USC spent much of 2025 piecing together its secondary, and the damage started early. Prophet Brown, Chasen Johnson and Alex Graham were all sidelined by injuries, then the Trojans lost both starting safeties late in the season against Iowa when Kamari Ramsey and Bishop Fitzgerald went down. The pass defense felt the strain, and the depth chart never really got a clean break from the attrition.
That backdrop is a big reason Jontez Williams lands at No. 12 on the Trojans’ list of most important players for 2026. USC went into the transfer portal and came away with one of the top cornerbacks available, bringing in Williams from Iowa State.
The Trojans had already upgraded the roster enough that this wasn’t a move born out of desperation. It was more a case of seeing a player too good to pass up.
Williams didn’t get a full spring showcase because he, along with Johnson and safety Christian Pierce, spent much of camp rehabbing. Even without that on-field look, the expectation level around him remains high enough to slot him into the top half of the rankings.
Here’s the profile on Williams: he’s 5-foot-10, 195 pounds, from Starke, Fla., and he played at Bradford in high school. He was a 3-star athlete in the 2022 class, ranked No. 1,596 nationally, No. 133 at athlete and No. 209 in Florida. As a transfer, he checked in as a 4-star and the No. 50 overall player, the No. 2 cornerback in the portal.
The case for Williams starts with what USC already had at the position. DeCarlos Nicholson was the Trojans’ highest-performing corner last season and the second-highest graded defensive regular on the team, according to Pro Football Focus, which gave him a 77.0. Even with returning talent and a freshman class coming in, USC still went hunting for a true headliner at corner.
Williams has the kind of resume that explains why. After redshirting, he played a backup role in 2023 and then became a starter in 2024.
His 2025 season at Iowa State was cut short by a knee injury after five games, but he was off to a fast start. Pro Football Focus gave him an 83.6 overall grade, including an 87.1 mark as a tackler and an 84.6 coverage grade.
He had one interception, allowed completions on just 8 of 15 targets, and gave up only 34 total yards. Opponents threw his way three times in each of Iowa State’s first two games and never more than that.
Cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed made it clear the film sold him.
"He was the No. 1 portal guy for a reason," Reed said. "The way he played, his mentality, the person he is, the student of the game, the leadership, the way he attacked the ball.
Everything about him says, 'T Reed, you need to coach him. I want that guy.'
Our relationship hit fast, and it's still the exact same every day I see him. It feels like the first day I saw him, and I can't wait to see this young man thrive here in the USC uniform.
"I can't wait because of the injury, because of everything he's going through off the field. Yeah, I understand it.
I was injured before. I understand it.
I know the hungriness to get back, both him and Chasen and so I can't wait to see that guy."
Williams comes in at No. 12 because USC believes he can be more than a depth add, but the cornerback room is deep enough that he doesn’t crack the top 10. If he’s unavailable, it would hurt. It just wouldn’t hit the roster as hard as the players ranked ahead of him.
A year ago, the No. 12 spot belonged to Alani Noa. He entered camp projected as the starter at right guard, a ranking boosted by both his position and the lack of obvious alternatives.
He started 10 of the first 11 games, missed the UCLA game with an injury, and then was away from the team for the Alamo Bowl loss to TCU. Once it was confirmed he’d be back, he rejoined the other four starters from last year’s line.
Noa played well enough to keep his job in 2025 and heads into camp as the favorite again, though he’ll need to take another step to hold his place.
The rest of the list continues with No. 13 defensive back Alex Graham, No. 14 defensive end Braylan Shelby, No. 15 tight end Mark Bowman, No. 16 wide receiver Terrell Anderson, No. 17 defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren, No. 18 cornerback Marcelles Williams, No. 19 running back King Miller, No. 20 safety Kennedy Urlacher, No. 21 linebacker Jadyn Walker, No. 22 linebacker Deven Bryant, No. 23 offensive lineman Alani Noa, No. 24 defensive back Prophet Brown, No. 25 defensive lineman Floyd Boucard, No. 26 kicker Ryon Sayeri, No. 27 offensive lineman Justin Tauanuu, No. 28 defensive end Luke Wafle, No. 29 cornerback Elbert Hill IV and No. 30 wide receiver Trent Mosley.
In Other News...
Juju Watkins Just Showed What USC Basketball Is Becoming
Juju Watkins spent part of the summer turning the Galen Center into something bigger than a practice facility, hosting a free basketball camp for girls in grades three through eight and putting the focus on fun, confidence and community. For USC, it was another reminder of how Watkins has already become more than a star scorer in waiting. Even while working her way back from an ACL injury, she has remained one of the most visible faces in college basketball, including a recent Nike collaboration on her own LeBron NXXT Gen By Juju Silver Lining shoe.
The timing matters because Watkins is cleared to play and is set to return for her senior season, giving the Trojans a centerpiece around which their expectations keep rising. USC already looks built to contend, with key pieces returning and another wave of talent arriving, and Watkins camp only sharpened the sense that this program is becoming a destination as much as a contender. What she does next on the court will matter most, but the off-court footprint is starting to look just as revealing. [Read more 🡒]
USC Is Right In The Middle Of A Mater Dei Battle Fans Care About
Ace Leutele has been around USC long enough that the program is hardly a stranger to him. The four-star safety from Mater Dei has been visiting campus since elementary school, and the Trojans have kept working to deepen those ties through family connections and steady recruiting attention. He has built relationships with new safeties coach Paul Gonzales and recruiting director Aaron Amaama, giving USC a familiar face in a crowded chase for one of the regions top defensive backs.
Leutele is still weighing a long list of suitors, and the fall will give him more chances to sort through the noise as he takes in college games. USC remains firmly in the mix, but so do several national programs that are pushing hard to land him. For the Trojans, the appeal is obvious: keep a local star close to home, lean on the staffs relationships, and make the case that life after football starts well before he ever leaves campus. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Offseason Just Changed The Pressure In Baton Rouge
The college football offseason has been defined by coaching turnover and roster churn, with 15 head coach firings and a wave of player movement reshaping the sport before August even arrives. In On3s latest look at the biggest winners from that activity, LSU came out on top after stacking more than 40 transfers and pairing that portal haul with a top-15 recruiting class, a combination that has turned Baton Rouge into the standard for aggressive roster building.
For USC, the comparison is hard to miss. The Trojans have their own reasons to feel good about where things stand, with Jayden Maiava returning at quarterback and a transfer class that added help at multiple spots, but the broader offseason conversation has shifted toward how far programs are willing to go to chase a breakthrough. LSUs approach has only raised the bar, and it leaves the rest of the country, USC included, measuring its own moves against a team that clearly decided to spend big and act even bigger. [Read more 🡒]