USC’s most important players list for 2026 keeps pointing back to the same place: the defensive line, and specifically Jahkeem Stewart.
The Trojans’ No. 3 player on the countdown is the 6-foot-5, 290-pound lineman who already looks like a problem for offenses, even though he’s still just getting started. The encouraging part for USC is that Stewart won’t be draft-eligible until 2028, which gives the program time to build around a player who may already be its best pro prospect.
Stewart’s background is short on mileage but heavy on production. He played only one season of organized football in high school, yet still put up 85 tackles and 20 sacks as a sophomore at Edna Karr in New Orleans. Junior and senior years never happened because of transfer regulations and reclassification, so he arrived at USC with obvious questions about experience and how quickly he could catch up.
The answer, as it turned out, was not long.
Former defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn said in the spring that Stewart looked like a junior in college rather than someone who should have been in his junior year of high school. Once the season started, the flashes came fast. Stewart missed the opener with a foot injury he would play through all year, then immediately started flashing the kind of explosiveness USC has been chasing up front.
In his first three games, he repeatedly burst through the line and logged multiple “defensive stops” in each outing, with four of his six tackles in that stretch going for losses. Against Illinois, he scooped up a fumble and returned it 22 yards. He picked up his first career sack against Northwestern, then grabbed his first interception a week later against Iowa on a ricochet.
The rainy game against Iowa was the only one in which he didn’t record a tackle. Stewart finished his debut season with 18 tackles, 7.5 for loss, and 1.5 sacks after adding a half sack against UCLA. He then had foot surgery after the regular-season finale.
The numbers matter, but the way he played matters more. Stewart’s burst stood out as something USC has rarely had from a defensive lineman over the last decade. He also held his own against the run, posting a 72.1 run-defense grade that was the best among USC defensive linemen last season and the best since Tyrone Taleni in 2023.
That’s a big reason he lands at No. 3 on the 2026 list. His debut season was already impressive, and it became even more striking when Lincoln Riley said after the regular season that Stewart had played the entire year with a broken foot after suffering a stress fracture in fall camp.
That only sharpens the question for 2026: what happens when Stewart is fully healthy and able to practice all week instead of being limited?
“There's no denying, I mean his impact when he's in there, you feel it, and you feel him in the game,” Riley said last year. “He's been a part of turnovers, tackles for loss. He just creates a lot of disruption and havoc back there, especially for such a young guy.”
If Stewart takes another step, USC could have the interior disruptor it has been missing since Leonard Williams more than a decade ago. He also brings valuable flexibility, with the ability to line up anywhere along the defensive front, which only raises his importance to the Trojans.
The ranking also comes with context from last year’s list. Paige opened at No. 3, moved up to No. 2 after a strong fall camp, then slipped to No. 5 in the bye week re-rank. Even with six missed games and two others where he left early, the offensive line held up well, though the first-team unit averaged 1.3 yards less when Paige wasn’t on the field.
The rest of the 2026 list follows with linebacker Desman Stephens II at No. 4, defensive end Kameryn Crawford at No. 5, running back Waymond Jordan at No. 6, defensive lineman Jide Abasiri at No. 7, wide receiver Tanook Hines at No. 8, offensive lineman Tobias Raymond at No. 9, safety Christian Pierce at No. 10, offensive lineman Kilian O'Connor at No. 11, cornerback Jontez Williams at No. 12, defensive back Alex Graham at No. 13, defensive end Braylan Shelby at No. 14, tight end Mark Bowman at No. 15, wide receiver Terrell Anderson at No. 16, defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren at No. 17, cornerback Marcelles Williams at No. 18, running back King Miller at No. 19, safety Kennedy Urlacher at No. 20, linebacker Jadyn Walker at No. 21, linebacker Deven Bryant at No. 22, offensive lineman Alani Noa at No. 23, defensive back Prophet Brown at No. 24, defensive lineman Floyd Boucard at No. 25, kicker Ryon Sayeri at No. 26, offensive lineman Justin Tauanuu at No. 27, defensive end Luke Wafle at No. 28, cornerback Elbert Hill IV at No. 29 and wide receiver Trent Mosley at No. 30.
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