USC’s offensive line settled into a new shape this week, and the biggest move is the one that keeps Tobias Raymond at the center of it all.
Raymond is set to start at center when the Trojans open the 2026 season Saturday, Aug. 29, a switch coach Lincoln Riley confirmed Monday. It’s a role that has been building for a while. USC originally planned to keep Raymond on the interior in 2026, and the staff had long believed center could eventually be his best NFL path.
That’s a notable turn for a player whose USC career has been defined by constant movement and steady production. Raymond started out at right tackle, was thrown into action as a redshirt freshman in USC’s first Big Ten game against Michigan in September 2024 when the Trojans were having issues at tackle, then earned his first career start at right tackle in the Las Vegas Bowl to close that season.
Last year looked like it might be the season he settled in as a full-time tackle, but the line kept shifting around him. After DJ Wingfield was declared ineligible, Raymond moved inside to guard.
Then, as Elijah Paige worked through an injury-riddled season, Raymond kicked back out to left tackle. Through all of it, he stayed on the field and started all 13 games in 2025.
“He's one of the steadiest people and players in this program,” said coach Lincoln Riley. “He's a guy you count on.
A guy that fought through countless things to play here. He's played through so many different injuries that the world didn't know, it would take a long time to list them all,” Riley said.
“He's just that type of player and competitor, and that's the kind of guy you want leading our O-line."
This spring, offensive line coach Zach Hanson started giving Raymond reps at center to expand the toolbox and build depth at the position. That kept the door open for a permanent move, and when O’Connor suffered a season-ending injury early in fall camp, the decision became clear.
Raymond said the spring transition was a challenge.
“During spring it kind of felt like I was a freshman all over when I was playing center,” Raymond said.
Even so, the staff’s trust never wavered. Raymond said O’Connor has been a major help through the process, both now and over the course of his USC career.
“I played everything last year except center,” Raymond said. “So, this spring when they knew I was going to be an interior guy, they just tried to give me reps at a little bit of everything, left guard, center, right guard. It was always a possibility, and coaches talked about it more recently after what happened with Kilian.”
O’Connor has stayed around practice on a scooter and, in Raymond’s words, has basically become an extra coach. Raymond said the veteran has been valuable for film study, line calls and technique, long before the center change ever came into focus.
“He’s definitely helped me a lot, even when I was playing guard,” Raymond said. “We’d often watch film together and just talk through looks and how we’d ID’d it.
If we messed up a play, we’d talk about our footwork and how we’d do it better. He’s always been a great guy to go talk to about technique.”
USC’s projected starting five is now coming into view: Paige at left tackle, Hayden Treter at left guard, Raymond at center, Alani Noa at right guard and Justin Tauanuu at right tackle. The official depth chart is still to come, but the lineup is largely set.
King Miller said Raymond’s value goes beyond the snap itself.
“Tobias brings unity,” said running back King Miller. “He’s been here since day one with coach Riley.
Him being there for so long, he knows the system in and out. He’s a guy we lean on.”
Treter is the only projected starter who was not already a returning starter, though he did start in the bowl game last season and was one of the standouts in fall camp. Overall, the group has size, experience and, just as important, depth.
Elijah Vaikona has been rising all offseason in his second year and gives USC more help at either tackle spot. Aaron Dunn, four-star recruit in the 2025 class, five-star freshman Keenyi Pepe, the No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2026 class, and freshman Vlad Dyakonov add more tackle insurance.
Inside, freshman Breck Kolojay, Kaylon Miller - who started three games last season at guard - and Ratumana Bulabalavu provide depth. Miller can also play center. Willi Wascher and freshman Kannon Smith are additional names to watch there.
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