Saturday afternoon will be a battle between two of the most recognizable brands in the current era of college football: USC vs. Oregon.
The on-field competition will be fierce between the Trojans’ No. 6 nationally ranked offense and the Ducks’ No. 3 nationally ranked defense, but the stakes remain high off the field, as well – especially when it comes to recruiting.
Oregon has developed a pipeline to Southern California and currently has 22 players from the area on its roster. Five of them went to Mater Dei High.
USC head coach Lincoln Riley wants to ratchet up the efforts to recruit local players. However, he doesn’t see one-on-one competition with Oregon to win the area because so many schools try to recruit SoCal high school players.
“I’ve just never gotten too caught up in that because it’s not like all these guys have only two choices, especially really good players in this area,” he told reporters Tuesday.
“We feel like we’ve got something pretty unique here,” he added, “and it’s just trying to get this place as good as we can and target the guys in this area that we think will best fit this university and this place.”
The Trojans have the No. 1 2026 recruiting class, and the Ducks’ upcoming recruiting class is ranked No. 5. Five of those 19 Oregon recruits are from Southern California. USC has 35 total commits, and 17 are from SoCal.
Here is how each Southern California player on Oregon’s current roster is playing this season, in alphabetical order:
DB Daylen Austin
Hometown: Long Beach
High school: Long Beach Poly
Offered by USC: Yes
Austin has played in nine games as a redshirt sophomore and recorded seven tackles and three pass breakups. His older brother, Alex, played for Oregon State and is now a cornerback with the New England Patriots.
DB Xavier Barksdale
Hometown: San Diego
High School: Steele Canyon
Recruited by USC: No
Barksdale walked on at Oregon and is listed as a participant in two games this season against Oklahoma State and Oregon State.
OL Bryce Boulton
Hometown: Palm Desert
High school: Palm Desert
Offered by USC: No
Boulton is out for the season due to injury.
DL Aydin Breland
Hometown: Santa Ana
High School: Mater Dei
Offered by USC: Yes
Breland, a redshirt freshman, has yet to see playing time this season.
WR Gary Bryant Jr.
Hometown: Riverside
High school: Centennial
Offered by USC: Yes
Bryant played his first three seasons at USC before transferring to Oregon. He didn’t play in the Ducks’ most recent game against Minnesota due to an undisclosed injury against Iowa in Week 11. Otherwise, Bryant has been a main target for quarterback Dante Moore with 25 receptions for 299 yards and four touchdowns.
DB Solomon Davis
Hometown: Fontana
High School: Charter Oak
Offered by USC: No
Davis has made his way into three games this season, most recently in last weekend’s game against Minnesota. His best game was in Week 2 against Oklahoma State, in which he had three total tackles, half a tackle for loss and half a sack.
RB Jordon Davison
Hometown: Santa Ana
High school: Mater Dei
Offered by USC: Yes
Davison has seen immediate success in his first college football season as a true freshman. He’s been given the ball 66 times for 461 yards and 12 touchdowns, and his longest rush was a 67-yard run at Rutgers on Oct. 18. He’s also had nine receptions for 34 yards.
WR Dillon Gresham
Hometown: Hemet
High school: San Jacinto
Offered by USC: Yes
Gresham redshirted his freshman year and has yet to play in a game this season.
LB Jay Harden
Hometown: Stevenson Ranch
High School: West Ranch
Offered by USC: Unknown
This true freshman has yet to play in a game at Oregon.
TE Jamari Johnson
Hometown: Inglewood
High school: Inglewood
Offered by USC: No
Johnson seized his opportunity when starting tight end Kenyon Sadiq missed the Iowa game due to injury by grabbing four passes for 36 yards. He followed up in his next game against Minnesota with four catches for 57 yards. Altogether this season, Johnson has 17 receptions for 226 yards and one touchdown.
DB Sione Laulea
Hometown: Mountain View
High School: Junipero Serra
Offered by USC: Yes
Laulea started his college football career with two seasons at San Mateo College and became the No. 2-ranked junior college transfer in the nation. He’s played in six games this season with seven total tackles and two pass breakups.
OL Auston Mims
Hometown: Akron, Ohio
High school: Chaminade
Offered by USC: Unknown
Mims has yet to see playing time this season.
LB Kamar Mothudi
Hometown: Los Angeles
High School: Los Alamitos
Offered by USC: No
The redshirt freshman has recorded a tackle in three games this season.
OL Lipe Moala
Hometown: Riverside
High school: Mater Dei
Offered by USC: No
Moala played 13 snaps at right guard last season as a redshirt freshman and this year has gotten into two games.
TE Vander Ploog
Hometown: Fullerton
High school: Troy
Offered by USC: No
Ploog has not gotten into a game in his true freshman season.
WR Jack Ressler
Hometown: Irvine
High school: Mater Dei
Offered by USC: Yes
Ressler redshirted his freshman year and has yet to play in a game this season.
QB Akili Smith Jr.
Hometown: San Diego
High school: Lincoln
Offered by USC: No
Smith, who is the son of former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Akili Smith, has yet to get into a game as a backup for Moore.
EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei
Hometown: Bellflower
High School: St. John Bosco
Offered by USC: Yes
Uiagalelei is being considered a first-round draft prospect by some after collecting 18 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and four pass breakups in 10 games.
LB Dylan Williams
Hometown: Carson
High school: Long Beach Poly
Offered by USC: Yes
Williams dealt with a neck injury that kept him out of the first six games of the season, but had a breakout game as a redshirt freshman at Rutgers. He finished with five total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and half a sack.
DB Peyton Woodyard
Hometown: Fullerton
High school: St. John Bosco
Offered by USC: Yes
Woodyard has become a valuable part of Oregon’s secondary in his second season. He’s logged 20 total tackles and hauled in an interception and returned it for 30 yards against Oklahoma State in Week 2.
OL Isaiah World
Hometown: San Diego
High school: Lincoln
Offered by USC: No
World spent his first three seasons at Nevada and has earned a starting spot at left tackle since transferring to Oregon. His blocking is helping the Ducks average 475.4 yards of offense per game.
EDGE Nasir Wyatt
Hometown: Santa Ana
High school: Mater Dei
Offered by USC: Yes
Wyatt, a true freshman, has played in three games as part of Oregon’s pass-rushing unit and has collected five total tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack.
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