojans Live. “Now, Vlad’s contribution was obviously massive in a game like that.”
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