USC’s freshman class is no longer just filling space. It’s shaping games.
That was on display in the Trojans’ 31-23 win at Penn State, when left tackle Elijah Paige was scratched at the last second with an injury and true freshman Vlad Dyakonov had to step into one of the toughest environments in the sport. Beaver Stadium’s “White Out” didn’t rattle him. USC’s line held up, Jayden Maiava threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns, and the ground game added 129 yards and a score.
Right tackle Justin Tauanuu pointed to Dyakonov’s poise after the game.
“The most impressive part about (Dyakonov) is just him being calm, and not having much nervousness going in,” Justin Tauanuu told reporters, “especially going to a big atmosphere such as Penn State. It really impressed me how he played.”
Dyakonov also recovered a fumble, another sign that USC keeps finding useful snaps from its youngest players. He’s part of a broader trend that has the No. 16 Trojans looking deeper into the season with plenty of first-year contributors already in the mix.
USC is 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten and heads to Wisconsin on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT.
The Trojans have already captured four of the first seven Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards this season. Tight end Mark Bowman, running back Riley Wormley, defensive end Luke Wafle and receiver Trent Mosley have each picked up the honor.
Lincoln Riley sees that as a sign the ceiling is still rising.
“I think our threshold to improve as a team is pretty high because of how many young guys are playing,” head coach Lincoln Riley said. “And with that experience, they’re going to gain confidence and the skills are developing to the point where they’re going to be better players not just later on in their career, but certainly in the back half of this year.”
That youth is carrying real responsibility. Bowman remains USC’s most-used tight end even though he has missed the last two games with an injury, and Wafle is the second-most-used defensive lineman.
The freshman influence is even more obvious at receiver. Kayden Dixon-Wyatt has a play percentage of 67.2%, according to Hudl IQ analytics, and leads the team with 27 catches for 400 yards and four touchdowns. Mosley is fourth among USC receivers in that category at 34.5%, while Ethan “Boobie” Feaster is at 24.6% and Tron Baker is at 17.6%.
With so many young players taking on heavy workloads, USC’s staff is keeping a close eye on the reps. The goal is to keep the freshmen developing without overloading them, and Riley said that takes constant monitoring because there isn’t much long-term or offseason history to lean on.
“Everybody’s got some sort of pitch count,” Riley said. “I would just say with those guys, you have to be more aware and at times, maybe a hair more conservative just because you don’t have all these offseasons.
“Some of these guys haven’t played this much ball at this level of effort, this level of physicality. So, we try to be aware, but each guy’s a little bit different. We’re certainly establishing that and learning about them as we go.”
USC also learned its Oct. 31 home game against No. 3 Ohio State will kick off at 4:30 p.m.
PT and air live on NBC (Ch. 4).
It will be the fifth straight 4:30 kickoff for the Trojans, whose games against Oregon, Washington, Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State will all have been shown in primetime.
Start times for USC’s Nov. 14 road game at No. 6 Indiana, its Nov. 21 home game against Maryland and its Nov. 28 road game against No. 9 UCLA at the Rose Bowl have not yet been announced.
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