Breaking down every position on USC's two-deep

Wisconsin opens its Big Ten slate in Los Angeles against No. 13 USC. As kickoff inches closer, let's analyze the Trojans' roster by breaking it down, position-by-position, ahead of the Badgers' Saturday afternoon clash.

Miller Moss is the man in Los Angeles after two years of sheer brilliance from Caleb Williams. Replacing a Heisman winner is never an easy task, but Moss appears more than capable at gunslinger for the Trojans. He has a undeniable command of the offense that's impressive for a first-year starter, and his skills as a passer immediately jump off the screen. Moss has a strong, accurate arm and plays with poise and excellent decision-making. After spending two seasons waiting patiently behind Williams, Moss earned his time in the limelight, and he's off to an excellent start.

He's backed up by Jayden Maiava, a UNLV transfer who led the Runnin' Rebels all the way to the Mountain West Championship game in 2023. His stellar season earned him Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors last fall. He appeared for mop-up duty against Utah State, but is firmly cemented as the backup behind Moss for now.

The Trojans replaced third-round NFL Draft selection MarShawn Lloyd with an experienced Mississippi State transfer in Woody Marks. The tailback logged 100-plus carries in each of his three seasons in Starkville, turning that into 1,883 yards. He's also a prolific pass-catcher with 1,225 yards receiving in his career. Head coach Lincoln Riley has wasted little time incorporating that element of his game into the offense, as Marks already has 11 catches this season and has logged at least three in every game thus far.

He's spelled by redshirt freshman Quinten Joyner, who appeared in five games last fall. A former Rivals100 recruit and the No. 5 ranked running back in his class, Joyner is a talented runner himself who should get around 10 touches each game. Two more freshman, Bryan Jackson and A'Marion Peterson, round out the rest of the running backs who could see the field for the Trojans.

Kyron Hudson is the most senior of the USC wideouts, and he mans the X position in Riley's high-flying offense. With two NFL-bound receivers in the offense last season, Hudson only caught 17 passes for 189 yards. Now, he's stepped into a much larger role and has nine grabs for 130 yards through three games.

Hudson might be the most senior player in this room, but the most targeted — and easily the most dangerous — is slot receiver Zachariah Branch. The H receiver burst onto the scene as true freshman last fall with his electrifying speed and open-field elusiveness. He's been held without a touchdown this season, but has still reeled in 14 catches for 173 yards. Branch also fields kicks and punts for the Trojans, as they do everything possible to get the football in his hands. Just a true sophomore, Branch is one of the most dynamic players in the sport.

Ja'Kobi Lane is another outside receiver for USC, and he's racked up nine grabs for 116 yards and two scores. He had a particularly clutch fourth quarter in the Trojans' Week 1 win over LSU.

Kyle Ford, Makai Lemon and Duce Robinson round out the rest of the wideouts who will get involved. There's clear top targets in this offense, such as Branch, but the Trojans spread the ball around to a variety of eligibles. Without the senior leadership from last season, there's plenty of snaps up for grabs for young wideouts in this room.

The Trojans will be without Lake McRee against Wisconsin after he suffered an apparent lower body injury against Michigan. That's a significant loss for USC, as he's been its second-leading receiver with 12 catches for 134 yards. His absence leaves a notable lack of experience at the position, as the next men up are Kade Eldridge (redshirt freshman) and Walker Lyons (true freshman).

Eldridge has two grabs for 17 yards this season, while Lyons has three for 13. McRee was mostly an in-line player but he did line up in the slot 22.5 percent of the time this fall per Pro Football Focus, which is where he's done much of his damage as a receiver. It'll be interesting to see if Riley flexes his freshman tight ends out into the slot as well, where they've combined to play just six snaps all year.

USC's offensive line is an interesting mix of experience and fresh faces, with some position changes sprinkled in as well. The unit is headlined by Jonah Monheim, a returning captain who transitioned from left tackle to center this fall. He also has starting experience at right guard, making him a valuable commodity as a versatile, experienced player on USC's front.

The Trojans' starting left and right tackles are Elijah Paige and Mason Murphy, respectively. Murphy started five games at right guard last fall before switching to tackle this season, while Paige is a redshirt freshman who started one game at left tackle last fall. Those two have had a somewhat bumpy start to the season, combining to allow 15 pressures, six hits and two sacks through three games.

