USC’s season opener offered an early look at what a refreshed recruiting approach can do, and the Trojans got immediate production from a group of former Trinity League standouts.
The biggest splash came from receiver Trent Mosley, the Santa Margarita product who looked instantly comfortable with quarterback Jayden Maiava. Mosley led USC with seven catches for 118 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first USC receiver since JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2014 to top 100 receiving yards in a debut. He also chipped in a 41-yard punt return and finished with 174 all-purpose yards.
“That kid moves differently. He's special,” said running back King Miller.
Mosley wasn’t the only freshman making noise in USC’s win over San José State this past weekend. Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, another Mater Dei product, caught four passes for 36 yards and a touchdown, giving Maiava another dependable option. With Tanook Hines and Terrell Anderson expected back at some point from injuries, Mosley and Dixon-Wyatt helped stabilize the receiver group right away.
Tight end Mark Bowman, also from Mater Dei, brought a different kind of impact. The five-star recruit finished with three catches for 15 yards, but his blocking stood out just as much.
Bowman had drawn Brock Bowers comparisons during the recruiting process because of his receiving skill, yet he showed he can handle the dirty work too. After adding 10 pounds of muscle over the summer, he looked more like a veteran Big Ten tight end than a freshman who had reclassified from the 2027 class.
Tron Baker rounded out the freshman receiver group in the starting lineup. The Trojans’ first commitment in the 2026 class back in September 2023 caught four passes for 45 yards in his debut, nearly three years after that initial pledge.
“We put in the work all off-season. We had a lot of really good reps together, and it was a really good camp for those guys. I think it was put on display today," Maiava said about Dixon-Wyatt and Baker.
Baker’s debut also carried a familiar feel. He starred as a freshman alongside former USC All-American receiver Makai Lemon at Los Alamitos, and now he’s producing on the same field where Lemon made his mark for three seasons.
USC also got a glimpse of what running back Deshonne Redeaux can bring to the table. The Oaks Christian product had just two carries for 26 yards on Saturday, but both runs went for more than 10 yards and showed the strength, vision and explosiveness that made him such a coveted prospect. Redeaux gives the Trojans more depth in an already talented running back room.
The common thread behind all of it traces back to January of last year, when the arrivals of general manager Chad Bowden and inside receiver and tight end coach Chad Savage changed the tone of USC’s Southern California recruiting. Savage was the primary recruiter for Mosley, Dixon-Wyatt and Bowman, and all three were the kind of local talents USC had been missing for years.
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