With Trent Mosley out this week at Rutgers, USC’s passing game turns to another freshman who has already started carving out a bigger piece of the offense: Kayden Dixon-Wyatt.
Mosley opened the season as the Trojans’ standout young receiver and has been the most impactful player on the offense besides Jayden Maiava. His absence is a tough one at a key stretch of the schedule, but it also creates a clear opening for Dixon-Wyatt to take on a larger role.
That opportunity is well earned. Dixon-Wyatt looked ready from the jump in the season opener against San Jose State, when he caught 6 passes for 102 yards.
Through three games, he has been almost as productive as Mosley, with 181 yards and 2 catches. He has already become more of a primary target, and Maiava’s trust in him matters.
USC still has Tanook Hines and Terrell Anderson to help absorb the loss, but Dixon-Wyatt has made a strong case that he deserves more than a supporting role. Through the first three games, he has shown enough to be viewed ahead of those two in the offensive pecking order.
The tools are obvious. He is a smart route runner, he can make just about every catch, and he is still only beginning to show what he can become.
Injuries can wreck a team’s rhythm, but USC has real depth at the skill spots. In this spot, Dixon-Wyatt looks ready to step in as the lead receiver.
In Other News...
USC Might Be Closing In On Another Major Local Defensive Win
USC has spent plenty of time trying to strengthen its defensive future in Southern California, and the next local name to watch is already drawing serious attention. Rivals national recruiting analysts Adam Gorney and Greg Biggins the Trojans the leading favorite to land four-star safety Ace Leutele from Mater Dei in the 2028 class, a notable position for a program that has made keeping elite local talent home a priority.
Leutele stands out not just because of where he plays, but because of how early he has risen at one of the regions most demanding programs. He is a rare freshman starter at Mater Dei and is regarded as a versatile defensive piece, the kind of player USC wants to keep stacking into its next recruiting cycle. The Trojans are also pursuing other safety targets as they look to build a stronger 2028 group after a smaller 2027 class, so this is only part of a broader push on the back end. [Read more 🡒]
USC Has A New Debate Over Which Trojans Deserve Bigger Roles
Three games into the season, USC already has one of those early-depth-chart conversations that tends to follow a team with real expectations. The evaluation around the Trojans has started to separate the players whose roles seem to be growing from the ones who have not quite matched the opportunity in front of them, with King Miller and Luke Wafle among the names trending up as the staff sorts out who can handle more.
Waymond Jordan and Kam Crawford sit on the other side of that ledger, which makes the next stretch worth watching for a team trying to sharpen its rotation before the schedule gets more demanding. For USC, this is the kind of internal debate that can quietly shape the rest of a season, because bigger roles do not always go to the most obvious candidates, and the opening month has already created a few decisions worth tracking. [Read more 🡒]
USC Heads Into Big Ten Play With Serious Depth Questions
USCs transition into Big Ten play arrives with more uncertainty than the Trojans would like, and the timing could hardly be worse. As they get ready for Rutgers, the injury list is already shaping the conversation around the roster, with star freshman receiver Trent Mosley out for an extended stretch after a knee injury in Week 2.
The concern does not stop there, either. Several other players, including Jahkeem Stewart, Nela Tupou, Dee Reddick, Madden Riordan and Jadyn Walker, are dealing with injuries or are in question for the opener, leaving the Trojans to manage depth issues as the level of competition ramps up. For a team about to find out what life looks like in a new conference, availability may be the first major test. [Read more 🡒]