3 USC Trojans Turning Heads During Summer Workouts: Makai Lemon, Devan Thompkins, Jide Abasiri

The USC Trojans highlighted wide receiver Makai Lemon as well as defensive linemen Devan Thompkins and Jide Abasiri for working towards USC coach Lincoln Riley's three core values: Unify, Sacrifice, and Championship Culture.

Sep 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Utah State Aggies during the second quarter at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans are busy hosting recruits on official visits while current Trojans players are also completing summer workouts before the 2025 season begins. USC's coaching staff has started to praise "core values players of the week" on social media, and the Trojans highlighted wide receiver Makai Lemon and defensive linemen Jide Abasiri and Devan Thompkins this week.

Under Trojans coach Lincoln Riley, USC's core values are Unify, Sacrifice, and Championship Culture.

"Every week, three student-athletes are recognized by our staff for exemplifying each of our program's three core values. These student-athletes actionably unify us into a familial band of brothers, choose to see the team's mission as more valuable than their own personal ambition, and drive a contagious championship-level culture of discipline. Though their motivation is not praise, we honor these student-athletes publicly for the way they've worked privately," the team released in a statement on social media.

Oct 12, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) lost his helmet after a first down before he is stopped by Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Kobe King (41) in the second half at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Practiced what we preach 😤

Makai Lemon, Jide Abasiri, and Devan Thompkins have been named our core values players of the week 🫡 pic.twitter.com/MJEdhBQvvD

— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) June 17, 2025

Lemon is one of the more popular players on USC's roster, thanks to his athletic talents at wide receiver and kick returner. In 2024, Lemon caught 52 passes for 764 yards and three touchdowns, playing with quarterbacks Miller Moss and Jayden Maiava.

In 2025, the Trojans' passing attack is expected to be led by Lemon and Maiava as well as receiver Ja'Kobi Lane and tight end Lake McRee.

As for Devan Thompkins, the defensive lineman recently earned some praise from USC defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator Eric Henderson on social media. The Trojans coach made it clear that he expects a breakout season from Thompkins.

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Thompkins already took a step forward in 2024, and he talked to the media about working with coach Henderson and the rest of USC's defensive coaching staff.

“I’ll say, Coach Henny coming in, new defensive staff, they really helped me like my game, my knowledge for the game you know. I just want to continue growing on that,” Thompkins said.

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Texas A&M Aggies in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Finally, the Trojans are looking for sophomore defensive lineman Jide Abasiri to take another step in his development after appearing in 10 games as a freshman in 2024. USC's defensive line is expected to be one of the more deeper and talented units in the Big Ten, led by Thompkins, Kameryn Fountain, Anthony Lucas, Braylan Shelby, Jamaal Jarrett, and Keeshawn Silver.

USC will still rely on Abasiri and others in the defensive line rotation throughout the Trojans' second season in the Big Ten.

Earlier in June, Trojans defensive lineman Anthony Lucas, long snapper Hank Pepper, and wide receiver Asante Das were highlighted by the coaching staff. As the 2025 season draws closer, these awards give a small glimpse inside of USC's program.

While the true defensive rotation won't be revealed until the new year starts, the mentions of Abasiri, Lucas, and Thompkins are definitely cause for optimism regarding USC's defensive line.

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