USC’s freshman class arrived with the kind of buzz that follows a No. 1 recruiting haul, and on the defensive side, that hype has only grown in fall camp. Lincoln Riley has said this month he expects to feel the presence of the class this season, and several young defenders are making that feel less like a projection and more like a real early-season storyline.
Talanoa Ili is one of the names drawing the loudest praise. USC hasn’t signed a linebacker with his pedigree out of high school in quite some time, and he’s looked the part since day one.
At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, he brings a flexible skillset that lets him attack off the edge or settle in as a traditional off-ball linebacker. Veterans and coaches have been eager to talk him up, and that hasn’t changed in camp.
Riley recently pointed to Ili as a player who has emerged, while defensive end Zuriah Fisher singled him out as someone who is setting the tone physically. Ili is expected to be a key reserve this season, but he’s also continuing to push the veterans ahead of him.
Fisher’s words about another freshman defender, Wafle, were even more direct: Wafle "don't even look like a freshman. He's not playing like a freshman."
That’s the kind of reaction USC hoped for when it landed the New Jersey native, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2026 class. Wafle enrolled at USC at the beginning of the year and has lived up to the billing so far.
At 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, he already carries himself with a pro approach, especially when it comes to diet and body maintenance. He’s kept pushing for a starting role in camp and could be there before his freshman season is over.
Right now, he looks very likely to open as the No. 3 defensive end.
Madden Riordan has taken a different path, but the result has been the same: his stock keeps climbing. He came to Southern Cal as a three-star recruit at 155 pounds and has since built himself up to 180.
The added size has only sharpened the traits that made him such a dangerous defender at Sierra Canyon (Calif.). Riordan has a quarterback background, and that shows in the way he sees the field and hunts turnovers.
Riley has been praising him since spring, and that appreciation has carried into fall camp.
Safety Prophet Brown said, "His maturity and knowledge of the game is really good. I've learned off of everybody but with Maddie, I've actually learned a lot from him," said safety Prophet Brown.
"We've grown a great bond, we've learned from each other. His smarts, his savviness, it gets him a long way."
Another freshman defensive back making noise is Elbert "Rock" Hill, one of USC’s biggest recruiting wins from the 2026 class after the Trojans pulled the Ohio native out west. Hill has impressed at every step since arriving, and that hasn’t changed in fall camp.
He’s an elite athlete, but the advanced technique is what stands out for his age. Riley has praised him in both spring practice and fall camp, and Hill is set to get live-game chances as a key backup while working to lock down a spot in the cornerback rotation for Big Ten play.
Tomuhini Topui was already turning heads in the spring, standing out in USC’s first padded practice and stringing together a strong run of workouts afterward. Defensive line coach Skyler Jones liked what he saw then, but Topui has taken another step in fall camp.
The Mater Dei (Calif.) product has the size, power and quickness to be a disruptive force on the interior at 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds. Defensive line is one of the deepest units on the roster, but Topui is making a real case for a rotation spot.
In Other News...
USC-UCLA Has One Tradition College Football Should Stop Copying
When Alabama and Tennessee announced they would both wear their home uniforms for their meeting this season, it stirred up an old college football debate: whether more rivalries should embrace the look that has long defined USC and UCLA. In Los Angeles, the setup works because it is tied to one specific game, one specific feel and one of the sports most recognizable visual traditions, with the Trojans cardinal and the Bruins blue playing off each other in a way that instantly says something about the rivalry itself.
But making double-home uniforms a routine habit across college football would risk turning a special wrinkle into a gimmick. The NFL learned as much during its Color Rush experiment, where color-on-color matchups sometimes looked fresh and sometimes just looked awkward, and thats the caution here for USC fans who know the rivalrys aesthetic is part of the event. What makes USC-UCLA stand out is that it is not everywhere, and college football is usually better when it leaves a few traditions alone. [Read more 🡒]
Why USC Fans Still Treat One Enemy Different Than Everyone Else
For USC fans, the old grievances still have a way of dwarfing the modern rivalry map. ESPNs recent list of arch-enemies for power conference programs put the NCAA at the top of the Trojans board instead of a fellow school, a nod to how deeply the sanctions from the Reggie Bush investigation still linger in the fan bases memory. The punishment tied to improper benefits never faded into simple history around here; it became part of how USC supporters tell the story of what the program lost and who they blame for it.
The resentment is sharpened by the feeling that college footballs enforcement has never looked even-handed. USCs punishment remains a touchstone in debates over fairness because the NCAAs handling of violations has often seemed inconsistent, and Penn States less severe sanction for far more serious infractions is still a painful comparison for Trojan fans. So while rivalries usually come with a school, a mascot or a border war, USCs most personal beef remains institutional, and it is not hard to see why that edge has never really gone away. [Read more 🡒]
USC Secondary Hype Around Jontez Williams Comes With One Big Catch
Jontez Williams arrives at USC with the kind of rsum that naturally gets people talking. The Iowa State transfer was an All-Big 12 Second Team selection in 2024, and his reputation as a disruptive defensive back has already made him one of the more intriguing pieces in the Trojans secondary heading into the upcoming season. An analyst even slotted him 145th among college football players, which says plenty about the respect he carries and the level of expectation surrounding him in Los Angeles.
For USC, the appeal is obvious: Williams is expected to play a significant role right away in a unit that needs difference-makers. The catch is just as obvious, though no less important. His value to the Trojans hinges on health, and that makes his availability one of the quieter but more consequential storylines as USC tries to stabilize its defense and turn a promising addition into a real asset. [Read more 🡒]