LOS ANGELES — The USC football team began its spring practice schedule Tuesday morning, earlier in the calendar than in years past, mainly because a large chunk of the team was already available to start practicing, head coach Lincoln Riley said.
A majority of the roster is on campus, including a whopping 31 freshmen who graduated high school a semester early so they could participate in spring practices.
“We felt like with the roster that we’ve been able to accumulate, having such a high percentage of our entire roster already here for spring, that really pushed us to get out here a little bit earlier and get these guys on the field to get going,” Riley said. “It’s kind of fun for us to get a first look at the transfers and obviously all the high school guys that came in here this spring.”
One position of note that’s had an influx of young talent this year is wide receiver. With last season’s two leading receivers, Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, bound for the NFL, the Trojans will rely on a bevy of sophomores and freshmen to catch passes from senior quarterback Jayden Maiava. There are no senior wideouts on the spring roster and just one junior, Terrell Anderson, a transfer from NC State.
The team’s third-leading receiver last year, Tanook Hines, will likely miss the entirety of spring camp Riley said Tuesday, but it could serve as a “blessing in disguise.” More reps will be available for the rest of the pass-catchers, including a freshman four-pack of receivers who are looking to make an immediate impact: Tron Baker (Sierra Canyon), Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (Mater Dei), Trent Mosley (Santa Margarita) and Luc Weaver (Notre Dame).
“Receiver is really kind of the one position where we’ve got a couple of guys in the class that aren’t here yet as well, so the receiver position will feel a little bit different certainly when we get to fall,” Riley said. “But what a phenomenal opportunity for all those other guys to develop and to take advantage of those reps, and we’re going to need that.”
While he was on the team last year, wideout Zacharyus Williams battled through injuries during the season and was able to play in only five games.
Still, he is one of the more experienced wide receivers on the team and said he plans on taking more of the leadership role to help mentor his younger teammates, some of whom he played against in high school.
“I just want to help where it needs to be helped. I know what it’s like to be a freshman, so just help out the best way I can,” Williams said. “I feel like they adjusted well, smooth transition, and they look good out there.
“A couple of them, I played against them in high school when they were younger, so it’s kind of crazy being on the same field as them, but it’s fun. We just rekindled back on the time we used to play against each other. Other than that, we’re just happy to be on the same team, on the same sideline.”
Some missing spring camp
In addition to Hines, center Kilian O’Connor, safety Christian Pierce, offensive lineman Justin Tauanuu and cornerbacks Chasen Johnson and Jontez Williams are expected to miss most of, if not the entirety of, the spring practices, Riley said Tuesday.
“All of those six guys will all be very limited, may be able to do some individual stuff a little bit later on, but all recovering from some offseason procedures and all of that,” Riley said. “So other than those guys, we expect to have a lot of the roster available … We’ve never had a spring practice, none of us in all of our years, where we had this high a percentage of your full roster already here for spring, which is a huge advantage.”
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