Waymond Jordan’s first season at USC flashed exactly why the Trojans went after the No. 1 ranked JUCO running back in the 2025 class. Now, after an injury cut that year short, he’s back for a second act with a clearer voice in the room and plenty to prove.
Jordan arrived after a monster final season at Hutchinson C.C. in 2024, when he piled up 1,614 rushing yards on 218 carries and scored 20 touchdowns in 12 games. That run earned him NJCAA DI Football Offensive Player of the Year honors and helped lead Hutchinson to a NJCAA DI Football Championship. The production carried over quickly once he got to major college football.
He was productive right away, then surged through the first half of the season before landing on the Sports Illustrated Midseason All-American second team. Through five and a half games, Jordan had 576 rushing yards on 88 carries and five touchdowns. Then came the ankle injury in the second quarter of USC’s win over Michigan on Oct. 11, a setback that required surgery and effectively ended his season.
Even after the injury, Jordan stayed locked in with the group. The day after the Michigan game, he was already the first player in the running back position meeting. That kind of presence carried into spring, even while he was limited.
Jordan was held back early in spring practice and later had a cleanup procedure on the injured ankle during the school’s spring break, which kept him out for the final two weeks. Running backs coach Anthony Jones described the work behind the scenes in April.
“This spring was more of a maintenance deal, just to clean some things up,” said running backs coach Anthony Jones in April. “He's handled it well, he's a phenomenal spirit.
He's done a great job of just preparing himself the best way. He's training hard, he's rehabbing hard.
He's done a really good job of just taking what he's able to do, and doing it an extremely high level.”
Jones also said Jordan’s influence has grown. The Florida native has become more vocal, not just in the running backs room but around the entire team, and he’s taken on a bigger leadership role entering year two at Southern Cal.
“He's a lot more vocal than he was last year,” Jones said. “I think his growth and his leadership has really shown this past spring, with him being limited in practice.
And not just in the running back room, but the offense in general, the team in general. Sits in the front of the room in every team meeting.
He's just a young man who you can see his growth with the leadership that he's taking on with this team.”
Jordan still has a detail to clean up: ball security. He fumbled on USC’s opening series against Georgia Southern in week 2 and again against Illinois in week 5, and Jones had spent two weeks drilling that point into him before the Michigan game. Jordan heads into this season looking to answer those questions and strengthen his case as one of next year’s top draft-eligible backs.
USC’s ground game should have plenty of support around him. King Miller is back after a breakout season in Jordan’s absence, rushing for 972 yards on 156 carries and eight touchdowns while also catching 16 passes for 111 yards.
Redshirt freshman Riley Wormley is coming off his first healthy offseason with the program after arriving last spring still recovering from a significant knee injury he suffered midway through his senior year of high school. Wormley got a taste of game action late last season, appearing in three games.
He’ll also keep battling two highly touted recruits in fall camp: Deshonne Redeaux, the No. 4 running back, and Shahn Alston, the No. 8 running back in the 2026 class according to 247Sports.
Up front, the Trojans have a major advantage. Their offensive line brings back all five starters from last season, and the group’s depth and versatility could lead to some reshuffling when fall arrives.
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