USC cornerback Chasen Johnson is back on the field, and after everything he went through last season, that alone tells part of the story.
The UCF transfer arrived in the spring portal window last year with real expectations, the kind of addition that was supposed to push for a starting role right away. Instead, a knee injury early in fall camp knocked him out before the season opener. He did get back for a brief stretch, logging 34 snaps over the next two games, but when the knee flared up again in Week 3, the season ended with surgery.
Johnson, a redshirt sophomore, has built a reputation as one of the guys who keeps the room loose. He’s usually smiling, usually bringing energy. But he was honest about how hard the rehab grind got.
“I'm not gonna sit here and act like it's perfect. It's definitely ups and downs to it,” Johnson said.
“Some days you feel like you're down, some days you feel like you're doing good, but I feel like I climbed that hill somewhere around the middle of my recovery, and I got around that corner. Ever since that, I've been going up.”
He sat out spring practice, but now the 6-1, 195-pound defensive back is a full participant in fall camp, and that matters to him as much as anyone around the program.
“It's so exciting, especially to be around my teammates,” Johnson said. “Just that energy, to be able to be on that field and be that energy booster for the defense.”
Johnson’s path back to USC also says plenty about why he stayed. The Florida native is far from home, and in today’s transfer-heavy game, it’s easy to see players head back closer to familiar ground when things get rocky. Johnson didn’t.
After a first season in Southern Cal defined by adversity, he made it clear there wasn’t much doubt about where he wanted to be in 2026.
“Coming here from a different program and seeing the different standards and how they hold you accountable off the field it's hard to like leave a program like that,” Johnson said. “That really cares about you off the field as a person and that’s what made me stay.”
Keeping cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed around through multiple defensive staff changes helped too. Reed coached Johnson at UCF in 2024, when Johnson started four games as a true freshman, and he stayed close throughout the recovery process.
“Coach Reed, he always gonna be tough on you. He always gonna push you,” Johnson said.
“That tough love ain't never going nowhere. He still kept it the same, and he told me to rely heavily on God and that’s what I did.”
USC’s cornerback group looks loaded, and Johnson is part of that mix after returning from his injury. Iowa State transfer Jontez Williams also came back from a serious knee injury and arrived as the No. 1 cornerback in the portal, giving the room its most experienced player.
Marcelles Williams started 11 games last season as a redshirt freshman. RJ Sermons, a former five-star recruit, reclassified last summer to be ready for this season.
Freshman Elbert "Rock" Hill, a prized 2026 class addition, was rated by ESPN as the No. 1 corner.
It’s a group that could be the most talented USC has had during Lincoln Riley’s five seasons as head coach, and Reed said at media day that camp remains an open battle.
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The timing makes the situation even more uncomfortable because the Trojans are heading toward a schedule that will demand answers quickly against strong defensive fronts. USC will have to sort through replacement options and settle the interior line before the pressure starts to rise, and the first real test of how ready that group is comes later in the month against Oregon. [Read more 🡒]