On the inside, Emmanuel Pregnon and Alai Noa are the respective left and right guards. The redshirt senior Pregnon is a returning starter at left guard while the sophomore Noa started a single game at guard last fall.

This offensive line has remained intact thus far in 2024, and has rolled out the same five starters in all three games. The other linemen who have seen notable snaps include redshirt freshman Tobias Raymond and Amos Talaele.

Jamil Muhammad is the returning leader of this unit after a highly productive 2023 season in which he logged 46 tackles, 10.5 tackles-for-loss and 6.5 sacks. He's off to a slower start this year, however, with just six tackles through three games.

The other starting end spot is held down by junior Anthony Lucas, but like Muhammad, he's been quiet early with just six tackles. He does, however, lead all USC edge defenders with seven pressures. It's the backups at defensive end that have put up the numbers for the Trojans: Braylan Shelby and Devan Thompkins. They're each responsible for a sack and have combined for eight tackles.

On the inside, ex-Georgia Bulldog Bear Alexander returns for another campaign in Southern California. He has a productive season last fall with 48 tackles, but has just five through three games.

Gavin Meyer and Nate Clifton are the other defensive linemen who have made an impact, and Meyer is actually listed as an "OR" starter alongside Alexander. Overall, this unit has experience and a staple of players that can contribute, but it hasn't stuffed the stat-sheet to this point.

Linebackers have been the primary playmakers on this defense under new direction with first-year defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn. Senior Eric Gentry is the team's leading tackler, and he's highly versatile as he can play on the edge on in the box. He's forced a fumble, swatted a pass and picked up two sacks this fall.

Oregon State transfer Easton Mascarenas-Arnold racked up production in Corvallis, and he's picked up right where he left off. The linebacker has 20 tackles and an interception this season, and he's played the most at inside backer. Between Gentry, Mascarenas-Arnold and Mason Cobb, last year's leading tackler who has 12 tackles and an interception this fall, USC has a talented inside linebacker core at the top of the room.

Those three players dominate the snaps on the inside in USC's base 4-2-5 defense. They're constantly around the ball, and are the heart and soul of this unit.

The Trojans have two senior starting quarterbacks in Jacobe Covington and Jaylin Smith. Both have been solid — they've each allowed five catches on seven targets, per Pro Football Focus, but haven't given up a pass play of more than 15 yards. Covington has played the most, but each corner has 13 tackles on the season. Smith in particular isn't afraid to get his hands dirty from the cornerback spot, as he logged 75 tackles last fall.

The slot corner for USC is Greedy Vance Jr, a former Florida State Seminole and Louisville Cardinal. He has four interceptions and 16 pass-breakups in his college career. Interestingly, he's only been targeted once this season.

Those three are the starters and there's not a whole lot of rolling with this unit, but a couple of other cornerbacks get involved here as well. Redshirt Junior Prophet Brown will play a handful of snaps in the slot. John Humphrey, a UCLA transfer who followed his coordinator Lynn across town, will play on the outside as well in sub packages. This is an experienced group at the top that's off to a good start amending the hideous pass defense the Trojans deployed in 2023.

Much like Wisconsin, the Trojans elect to have two safeties play the vast majority of snaps at the position and haven't rotated much at all. Kamari Ramsey, another ex-Bruin who defected to the cross-town rival along with Lynn, is the headliner here. He's an extremely versatile defensive back, as he nearly splits his time between the back end, the box and the slot. His statistics have reflected that versatility thus far, as he's logged 15 tackles, a sack, an interception and a forced fumble. He's a player that must be accounted for on every play.

The other starter is Akili Arnold. He's another experienced Oregon State transfer who's appeared in 48 games and started 25 over the course of his career. This season, he has 13 tackles, a half-sack and a pass breakup. The experience of the two starters on the back end has been critical in shoring up the Trojans' porous pass defense.

The backups Bryson Shaw, Christian Pierce and Zion Branch have combined for just 34 snaps and five tackles this fall. USC leans heavily on its experience at the top of the room at safety.

_________________________________________________

*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den

*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel

*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)

*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @seamus_rohrer, @DonnieSlusher_

*Like us on Facebook